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From NRT or HND to Shinjuku in late evening

From NRT or HND to Shinjuku in late evening

Old Feb 20, 2017, 2:46 pm
  #1  
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From NRT or HND to Shinjuku in late evening

I have a choice of late night arrival. Will need transport to Shinjuku. NRT at 910 PM or HND at 11 PM. Whats the better choice?
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 3:00 pm
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Nether are great choice given the time of the day, but HND is far closer to Shinjuku. Just some delay on arrival flight then choices of transport to Shinjuku can be very limited that time of the evening. But I think from HND you will have better options of getting to Shinjuku if a flight was delayed for one hour. Remember, public transport trains and buses do not run 24 hrs. in Tokyo.

If choice is NRT then will you consider lodging right near NRT for the first night, which is cheaper comparing similar level hotels at Shinjuku? At that time of the day I really do not think you will do anything but just crashing on a bed after arriving at Shinjuku. If so then why not just get a hotel near NRT and head to Shinjuku first thing next morning?

If considering simply cost of getting to Shinjuku then from HND will be cheaper because HND is far more closer to Shinjuku then NRT.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 3:16 pm
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Originally Posted by AlwaysAisle
consider lodging right near NRT for the first night, which is cheaper comparing similar level hotels at Shinjuku
I think this is good advice.
Get a good night's sleep, then start out fresh the next morning.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 4:37 pm
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If you're taking the train, then one is not substantially any worse than the other in terms of the time/trouble of getting to Shinjuku. As long as your plane's on time and you don't faff around too much upon arrival, you should be able to catch the 9.49pm Skyliner to Nippori, then transfer to JR which will eventually get you to Shinjuku by 11pm. If you miss that Skyliner, though, you'll have to take the commuter-style Access train which will take ~20min longer than Skyliner... but you will still get to Shinjuku by 11.30pm. From HND, you're probably looking at catching a Keikyu train leaving HND ~11.40pm then transfer to JR at Shinagawa, getting you into Shinjuku ~12.30am.

Having said this, some things to consider:
- Airfare difference (obviously)
- NRT flight will get you to Shinjuku earlier in the night.
- If your HND flight runs >30min, you're pretty much out of option train-wise to get to Shinjuku. After that, it's either bus (which doesn't run that often past midnight) or taxi (not cheap).
- The NRT hotel option proposed by AlwaysAisle has + & -. You will most likely save some $ and will get to crash a bit earlier. But the ease of checking into the same hotel as your 2nd & 3rd nights right from the get-go may trump the inconvenience of having to do a round-trip on NRT hotel's shuttle bus and having to unpack and pack an extra one time.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 6:36 pm
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I would fly to Haneda and take a cab.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 8:14 pm
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Originally Posted by ainternational
I would fly to Haneda and take a cab.
Exactly.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 9:46 pm
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Agree with the above. Sometimes it pays to pay a little more for efficiency. The cab from HND will cost a little more than the various train/cab options from NRT but it will be worth the extra to get to the hotel on the first night.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 10:05 pm
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Also if you're not too tired theres as much to do in Tokyo in the middle of the night as during the day. I wouldn't bother staying by NRT unless you had work early the next morning, and even then I'm assuming it would be around Shinjuku not Narita, so still better to get to the hotel the first night.
I'd choose Haneda if the cost was similar.
I've flown to NRT many times but only because of price. All being equal I'd choose HND.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 3:11 am
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Originally Posted by ainternational
I would fly to Haneda and take a cab.

+1
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 8:17 am
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Originally Posted by ainternational
I would fly to Haneda and take a cab.
I would be tempted to hop on the Monorail if you make it through Immigration in time then get a much cheaper cab (or Uber) from Hamamatsuchō, but then I'm just weird! Would definitely rather fly into HND given these two options though.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 8:50 am
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Just for the reference. Taxi from Haneda International Terminal to Shinjyku station, that time of the day will be late evening surcharge on taxi.

Taxi fare: 10,010 yen (approximate)
Express way toll: 1,300 yen (cash) or 760 (ETC)

Assume worse situation where taxi will charge cash price for express way, total will be 11,310 yen or US$ 100.07.

As for public transport:

Limousine Bus has departure from Haneda International Terminal as late as 2:20 a.m. to Shinjuku station, fare is 2000 yen. Alight, will post bus schedule. Departing International Terminal to Shinjuku station at:

11:40 p.m.
12:20 a.m.
01:00 a.m.
01:40 a.m.
02:20 a.m.

Last train option from Haneda International Terminal is monorail departing International Terminal 12:10 midnight, transfer to Yamanote Line arriving at Shinjuku at 1:00 a.m., fare is 690 yen.

Last edited by AlwaysAisle; Feb 21, 2017 at 9:15 am
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 9:00 am
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Narita is farther out and Haneda is closer, but with those arrival times, pretty much either airport will get you into Shinjuku at roughly around midnight (give or take on various factors).

If the flight into Narita is substantially cheaper, I'd go with NRT, if the costs are about the same then HND. Taxi can be expensive but there are cheaper bus options and train options as well.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 3:59 pm
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Originally Posted by AlwaysAisle
Just for the reference. Taxi from Haneda International Terminal to Shinjyku station, that time of the day will be late evening surcharge on taxi.

Taxi fare: 10,010 yen (approximate)
Express way toll: 1,300 yen (cash) or 760 (ETC)

Assume worse situation where taxi will charge cash price for express way, total will be 11,310 yen or US$ 100.07.
FLAT RATE taxi: 8500 (10pm - 5am)
Toll: 1300

No reservation required going into town.

http://www.taxi-tokyo.or.jp/english/teigaku/qa.html

http://www.haneda-tokyo-access.com/e...port/taxi.html
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 7:51 pm
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Unless you're a business traveler who's constantly flying in/out of TYO, or you're a stickler for cabs to/from airport (for which NRT would simply not be an option for most), I just think the notion of HND>NRT in terms of convenience is a bit overblown. Especially if you're talking about Shinjuku.

Bottom-line: go with the cheaper option.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 10:38 pm
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Originally Posted by evergrn
Bottom-line: go with the cheaper option.
And that's why for me, HND wins hands down. In a pinch, if for whatever reason I am unable to take the bus/train to the airport, taking a cab to HND is not prohibitively expensive.
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