Japan
Getting from Narita Airport to Tokyo
Narita Airport is about 60 kilometers east of central Tokyo. Most travelers choose one of four ways to reach the city: the Keisei Skyliner, the Narita Express, the Airport Limousine Bus, or a taxi. Trains are the fastest option. Buses suit travelers staying at hotels along their routes, and taxis cost the most but go directly to the door.
Fares are in Japanese yen (¥), as each operator publishes them. Most official fare pages show no revision date, so the figures below reflect each page when it was last checked. Confirm the fare and timetable on the operator’s live page before you buy, and again on the day of travel.
Keisei Skyliner and Access Express
The Keisei Skyliner is the fastest route to the eastern side of central Tokyo. It runs from Narita Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 2·3 to Nippori, Keisei-Ueno, and other stations, and it is a reserved-seat express. Keisei’s official fare table lists a cash fare of ¥2,470 to Nippori, ¥2,630 to Tokyo, ¥2,670 to Shinjuku, ¥2,640 to Ikebukuro, and ¥2,940 to Omiya. Children pay half. The Nippori fare paid with an IC card, such as Suica, is ¥2,465. The Tokyo fare is built from a Yamanote Line fare added to the Skyliner fare, because the Skyliner stops at Nippori and you transfer there. You pay one total, so the parts do not need separate tickets.
On the official weekday timetable, the Skyliner takes about 36 to 50 minutes to Nippori, depending on the train. A sample weekday departure leaves Terminal 1 at 10:59 and reaches Nippori at 11:38. During the day, a train leaves about every 20 minutes. The weekday timetable lists the first departure from Narita at about 7:26 and the last departure from Terminal 1 at 23:20. Check the weekend and holiday rows on Keisei’s site before you plan a late arrival or a very early departure.
The cheaper sibling is the Access Express. Its official fare page lists a cash fare of ¥1,240 to Nippori, ¥910 to Shin Kamagaya, ¥1,120 to Aoto, ¥1,170 to Oshiage, ¥1,290 to Asakusa, ¥1,330 to Shimbashi, and ¥1,520 to Shinagawa. The Access Express costs about half the Skyliner’s fare to Nippori. The fare page does not state whether the two trains differ in seat type or luggage space, so confirm those details before you assume the Access Express is an equal substitute. Keisei’s own page uses the name "Access Express," so look for that name on the platform.
Narita Express
The Narita Express, usually shortened to N’EX, is run by JR East and goes to Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Yokohama. Every N’EX train requires a seat reservation. The JR East English ticket page lists an ordinary fare of ¥3,070 to Tokyo, ¥3,250 to Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro, and ¥4,370 to Yokohama. JR East’s multi-language version of the fare page lists ¥3,140, ¥3,330, and ¥4,480 for the same stops. The two pages show different figures, so check JR East’s current fare table on the day you book. Green Car fares also differ between the pages, so confirm that figure before you budget for first class.
JR East’s official round-trip product for N’EX, valid for 14 days, costs ¥5,200. Confirm with JR East whether a Japan Rail Pass covers the N’EX before you buy a pass for this route.
The N’EX takes roughly 50 to 65 minutes to Tokyo Station, with departures every 30 to 60 minutes. Confirm the first and last N’EX departures on JR East’s site, because a late arrival on a N’EX train depends on the last departure.
Choose the N’EX when your hotel sits near Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shibuya, or Shinjuku and you want a direct ride with no transfer. The Skyliner is the faster option to Nippori and Ueno and the better match for travelers headed to the east side of the city.
Airport Limousine Bus
The Airport Limousine Bus runs direct to hotels and stops across central Tokyo. Its Tokyo Station route page lists a fare of ¥3,100 for adults and ¥1,550 for children to Tokyo Station and the Tokyo City Air Terminal (TCAT), the bus terminal near the station. The Shinjuku route page lists ¥3,600 for adults and ¥1,800 for children. Neither page gives a date, so confirm the fare on the operator’s site before you book.
Journey times are the weak point. The operator’s pages do not give a travel time. The trip takes 60 to 120 minutes to Tokyo Station and about 105 minutes to Shinjuku, and traffic drives most of the variation, so a bus at rush hour can take far longer than a train. The official timetable covers departures from today through the next two months, and the timetable’s snapshot shows a first bus at 7:15 from Terminal 3, 7:20 from Terminal 2, and 7:25 from Terminal 1, reaching TCAT at 8:45 and Tokyo Station at 9:05. The snapshot lists only one bus, so check the first and last departures for the full day on the timetable.
Service hours vary by route, and the first and last departures differ between the Tokyo Station and Shinjuku services. Check the hours on the operator’s timetable before you book a late flight.
Reservations can be made online. You can also buy tickets at the counter or from ticket machines on the day, and the operator accepts cash, cards, and transport IC cards. Passengers show a QR ticket when they board. The Shinjuku route runs on a seat-capacity basis with fares paid on board, which is a separate product from the reserved service to Tokyo Station.
The bus suits travelers whose hotel sits on or near its stops, and it saves a transfer for anyone with several bags. The trade-off is time: a train into Tokyo is usually faster, and the bus costs about ¥1,500 more than the Skyliner to Nippori.
Budget buses
Budget buses cost less than the Limousine Bus. The Airport Bus TYO-NRT costs ¥1,500 by day and ¥3,000 for late-night and early-morning runs, with a stop at Tokyo Station on the Yaesu side. The trip takes about 60 to 90 minutes, with departures every 10 to 20 minutes. Before you rely on this bus, check the operator’s site for the current fare and the last departure, because the late-night fare is three times the daytime fare.
Taxis and zone fares
A taxi is the only option that drops you at a specific address. The airport operates a fixed-fare taxi service priced by zone. The airport’s official fare table, which is in Japanese and undated, lists Zone A, which covers Edogawa, Katsushika, and Adachi wards, at ¥23,500 via the Keiyo Road and ¥26,500 via the Shuto Expressway Wangan Line. Zone C costs ¥29,000 via the Keiyo Road and ¥31,000 via the Wangan Line. Expressway tolls are charged on top of the fixed fare. A late-night and early-morning surcharge applies from 22:00 to 05:00, and the table also lists a surcharge for the Aqua-Line route.
Because the zone fares are fixed, the taxi stand is where the figure matters. The fare table covers zones A and C in the research, and boundaries for the other zones were not captured, so find the zone for your address on the airport’s taxi page before you queue. A revised fixed fare for trips departing Narita Airport takes effect on 16 March 2026. Check the current zone figures at the stand or with the airport before you book.
A regular taxi to central Tokyo runs from about ¥21,000 to ¥28,200, and the higher figure is the one that excludes tolls. Shared taxis are a cheaper option at about ¥5,980 per person with tolls included. Tokyo Taxi Group publishes its own zone table at lower prices, but its zone names do not match the airport’s zones, so the two sets are not directly comparable. Expect to pay the tolls yourself on the airport table, and ask the driver which route they plan to use.
Which option to choose
The cheapest choice is the budget bus at ¥1,500 by day, followed by the Access Express to Nippori at ¥1,240, which requires a transfer. The fastest choice is the Skyliner to Ueno or Nippori, or the N’EX to Tokyo Station. The most convenient is a taxi, which costs roughly ¥23,500 to ¥31,000 under the airport’s zone table. The Limousine Bus sits between these: it costs ¥3,100 to Tokyo Station, takes longer than a train, and saves you a transfer.
Your hotel location settles most of the decision. A hotel near Tokyo Station or Shinjuku can make the N’EX or the Limousine Bus the simplest route. A hotel in the east of the city suits the Skyliner, and a hotel reached only by a short walk from a train station is a reason to pick a train over a taxi. Heavy luggage tilts the decision toward a taxi or a bus, because commuter trains and stairs at transfer stations make bags harder to manage. For a late arrival, a taxi carries the most certainty, but you will pay the late-night surcharge, which applies from 22:00 to 05:00. Confirm whether the train or bus you plan to use still runs after you land, because last departures vary the most by route.
Checking the details before you travel
Confirm the details with the operator on the day of travel, and start with the fares that differ across pages. Look up the N’EX ordinary and Green fares on JR East’s live fare table, and confirm whether a Japan Rail Pass covers the route with JR East directly. Pull up the Skyliner timetable on Keisei’s site for the weekend and holiday rows, and confirm the Access Express seat and luggage features before you choose the cheaper train. Review the Limousine Bus hours and journey time on its timetable page, and confirm the airport’s zone fares and the taxi surcharges at the stand. Keep the timetable page open when you book, because the operator’s timetable covers only the next two months.
Quick picks
- Pick the Skyliner for speed to the east side: The Skyliner reaches Nippori in about 36 to 50 minutes on the official weekday timetable, at ¥2,470 in cash.
- Pick the Access Express to save money: Its fare to Nippori is ¥1,240, half the Skyliner fare, but confirm the seat and luggage differences before you book.
- Pick the Limousine Bus for hotels on its route: Fares are ¥3,100 to Tokyo Station and ¥3,600 to Shinjuku, but the trip takes 60 to 120 minutes depending on traffic.
- Check the N’EX fare and hours before you book: JR East pages list the ordinary fare to Tokyo as either ¥3,070 or ¥3,140, and confirm the first and last train times on JR East’s timetable.
- Budget for tolls and the late-night surcharge with a taxi: Airport zone fares start at ¥23,500 in Zone A and ¥29,000 in Zone C, tolls are extra, and the surcharge applies from 22:00 to 05:00.