We stayed for a week in early March 2023 and I wanted to provide some more information on transportation. This was our second trip to Tokyo, so we are familiar with Tokyo transportation, but this area was new.

We almost always use public transportation on trips and had planned on walking often to the Shirokanedai and Shirokane-Takanawa metro stations. But my feet were bothering me on this trip, so we only did that walk a couple of times and used the hotel shuttle more than we had originally planned.

Getting to the hotel from Narita

We flew into Narita and took the Keisei Narita Skyaccess to Mita. This is one of those Tokyo trains that changes affiliation as it goes, so when it arrives at Mita, it is technically the Toei Metro Asakusa line, although you never change vehicles. At Mita, we transferred to the Toei Mita line to get us to Shirokanedai (2 stops). This is the least expensive option and is fairly easy (¥1,410 if not using an IC card).

When boarding at Narita you should get in car 8 (if you want to minimize walking at the transfer) and the gates were numbered backwards or something, so use the car closest to the ticket barrier at Narita. However, we boarded at the far end by mistake and were able to easily sit the whole time (it is ~75 minutes to Mita) and there were definitely more passengers waiting to board at the closer end.

At Mita station, there is an escalator to a connecting corridor to the Toei Mita line and then a second escalator platform 3 for the Mita line towards Meguro. If you walk to the far end of the platform, you will be closest to the exit towards the Sheraton when you get off at Shirokanedai.

Mita Station map: https://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/eng...ions/mita.html

Note, you could get off a stop earlier at Shirokane-Takanawa, but the walk from Shirokanedai to the Sheraton is flat, then downhill, and then flat. So the downhill part makes it easier. We are middle-aged and have 27" sturdy, rolling duffles and 1 or 2 shoulder bags and the walk was fine (it is about ~6 minutes).

I will admit that the train we caught at Mita terminated early at Shirokane-Takanawa (I think it was just unlucky timing on our part), but we just waited a couple of minutes to catch the next train to go the additional stop to Shirokanedai. At Shirokanedai, there are elevators and escalators to exit 2. You come out of exit 2, turn left, and then walk ~6 minutes. At some point, when you encounter a crosswalk (there are 2 or 3 on the way to the hotel), cross the street as the hotel is on the other side. If you are familiar with Tokyo public transit, you should not have a problem with this. (And even if you haven't done public transit in Tokyo, it should be doable.)

Shirokanedai Station map: https://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/eng...rokanedai.html

Google walking map from exit 2 to hotel:
http://www.google.com/maps/dir/35.63...b1!4m2!4m1!3e2

Side note: We used the Google Maps website for initial planning, but then used the Google Maps app (not website!) the most for actual navigating/public transit while in Tokyo. Usually we use the Transit app, but they don't cover Tokyo unfortunately. Google Maps was the best in giving platform numbers, which car to be in for shortest exit/transfer, etc. The app is better than the website as it gives more info (e.g. car number). I tried Citymapper, Apple Maps, and a few Tokyo/Japan-specific ones, but found Google Maps to provide the most info and it was easiest to use.


Getting to the hotel from Haneda

Originally, we were going to fly into Haneda until a schedule change, and we were basically going to do the same trip. The Keikyū Airport Line from Haneda, which turns into the Toei Metro Asakusa line without a vehicle change, and then transfer at Mita for the Toei Metro Mita line to Shirokanedai. It just faster and less expensive from Haneda.


Hotel shuttle bus

I had reached out to the hotel via about the complimentary shuttle as I was a little confused prior. They emailed me a schedule (which I've attached to this post), but here is my brief summary:

Early Mornings, one-way, Sheraton -> JR Shinagawa station.
Starts 7:30am, the ride is ~10 min, and runs every 15 min until the last run at 10:00am.
As I said, it is one way. You cannot pick up at JR Shinagawa. (You will see why when you ride the first time. It is busy there and they can't wait/hold at the station.) Since the ride takes 10 minutes, they actually use two separate shuttles to keep to the schedule.

Rest of the day (late mornings through evening), round-trip, Sheraton <-> Meguro station.
Starting at 10:30am until last run at 10:00pm, the shuttle runs from the Sheraton to Meguro station every 15 min. It will also drop you near Shirokanedai station (I'm guessing you ask the driver when you board); we never did this, but we saw the driver stop and people get off.

Starting at 10:23am until last run at 9:53am, the shuttle runs from Meguro station to the Sheraton. The bus does sit for a minute or two at Meguro, since the ride between the two is usually quick (and the driver will announce the shuttle from the street), but it does leave promptly/on time.

The shuttle bus is 1-2 seating and pretty tight. There is a tiny luggage storage rack behind the drivers seat.

Overall, we used the shuttle to get to Shinagawa in the morning and then transfer to a JR line to start our day. And then usually we would end our day at Meguro, maybe run into one of the several grocery stores at the station, and then catch the shuttle back to the hotel.


Tokyu Bus

We did catch a local bus, Tokyu Bus 東９８, a couple of times. A single ride is ¥220 and you can purchase a day pass from the driver, which is loaded onto your Suica/Pasmo, but probably for most, a day pass would be unlikely. The bus generally runs every 20 minutes.

When travelling West, it stops in front of the Toyota dealership that is just east (1 minute) of the Sheraton. When travelling East (and it will get you to the center of town: Tokyo International Forum and Tokyo station), it picks up across the street from the hotel (it is across from the hotel driveway entrance). These bus stops do not have benches or shelters, but they do have small signs and the roadway is marked. From downtown, this bus line does originate at Tokyo station (and can get quite full along the way), but it is easy to get a seat at the start and then it practically drops you at the hotel front door, which made it worth the longer ride vs the metro (plus, as with all buses, you get to see more of the city).

We only rode the bus a couple of times on our first trip to Tokyo, but we rode it more often on this trip, especially with using the Google Maps app.


Getting from the hotel to Narita and taxis

We had thought about taking the shuttle to Meguro station at the end to catch the Toei Mita line back towards Mita and then on to Narita, but bailed on that idea as we felt we had too much luggage and sometimes the shuttle was fairly full. We decided to get a taxi to Mita station and ended up using one that was in the hotel's taxi queue.

Using the Mita map above, I realized the easiest entrance would be A3 as there is an elevator there. I used the FamilyMart there (FamilyMart Sanda Station Building Store) as a starting address, and the bellman was very helpful in reading that to the driver so he could plug the address into his GPS. He dropped us at the right location, but I then learned the elevator is not directly adjacent to the stairs into the station, but a door or two down on the street. Luckily, I saw a small sign near the stairs that pointed in the direction of the elevator. Anyway, we thought it was definitely worth the taxi cost to skip the hotel shuttle and initial metro ride with all of our luggage.

From the hotel to Mita was either ¥1,300 or ¥1,400. That was also what a taxi app was quoting, but I think the taxi apps add a ¥500 fee for actual ordering. (We never ordered a taxi via the app, but there was a sign in the taxi that indicated this.)


Anyway, I hope this transit info is useful.