We arrive at Tokyo Haneda Airport on Dec 29th from SFO at 730 pm. How much time shall I allocate to get through customs and immigration? Wondering so I can see what transportation options I have available.

Next, from Haneda, which transportation option (for 3) makes most sense to get to our hotel in Yokohama (Sheraton across from train station)?

Since we plan on using our JR Pass on the 30th from Yokohama to Kyoto, should we have it activated for the 30th at Haneda or wait until we get to Yokohama to get it done on the 30th? I keep being told that we cannot book a reservation until we have the pass activated - we purchased first class seats hoping that increases our chances of getting on a train during the busy period next week.

Lastly, is the Suica card good all over Japan (Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Tokyo) or should we be looking at a different card for public transportation?

Thank you in advance for your tips and advice.

First, read the master thread that is pinned to the top of this column. I think that has a section on airport transportation.

The JR Pass is of limited value for getting around the Tokyo-Yokohama area, so you may as well wait till you're ready to go to Kyoto.

If you want to make reservations, you can validate your pass when you arrive and ask to have it start on the 30th. You can ride the Hikari Shinkansen, which runs literally every half hour all day, so it's unlikely that you wouldn't find a seat somewhere, especially with a Green Car pass.

The Suica is definitely good for the Tokyo-Yokohama area, and it has been extended to other areas in recent years. There's a post about somewhere on this forum, so I suggest looking for it, since I don't know exactly which other areas it is valid in.

You'd be taking the Keikyu train from HND direct to Yokohama station. Well, depending on the train, you'd get off first at Kamata and then change to another train headed towards Yokohama. But I'd recommend you just hop on the one that does not require change of station. Those ones leave HND-Int'l at 8.22p, 8.33p, 8.39p, 8.51p, etc.

Even though you won't be taking JR on 12/29 and hence you won't want to activate the pass until 12/30, you could still theoretically exchange the voucher for the pass upon arrival on 12/29. However, the JR office at HND is closed by the time you arrive. Ditto for the one at Yokohama station. So just exchange the voucher and activate the pass on 12/30 at Yokohama station.

http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/exchange.html

Speaking of the JR office, can I pick up tickets I reserved on Eki-net at the HND office? Or do I have to go to an actual JR station for that?

Regions where the Suica can be used

Suica is good everywhere these days. You can even use it on the airport bus to Yokohama from Haneda—but I don't know if they sell Suica at the airport and I probably wouldn't bother to try to find one.

I live in central Yokohama and from HND, I'd never take anything but the airport bus to Yokohama Station. They run frequently and it usually takes less than 25 minutes and involves very little walking from past customs. You can buy tickets at the machine down on the platform where you wait for the bus.

Most buses go straight to Yokohama City Air Terminal (YCAT). Some stop first at the West Entrance to the JR Yokohama Station, which is the side the Sheraton is on. You need to tell them where you're getting out when you give them your bag so they put it in the right compartment under the bus.

YCAT is on the opposite side of the station from the Sheraton. I've seen visitors take a taxi from there to the Sheraton to avoid having to navigate their way through Yokohama Station, which is quite complicated. I'd walk, but maybe not if I was tired and had lots of bags and didn't have my bearings. (Getting your phone to correctly position you on a map as you go underground to get around the station isn't the easiest.)

Have fun!

Yes, Suica cards (Monorail graphic) can be purchased at HND International Terminal on the same floor as Arrivals. Exit QIC and walk towards ground transportation/taxi/buses/Monorail/Keikyu Line options and it's the bank of ATM like machines on the left. Pasmo cards can be purchased on the right side wall.

The Monorail Suica cards are full Suica cards but can only be refunded at a Monorail customer service counter I believe. Or get a named (personalized) card, take it home and don't worry about the deposit.

If anyone's wondering, the answer is "yes, but can and should are two different things." Should have done it at a machine at a JR station. At the HND office, I got someone who managed to mess this up while managing to be incredibly condescending in the process.

First mess-up: Charged me the fare and reserved seat charge together even though I indicated when I first made the reservation that it was supposed to be reserved seat ticket only (my AmEx has an FTF and while it plays nice on sites like Eki-net that require a Japanese billing address, I'd rather pay the fare with a card that doesn't have it).

Second mess-up: Printed me reserved seat tickets from Kyoto when I'd booked from Osaka, even though she got that part right the first time.

Third mess-up: Properly printed my reserved seat tickets from Osaka back to Tokyo, but refused to acknowledge the first mess-up when I asked why I was only given one void slip from the 17700 yen charge for the Kyoto tickets when I clearly remember a 43000 yen charge from the first mess-up. It was only after I asked what slip she stuck behind her that she handed it to me and apologized. Also, my tickets now have a 乗変 marking on them.

Lesson learned.