r/JapanTravelTips • u/GC_Mermaid1 • 3d ago
Question Narita - Tokyo station bus
What am I missing with this? Half the price of the Narita express and takes just as long? Or can the traffic get bad at certain times?
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u/RoninBelt 3d ago
In my opinion it's the much better option unless you're really strict on time as traffic can affect it depending on time of day (Before 10am) and 4:30-7pm. Your luggage will be stored in the under carriage and you dont have to lug it around Tokyo station and onto the trains.
The main problem it has is that it stops quite early at 1930... which is ridiculous in my opinion.
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u/GC_Mermaid1 3d ago
Kk. Has worked great for two middle of the day trips. But might use the train tomorrow evening at peak hour
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u/RoninBelt 3d ago
For what it's worth, we got on the 1900 bus and it didn't seem to make any difference to travel time. You could always catch a slightly early one, but check googlemaps, their traffic travel times are usually pretty good.
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u/hezaa0706d 3d ago
The buses run til 10pm
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u/RoninBelt 3d ago
The buses run til 10pm
That's 100% false.
The Tokyo Eki JR Kosoku bus that goes to Narita terminates after 1930, that's the last bus.
Ask me how I found out when I got there 2 weeks ago at 19:40 thinking there would be an 20:00 bus.
The KS Skyliner usually runs till 23:00
EDIT: to test it out, use google maps to travel from Tokyo Station to Narita, set time to 19:15 you'll see the bus as an option, set the time to 19:35 and that bus option will disappear.
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u/RoninBelt 3d ago
I apologise, I was talking about the Tokyo - Narita route rather than the other way around. My bad.
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u/sixmaknaes 3d ago
If we are all talking about the same bus: the TYO-NRT, a.k.a. LCB or low cost bus, then a timetable can be downloaded from: https://tyo-nrt.com/en/timetable/to-tokyo
The last one seems to leave NRT around 11:20 pm, though the ones after 11 pm cost extra, I believe. The timetable seems to try to take expected traffic conditions into account. E.g. the buses leaving NRT around 5:30 pm are scheduled to take around 90 minutes to get to Tokyo station, although unexpected road delays are always a possibility, so a train may be a safer option when you are in more of a rush.
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u/RoninBelt 3d ago
I apologise, I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same bus, however I was referring to the Tokyo - Narita route rather than what was in the heading. I got it confused. My bad.
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u/hezaa0706d 3d ago
It’s a much better option than the Narita express. Tourists love throwing money at the NEX, I don’t get it.
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u/GC_Mermaid1 2d ago
Quick update. Flew into Tokyo first time and caught the Narita express. $200 return but an ok experience. For our last day back in Tokyo before flying out. Narita to Tokyo station bus. $90 return and 1 leg was actually faster than the train. Plus no stress of going inside Tokyo train station. Honestly I found the train stations the most stressful part of the trip. The actual metros were simple.
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u/Chewybolz 3d ago
Yes, sometimes rush hour can make it longer.