Getting around Tokyo

Getting inHow you arrive in Tokyo

Haneda Airport (15–30 min to the centre) · Narita Airport in Chiba (60–90 min) · Tokyo Station (shinkansen)

Confirmed journey times

Fastest services, checked on the date shown.

From Haneda — two ways: Both are quick and neither is wrong. Keikyu via Shinagawa: airport to Shinagawa in about 14–15 minutes (¥330), then Tokyo Station in 7–11 minutes — about 30 minutes in total for around ¥510. Monorail via Hamamatsucho: airport to Hamamatsucho in about 18–19 minutes (¥520), then Tokyo Station in about 6 minutes — about 35 minutes for around ¥690.
Checked 2026-08-16
Which to choose: Keikyu is slightly faster and cheaper. The monorail is JR-affiliated and is covered by a Japan Rail Pass; Keikyu is a private railway and is not. If you hold a pass, take the monorail.
Checked 2026-08-16
From Narita: Narita is in Chiba, not Tokyo. Narita Express to Tokyo Station in about 60 minutes (JR, covered by a rail pass); Keisei Skyliner as little as 36 minutes to Nippori (private, not covered); Access Express about 70–80 minutes for a third of the price.
Checked 2026-08-16
Inside the city: Get an IC card and stop thinking about fares. Rush hour is 07:30–09:00 and it is as tight as the photographs suggest — travel outside it if you have a suitcase.
Checked 2026-08-16

A Japan Rail Pass does not cover Nozomi or Mizuho. What a rail pass covers

In this prefecture you will probably use Tokyo Metro and many private lines — a private railway, not JR. A Japan Rail Pass does not cover it.

An IC card works on most of them. Signs and station names are in English.

Worth it the moment you leave the main city. What you need to drive here

Permit neededDrive left

Clean, safe and metered. Show the address on your phone rather than saying it. Doors are often opened for you.

Show the address

City: Usually around midnight
Country: Far earlier — sometimes mid-afternoon. Ask at the stop when you arrive, not when you want to leave
If you miss it: Ask your inn to call a taxi before the last bus goes, not after

ATMs: Use 7-Eleven or Japan Post for a foreign card. Bank ATMs are hit and miss
Carry: ¥10,000–20,000 on a day out of the city. Rural areas have very little
Small places: Cash only is common. Ask “Card OK?” before you order

Lockers: At the main station, paid by IC card. They fill by mid-morning
Send it: Any convenience store will deliver it to your next hotel, usually next day. Cheaper than carrying it up stairs
At your inn: They will hold it before check-in and after check-out