Wow, that's only $15 a head. I can't believe anyone would rather take the Limo Bus and add a full hour or more to their commute considering this drops us off 5 minutes from our hotel.

Btw, how did you come up with 6,120 yen?

The website indicates 4,730 yen from NRT Terminal 1.

It sounds like the cost difference would be around $60-70 total more for green car over ordinary car for 2 people.

Wouldn't you rather have your bags with you when you arrive at your first hotel? Tokyubin likely won't get them there until the next day. Even with expensive same-day service (if available,) they won't get there until well after you arrive.

The N'Ex is set up for travelers, with plenty of luggage racks at the car entryways and over the seats. I also don't think the green car on N'Ex is worth it. The regular cars have 2x2 seats that are quite comfortable. You will probably spend most of the trip looking out the window anyway. I am 6'-5" and am quite comfortable in the regular car.

Thanks so much, you've already made up my mind.

Trust me, Limo Bus is not a crazy option and it probably won't add more than 30min to the NEx+taxi option when you factor in the potential queue at the JR office, navigating thru Tokyo Sta to get to the taxi, etc. But NEx to Tokyo is also a fine option if you're going to take the cab from Tokyo Sta to the hotel with all that luggage.

When you say "considering this drops us off 5 minutes from our hotel," what are you referring to? Tokyo Sta to Peninsula is ~15min walk.

I took the Limousine Bus from NRT to the Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo and back in 2008 and can't recommend it highly enough. Door to door service was easy with two large bags that I didn't have to deal with on either end. 6,200 yen roundtrip isn't bad either.

The N'EX green car fare to Tokyo is 4,560 yen per person. Using the Tokyo Direct ticket in ordinary cars you pay 1,500 yen each. So the difference per person will be 3,060 yen or 6,120 yen for two people.

Ah now I understand!

We'll almost certainly stick with the regular car.

Oh I'm not suggesting it's a crazy option at all, but we touch down around rush hour and I'd much prefer to not spend another 2+ hours in transit if avoidable.

I plan to purchase our tickets in advance to avoid the queue at the JR ticket counter. When I said 5 minutes from our hotel, I meant by car/taxi.

I figure if we're able to lug our bags through the airport in San Francisco then we can easily manage the NEX as it shouldn't be anymore difficult. It sounds a lot more plesant than potentially being stuck in traffic and I'd rather arrive at the hotel earlier to shower, change, freshen up and then head out for an early dinner.

I would definitely take the Limo Bus from the Pen back to the airport. It's the fastest and easiest option.

On your way in I would be very surprised if the train were significantly faster. Assuming you get the ~4:15 train you won't get to the hotel any sooner than 5:30. I would actually be a bit surprised if the bus didn't arrive between 5:45 and 6:00. (The timetable is a worse case scenario.)

That said, either way is a good option.

We're spending our final night at The Shangri-La I think. We fly into Haneda from Nagasaki for a single night before leaving the following afternoon. I haven't looked into options yet but it seems like the Limo Bus will almost certainly be the best way to go for the return to NRT.

I don't really understand this because the trains run on fixed schedules with few outside variables. According to JR-East, the ride from NRT to Tokyo Station takes exactly 53 minutes. No best or worst scenario; it's determined that this is how long the transfer takes and it runs consistantly on that same hourly schedule.

If we catch the 4:19 PM train (which is most likely) then we'll arrive at Tokyo Station just before 5:30 PM. By vehicle, the commute from NRT to The Peninsula is (min) 90 minutes. So in a best case scenario, it's already nearly 45 minutes longer to take the limo bus. If you add traffic into the equation, which is very possible coming into Tokyo after 4 PM, it could potentially be a lot longer.

Now I can understand how some people might find the convenience of being escorted directly to their hotel with porters handling baggage to be more convenient and worth the added time after a long haul flight, but from all I've gathered, it seems to be acknowledged that the limo bus is unquestionably a (significantly) longer way to reach the hotel than by train.

I value time above all else, so for me the N'EX seems like the best direct option.

Don't know if the bus goes directly from Shangri-La to the airport. If it makes stops, it might not be the fastest way. You should check.

I just noticed the Limo Bus is playing games with their routes. They make it look like it's a direct to the Pen. It's not. There's no way that would take an 1:55. At most 90 minutes...at rush hour. There have to be stops at other hotels they are not showing.

The train will take an hour at that time (check the schedule). From there it could take you 25 minutes to get the hotel especially if you don't know your way around Tokyo station and there's a queue for taxis. Likely arrival at the hotel is 5:45.

If you are really in a hurry, I would book an MK Taxi...flat rate of Yen 17k. Should take about 75 to 80 minutes. You won't need to wait for the train. Assuming you're in a forward cabin and arrive at 3:20, you'll easily be in the taxi by 3:45 and at the hotel at 5:00 or bit thereafter

If you decide to take the train and have luggage, I would take NEX. It's very easy with luggage. At Tokyo, you can just take a pair elevators up to the ground level very near the taxi stand. (You will have to schlep your bags quite a bit if you take the Skyliner.)

That's just the way the Limo Bus website shows the schedule. They only show your destination of interest and not all the other stops en route. Keio Plaza and Century Hyatt are on the same route, but only Keio Plaza's times come up when you click on the Keio Plaza route. I think their website used to divulge all the stops on each route's schedule. I don't know when they changed it.

In all my years of traveling on the Limo Bus, the instances where the bus actually ran late were extremely rare. Their schedules are padded, and the drivers know all sorts of alternate routes.

I think the OP said he's arriving into T1, so I agree with the above. I will just say that sometimes there's not much space left on the luggage rack on NEx if getting on at T2.

Well I've been trying to tell you otherwise. And 5khours' time estimate with NEx is correct. In your situation, NEx+taxi's main advantage is that it's cheaper. Limo Bus' advantage is that it's door-to-door and they take care of your luggage.

I don't know if or when the website changed but it's not hard to figure out other hotels/stops on the route. If you go to the Narita Routes page and select an area rather than a specific hotel you get a list of hotels in that area. It's a bit tricky for the Shinjuku area since there are so many hotels (as well as the station) but I once managed to figure out the actual route in another thread. If you choose 'Hibiya' as the destination area you will see a list of 4 hotels. By checking the timetables you can figure out there are 2 departures to the Hibiya area shortly after 16:00.

T1 North 16:15 - Imperial Hotel 17:45 - Dai-ichi Hotel 17:50
T1 North 16:20 - Palace Hotel 18:05 - The Peninsula 18:15

So the limousine bus to The Peninsula will stop at the Palace Hotel first.

For me, that would seal the deal to take the train instead. Nothing would piss me off more than (after a 17 hour flight) watch the bus go past my hotel on the way to the Palace Hotel, and then backtrack to the Pen.

I hadn't looked at Limo Bus site in a while. They used to show the route. Now they make it look like all the buses are direct. Kind of deceptive IMHO.

A bit late compared to everyone else, but if the prices are similar, I really do recommend the limousine bus for tourists. It drops people off right at their hotel, which is a huge advantage, even if it does take a bit more time (note: as others have commented, schedules are heavily padded).

Heck, I even take the limousine bus myself when I can't be bothered catching trains (I regularly take the bus from near my house to either Itami or Kansai airports, and last year took the bus from Narita to Haneda).