If it is your first time there, it can be pretty overwhelming the moment you touch down in Narita. You can either take a limousine bus to Tokyo, or you can take the Narita Express. I am purely speaking from my experience here, and I have taken both forms of transport. The limousine bus takes about 2 hours to reach Tokyo, including traffic jams etc. They do take you to the doorstep of some hotels in Tokyo though, so if you are staying in one of those hotels they go to, then it is convenient for you. The train takes about an hour to reach Shinjuku. If you are using the Suica + N’Ex, you pay ¥3,500, which includes a value of ¥2,000 in the stored value Suica card. If bought separately, these two would have cost ¥5,110. You save money!
If you plan on travelling outside of Tokyo, you can get the JR Pass. This pass cost ¥28,300 for 7 days, ¥45,100 for 14 days and ¥57,700 for 21 days. These are all Ordinary class tickets, but they are valid for travel on all JR lines, including Hikari Shinkansen aka bullet train. A trip to Kyoto and back and you will almost cover the price of the JR Pass. In addition, if you get the JR Pass, it includes a ride on the Narita Express and back, provided you arrival and departure dates fall within the time period specified on your JR Pass.
On the same note, if you are planning to travel out of Tokyo on the Shinkansen, regardless of whether you have the JR Pass, it is preferable if you reverse your seats in advance. You will not like the nasty surprise when you are ready and eager to take the train to Osaka and when you reach the train station the seats are all occupied.
If you are adventurous enough and want to travel to Miyajima, which is near to Hiroshima, you can even use your JR Pass to take the ferry to Miyajima because it can be used! I am not advertising for JR Pass, but during my last trip there I was using the JR Pass and found it really convenient and cost effective because I did travel to Kyoto. In my next trip I plan to go to places more far away from Tokyo, so I am getting the JR Pass again. If you are in Singapore, during certain times of the year, JTB offers a 5% discount on the price of the JR Pass.
Join me next time as I let you know what are the hot items to buy in Japan!
