Connection between NRT and HND
 

I need some help from someone who is familiarize with Tokyo. I have the following connection this upcoming Sunday/Monday:

Arriving NRT at 9 pm, from Incheon
Departing HND at 1.30 am, to East Asia

I checked on the limousine bus website, there is no bus available at this hour between the two airports. Neither is the express train running at that hour. Does anyone know if I could make the connection? What should I be taking between the two airports?

How likely will the immigration be busy (like 1.5 to 2+ hours to get through as during the day)?

Thanks.

Moving to the Japan forum.

Regards,
armagebedar
ANA forum moderator

There are Keisei Skyliner trains which leave NRT T1 at 21:49 and 22:30 (3 minutes later from T2) and arrive in Nippori at 22:28 and 23:09.

From Nippori take the Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku Line to Hamamatsucho (17-18 minutes). Then the monorail (timetable) to HND International Terminal. It will be quicker than the Keikyu Line via Shinagawa.

Make sure to buy a Suica or Pasmo at NRT so you don't have to buy separate tickets at interim stations.

I don't know how busy immigration will be at that time of the evening but you should be able to make the 22:30 from NRT unless your incoming flight from North America is very late.

This is tough but doable if you are willing to spend some money. First of all, immigration at NRT at 9pm is typically pretty quick. After exiting I would buy a ticket on the limousine bus to TCAT (it's the first stop from the airport and takes about 55-60 minutes). You can then easily get a taxi to Haneda for about 6,000 - 7,500 yen depending on route and surcharges. Yes it's expensive - but you should make your flight. I wouldn't suggest messing around with trains at this time of night - although it's cheaper if you don't know your way around it could be difficult... The taxi from TCAT to Haneda will take about 20 minutes at this time of night - so if you pull in to TCAT at around 1130pm (easily doable even if immigration and customs are backed up which they shouldn't be) you should be at Haneda by midnight - with enough time to check in and clear security (they are very efficient at Haneda) and breathe a sigh of relief...

Edit - if your flight gets in early enough there is a 2130 limousine bus that goes from Narita to Haneda...

I am arriving from Incheon, not New York. Would that make a difference? Do you recommend this of I have 2 check in suitcase plus a carry on, is it easy lugging them around the train stations? I remember those Japanese train stations all have unending swirls of tunnels and stairs. And, Nippori is not the final train stop, I should get off one stop earlier?

Thank you very much for the information.

Oh, I just saw your reply after posting my response. Thank you for the information. Would there be any traffic jam on the way tho TCAT? Would I have to pre-book (if so, how) a taxi from TCAT to Haneda Airport at that hour? Is taxi safe at that hour?

I booked this flight solely because of my careless oversight with the fact that it involves Haneda. I once and only once flew from there, checked in 2.5 hours ahead and still missed my flight due to terrible looking queue at security and immigration.

Indeed, would you recommend if I take the train to Ueno or Nippori and get a cab from there? I am a bit worry about motion illness on the 1+ hour vehicle ride, especially when I get nervous.

In any case, I should be good if I carry JPY 15000 for the bus/train and taxi?

The traffic at this time of night on the expressway is typically clear - I've never had it take longer than 65 minutes and I do it all the time. Yes, the taxi's are very safe and all take credit cards as well. Haneda immigration and security is very efficient these days (a little worse upon arrival but departing is much better).

To be honest with two checked bags and a carry-on - no I wouldn't mess with trains unless you know what you are doing - or if your budget won't allow for the expensive taxi ride. Just so you know - when you arrive at TCAT you literally pick up your bags - walk across the lobby to the taxi stand, get in the taxi and off you go to Haneda. There are always taxi's available!

Thanks a lot for your advice. The quoted taxi ride is not that expensive, comparable to those in Toronto, I am only concern with safety issue, especially I will be lugging with some suitcases at that hour. I was particularly concerned with getting one trying to make long detour in the city, I am am obvious non-local. So, if I bring JPY 15000, would that be safe enough to pay for both bus (JPY 3000) and taxi?

The bus ride will cost - at most - 3,100 yen - less if you show foreign passport. I used it yesterday to TCAT (my apartment is near there) and cost me 1,900 yen. And you don't have to pre-book - you just walk out of immigration and go to the airport limousine bus counter - it's orange colored and they understand english. TCAT stands for "Tokyo City Air Terminal" and is very familiar to them...

I would rate Tokyo as one of the safest cities in the world and you do not need to worry about taxi drivers at all - they will take the most efficient route and will also typically ask if you want to take the toll expressway (quicker) but it does add a little to the final fare. I would budget up to 7,000 yen for the taxi - so yes 15,000 yen is more than enough.

You wrote in your first post "Arriving NRT at 9 pm, from North America" :confused:

Anyway with two bags and a carry-on I would take a limousine bus as suggested by bmwe92fan to TCAT and a taxi from there to HND.

OP must work for an airline. He has a "direct flight" from the USA with a stop in the ROK.

So to get this straight, you're flying North America-ICN-NRT-HND-East Asia? Have you considered ditching the last two legs and just flying direct from ICN to wherever you're going (if there's a flight to it from HND, there's almost certainly one from ICN as well, quite possibly on a low-cost carrier), or at least seeing if you can change ICN-NRT/HND into ICN-HND or ICN/GMP-HND? Incheon to Gimpo is a quick 30-min train trip, vs. the multi-hour Narita to Haneda odyssey.

That was my bad, I have it corrected. Having had some crazy weeks for works and personal businesses, my brain was not functioning at the time I was composing the message. I am leaving for ICN tomorrow to visit some friends. Then, I shall take the said flight after the weekend.

Sorry for the confusions. The ICN - NRT ticket is a return ticket on OZ that I paid myself. I called OZ about flying directly into HND but was told there is no ICN - HND flights (at least on the day I need). They also said the rules of my ticket does not allow rerouting from ICN - NRT to GMP - HND.

The HND - HKG and onward is the return portion of a ticket (DOH - DXB - SIN - TPE - NRT) purchased by the university for a research meeting at Tokyo and for my mother's final burial in Taiwan earlier. I must submit the boarding passes to all segments shown on the original ticket when I get back to school. Or, I will have to pay, at least a large part, of the ticket and additional paper works as well. Even when I rebooked the return portion to after my US/Canada trip, I had to have approval from the department office. I must arrive HKG early enough to catch the 8 am flight to SIN in order to get the DXB flight from there. There are no red eye flight from ICN to HKG as I know. The university always purchase the ticket with the lowest fare and/or total travel cost. This is why I ended up with that crazy winding itinerary.

Anyway, thank you all for you advices, I will probably take the bus+taxi combination. I should pray that all flights will go on-time.

this ^

cwl6750084 - no need to worry about safety. You'll be in good hands on the bus and taxi.