There are fixed rate taxis. Rates are published on the Narita Airport website. The fare depends on the ward you're heading to, ranging from 18,000-21,000 yen for the areas where most Flyertalkers stay. That's 6,000-9,000 yen more than the limousine bus fare for four people.

I think LapLap has had good experiences with Tokyo Airporter when she was arranging travel for a group with a lot of luggage. Many taxi companies have larger cars and mini-vans that can accommodate a family with luggage.

NRT ain't Arlanda -- only tourists at Arlanda pile into a taxi and let them use the meter. I've bargained with taxis at Arlanda every time and gotten significant discounts on the spot.

As to a fixed price taxi shuttle from NRT, very likely MK taxi is your best bet.

http://www.tokyomk.com/eng/index.html

Note that there is no tipping but toll (I believe about Y2,200) and a NRT "placard" fee (Y3,000) will be added. So the total cost will be Y22,000-24,000.

In the off season, 1/2 of a round trip ticket between the USA west coast and NRT isn't much more than that -- which is a further clue as to why people usually take the airport bus or train.

Once I fired one of my minions for taking a taxi from NRT, after explicitly telling him not to. I really don't like firing people, but this one I quite enjoyed.

My guide and friend in Kyoto - Mr. Doi - has recommended this lady:

Yes, I have my colleague tour guides in Tokyo but she is not a taxi driver. In Tokyo, tour guides don't use cars. They usually take subways and cruising taxis with their guests.
Mrs. Mikako Matsumoto, a licensed tour guide in Tokyo.
Take contact her email address here.

[email protected]
Mobile phone : 090 2254 1932

I may contact her myself - but have no personal experience with her as of today. If she's half as good as Mr. Doi - I think you'll be happy.

Although it might sound politically incorrect - you might ask how old she is. One reason we got along so well with Mr. Doi is he is almost exactly my husband's age (they were born one week apart). We spent a lot of time talking about things like WWII (all of our fathers fought in WWII). And the Holocaust (I was the first Jewish person he had ever met - and I was surprised to find out that the Diary of Anne Frank is required reading in Japanese schools). If this lady is 60+ (like we are) - she may perhaps not be in touch with things like teenage fashion trends. OTOH - she may be (many Japanese women tend to be very fashion conscious).

If you're interested in her (or anyone else) - I'd exchange email - and draw your own conclusions about whether it seems like a good "fit". Note that we hired Mr. Doi 2 days before arrival in Kyoto simply because our feet were killing us and we liked the idea of his taxi ;). It was a pleasant surprise that we had such a good time with him. Robyn

To you and jib71 - those taxi fares seem like a pretty good deal for the OP and his family considering the convenience factor. MK taxi also seems to offer a meet and greet service. It also offers "disabled rates" (probably not relevant for the OP). For me and my husband - the fares don't make much sense at all (unless the yen goes down about 50% from here :D). Especially since we will most likely use a meet and greet service from our hotel (probably Four Seasons Marunouchi or Peninsula). And also because - IIRC - I slept on the limo bus from about 5 minutes after we got on the bus to when I was awakened at our destination.

And you're right Richard - these fares are nothing like what we paid in Stockholm (I think it was about $75 or so each way for the 2 of us - which was about $20 or so more than we would have spent on the train).

And just a final somewhat OT thought to the OP. On our trip in 2006 - we were told that most US ATM cards didn't work in Japan. So we got one (E*Trade Bank) that was supposed to work in Japan (we never had occasion to use it there). It's also a good idea to carry at least one credit card that's widely accepted in Japan that doesn't have a forex fee. Finally - read the thread I started about being able (or not able) to use credit cards in restaurants in Japan - and adjust the amount of cash you take with you accordingly. Robyn

Thanks for letting me know.

Tokyo airporter have cars that seat 8 and costs around the same as flat rate taxi.

(finally gotta use the ignore function on a forum)

American ATM cards work in post office and 7/11 ATMs, so no worries there. The only thing to watch out for is that your daily withdrawal limit is for midnight to midnight in your home time zone. In other words, if I, a resident of the U.S. Central Time Zone, withdraw some cash in Japan, I have to wait till at least midnight CST/CDT the next day (=1PM or 2PM) before I can withdraw more. Otherwise, no problem.

We had an incredible experience with Tokyo Free Guide. I don't know if they'll help you get from the airport to the hotel, but if you'd like an English-speaking guide to see the sights with you, they're just aces.

http://www.tokyofreeguide.com/

Just take the N'EX or Skyliner. Even the Limited Express if you're on a budget. It's so much faster then a taxi and surprisingly cheaper...which doesn't say a lot since the taxis from NRT are likely one of the highest fixed rate ones in the world.

Tokyo Airporter is good. I used them once (when relocating here). Their fee of 18,000 yen is all-inclusive and they meet you at the customs exit. The driver was natively fluent in English. FYI, the toll to Shibuya is 2,550 yen and 2,350 yen to Shiba-koen. MK charges 21,500 to 22,500 all-in.

Also, NEX being much faster than a taxi is nonsense. Door-to-door taking a taxi is much faster even in traffic. You have to factor in getting down to the train, buying a ticket for a train that runs every 30 minutes and then getting from the station to your ultimate destination. A cab is faster even if you stay at Tokyo Station Hotel. You also get to see more, especially if you go via the Rainbow Bridge.

Before Xmas it took me one hour and ten minutes by car to get to NRT from Shibuya station area. And then the 3 was bumper to bumper all the way from Shibuya on-ramp up to Shiba-koen. Then NEX train takes 80 minutes to cover this journey plus I have add to 30 minutes to comfortably get from my house to the train.

But NEX is definitely cheaper for 4 people because the net cost is only 6000 yen if you do the NEX/Suica deal.

It's funny how people factor in buying a ticket and waiting for train, but apparently the taxi meets them at the carousel. The reason I said NEX or Skyliner is the departure times are staggered, there's no point in taking one if you're going to wait 30 minutes. If you wait for 30 minutes you might as well take a limited express with the closer departure time.

Not sure why it's "rubbish" to you. Tokyo station is 50 minutes by NEX, more then 60% faster then you think, and Ueno is 42 minutes by Skyliner. With transfers it takes less then 60 minutes to get to any major station.

70 minutes from Shibuya is impressive and I would consider rare since its normally a 90+ minute ride.

Up to you really, you'll get wherever you're going in 60-90 minutes, if you're willing to burn a few extra dollars for the familiarity of a cab you're not alone, follow the line of tourists.

If you bother looking at the timetable it takes 1 hour and 4 minutes from NRT T1 to Tokyo by NEX and then another 18 minutes to Shibuya. The limo bus to Nihonbashi advertises 55 min, and I am sure that's conservative. The Skyliner is pretty fast but most people will then have a long and cumbersome journey on Yamanote line, etc.

From my house near Shibuya eki it takes me 50 min to drive to NRT in good traffic. As I explained, the 3 was bumper to bumper, so 1 hour and ten was slow. The bus in mid-afternoon usually takes 1 hour and ten minutes to T1 after stopping at T2. The bus usually pulls up to the idiotic checkpoint after about 1 hour. Google maps (always conservative) estimates 1 hour and 5 minutes. Yes, if you travel by bus, taxi, or car then you can be on your way a minute or two after exiting customs at NRT. If you have a car service the guy will be standing there with a placard and escort you across the road to short term parking and you are on your way 2 minutes later. For trains then you have to factor ~10 minutes to buy a ticket and get to the platform.

I would drive more often because off-site parking at NRT is very cheap. ca. 4000 yen for 10 days. But the 5000 yen round trip toll makes it uneconomical for one person, especially with the net cost 1500 yen return using Suica/NEX.

I know some people with families who do one-way car rentals to and from NRT. When you have four or five people, this works out to be much easier and no more expensive than taking the NEX or Skyliner.

I did a stop over in Tokyo/NRT in 2008 and found a lot of English speakers at the airport and all around the city. I took the Airport Limousine bus from the airport to my hotel, Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo, and back to NRT.

The subway was easy to use and I went all around the city. The key for me was pre-planning.

http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus...s/narita/index

http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/