Originally Posted by
malkie
Thanks again for the info - please fee free to keep it coming.
We're unlikely to visit Kyoto on this trip, despite a number of friends recommending it. Partially due to attempting to take another major city and travel in a relatively short overall holiday, but largely as Mrs Malkie has business in Kyoto next year.
Many thanks for the hotel recommendations and putting the relative merits of each airport into perspective.
I will indeed decide on a hotel and it's services (ie bus to NRT etc) before booking flights.
Am I correct in thinking I could get a hotel immediately next to a train station with a direct link to NRT ? (ie no changes)
When is 'rush hour' in Toyko ? If I've got an 11am flight, I'd need to be at NRT around 8.30am, meaning I should leave Toyko centrally around 6am ? Does that put me safely before the rush hour ?
First of all, "Tokyo," not "Toyko."
Second, if you take the Narita Express to NRT, rush hour shouldn't be much of a problem, since all seats are reserved and you can leave from any one of several stations (although Tokyo and Shinagawa have the most frequent service).
Rush hour affects the subways and the above-ground commuter trains, not the N'Ex so much, and the boarding area for the N'EX is not particularly close to the area where people board the subways and commuter trains.