Originally Posted by
Jinxed_K
JR pass line at Haneda was long and took almost 2 hours to get my pass at in the morning, almost didn't get back to the Villa Fontaine in time for checkout lol. They have signs encouraging visitors to exchange at other points like Tokyo or Shinagawa station.
With the recent increase in price, I can't get any value out of it anymore though.
Your note and a couple others.
We just returned from Japan via Haneda. We got our 3x Green SUICA cards on arrival by walking right to the Easygo counter across from arrival/Customs door, picking them up and then vanishing into Tokyo. Klook is your friend here - if you arrive during regular hours. The small fee is worth it. Have enough preloaded value to get you to your hotel anywhere in Tokyo. Literally no line and you get the 10 year Green SUICAs.
Regarding JR Pass, we exchanged our orders for passes and seat reservations (Hokuriku Arch) at Ueno Station the next morning at 0820. One person in front of us, got everything done and went about our business. 10 minutes with tickets and seats for 3 persons on a five-leg journey from Tokyo-Kurobe-Toyama-Kyoto-Osaka (including Tsruga change to Thunderbird) - First thing in the morning at a JR station is better. Airport JR line is a disaster and waste of time. The Hokuriku Arch Pass was even money plus a little. The full JR pass would not have been worth it.
Coming back - Itami / Osaka to Haneda to SFO the Haneda airside bus takes 20 minutes once you get to the bus zone and the bus arrives. You will clear security again, but airside, not the full check in counter - that takes 5-10 minutes. So minimum 30 minutes, max 45 with no delay is possible.