767400

Next week I am flying into NRT and plan on taking NEX to Shinjuku.

I just want to confirm the process of buying the NEX combo pass.

Are the JR pass and the Suica and NEX combo different items? Do both of these need to be validated?

Once I arrive in NRT and clear customs I go to the JR East ticket office. Do I need to fill out an application to get this combo pass? I was reading somewhere you need your passport, railpass order then application form... Is all that needed for NEX combo?

I will be arriving on CO7 around 14:30. I also saw that not all JR offices were open at that time? They had morning and evening hours.

Thanks!

ninja138

Yes, the JR rail pass and the Suica/N'Ex combo are completely different. The JR rail pass needs to be validated; Suica/N'Ex cannot be purchased overseas so there is no validation process.

The rail pass order receipt is only if you purchased the JR rail pass. If you are purchasing Suica/N'Ex, there is no application or order receipt. You do need to present your passport though (as Suica/N'Ex is only available for foreigners).

As you are flying in on CO, you will be arriving in Terminal 1. The JR travel center is across from the ticket gates at the JR Terminal 1 station and is open from 8:15 to 7pm, so you shouldn't have any problems.

Complete details about the Suica/N'Ex package can be found here.

767400

^

THANK YOU!! That answered every question I ever had about N'Ex tickets!

joesmoe

Also they have a deal right now where you get round trip on the narita express ( the train that goes to/from the airport and tokyo), where for something like 50EUR you'll get the round trip to/from the airport, 1500 Yen suica credit, and a suica card.

Normally the Suica itself is 500Yen, and if i remember correctly only comes with 500Yen credit.

In addition, the narita express normally costs more than this whole package on its own.

Haven't used NEX so can't help with that one.

RichardInSF

NEX or N'Ex is shorthand notation for "Narita Express."

ninja138

That's actually the Suica/N'Ex combo package that the OP is talking about and I linked to.

That's only if you buy the Suica card at the minimum purchase amount (1000 yen). You can actually buy a Suica card with 10,000 yen and get a card with 9,500 yen credit on it. The 500 yen is a deposit; if you want to, after your last ride with the Suica card you can go to any ticket office and return the Suica card to get your deposit back. If there is any remaining balance, they'll refund it too minus a 210 yen service charge.

Thanks RichardInSF, I didn't realize that was where the confusion started.

joesmoe

Aha I see now. In my couple months in Tokyo, I had little experience with NEX, only rode it to the airport one time.

Steve M

Not to be overly picky, but there is an important distinction to be made here. The Suica/N'EX combo deal is available to all foreign nationals, regardless of immigration status in Japan. This is different from the JR Pass, which is restricted only to foreigners that are admitted to Japan as "temporary visitors" (and thus excludes foreign permanent residents, among others).

ninja138

Yargh, good point. That's what I meant to say, but I missed that when I was typing it out.

Davo21

I am travelling to Narita from Australia in April 11. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 8pm, Terminal 2, from Cairns.

I have 2 queries:

1. at that time of the evening, what kind of delay ought we reasonably expect from landing to being able to depart the airport to catch a train to Shinjuku [leaving aside untoward delays]? We are hopeful of reaching Shinjuku station before 11pm.

2. we were recommended to buy Suica&N'Ex cards as we spend about 6 days in Tokyo before leaving for Kyoto. I see on the JR East website that Terminal 2 closes at 8pm [so we will miss that] but it states:

I assume this means at the standard ticket office window at the station? Are staff usually conversant to some degree in English?

Thanks

railroadtycoon

Terminal 2 Station doesn't close at 8pm, only the JR East Travel Service Center (which is like a JR East travel agency). The regular ticketing office is open until the station closes in the evening. The staff at the airport station is well experienced enough to get you the stuff you want to get to Shinjuku Station.

The current timetable has a 08:46pm NEX to Shinjuku arriving at 10:11pm.
If your flight arrive at 8pm you might have to really rush to get the 8:44pm train, not sure what the practicality of that would be.

The next train doesn't leave until 9:46pm and arrives at Shinjuku Station at 11:04pm.

Any case if you want to get to Shinjuku Station before 11pm and miss the 8:44pm NEX, your next option would be skip taking JR trains and take the Keisei Railways Skyliner to Nippori, then change to the Yamanote Line to Shinjuku Station.

There's a Keisei Skyliner at 9:11pm and 9:41pm. Along with a transfer at Nippori Station in Tokyo will get you into Shinjuku before 11pm.

ChrisLi

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Last time my flight arrived at 8pm too, and I think I just missed the train as there's some line in the immigration and luggage wait. We end up the last train instead.

Davo21

Thanks railroadtycoon and Chris Li.

I see the Keisei doesn't take any longer than N'Ex, just has 1 transfer at Nippori. I take it Terminal 2 is well-signposted in English to the JR and Keisei platforms?

If we opted for, say, the 21.11 Keisei, I see from Hyperdia one changes at Nippori to a JR train. Two more questions:

. can I buy a straight-through fare from Narita or do I need separate tickets because of the different railways?

. is it easy to navigate around Nippori or do this transfer?

Both these questions impact on practicality, as I see there is only about 10-12 minutes transfer time at Nippori.

Thanks again.

msb0b

Keisei has two platforms. One for the mainline and one for the Narita Access Corridor (the new Skyliner). You will want the latter.

At airport, you must buy one Keisei ticket to Nippori. Transferring at Nippori is fairly easy. Take the escalator or elevator from the Keisei platform up to the station, buy the JR ticket from the machine inside Keisei station, insert both tickets (one by one) into the transfer ticket gate for a direct transfer without exiting to the unpaid area first. Take the escalator or elevator down to the JR platform. Takes 3 to 5 minutes at most.

However, I would avoid Yamanote line at that hour. The trains may get crowded after 9pm with salarymen trying to get home.

railroadtycoon

Yes they are very well signed. Keisei has a big KEISEI sign on it, and JR is very well marked "JR". There's no way you can confuse the two.

Actually you can buy a ticket all the way through. It's called a "transfer ticket", so you can buy a basefare ticket that covers NRT-Nippori then allows you to go through the transfer gates at Nippori to Shinjuku. You get a separate seat reservation with the Skyliner.

If you didn't purchase the transfer ticket at NRT, you can easily purchase a transfer ticket at the transfer gate at Nippori Station. There's a machine and ticket agents that can help you. Just walk up with your Keisei ticket, say "Shinjuku" to them, and they will give you a ticket that covers to Shinjuku you can use at the JR transfer gates.

There is a JR Yamanote train at Nippori Station every few minutes going to Shinjuku (if you miss one, just wait a few minutes for the next train), I would not worry about missing the connection at Nippori, which should only take a few minutes, and yes it is very well signed to transfer to the JR line.

You might hit some traffic with regular commuters, if you have a ton of luggage I would recommend taking the limousine bus, or later direct NEX instead. If you are traveling light, you can do it ok.