An E259 series Narita Express near Motoyawata, photographed on 2024-05-24. Photo: Takeshi Aida / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; cropped and resized. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
For Ueno or Nippori, choose Skyliner; for Shinjuku or Shibuya, choose N’EX; for Tokyo Station or Ginza, choose TYO-NRT. For Asakusa, Nihombashi or Higashi-ginza on a smaller budget, take Access Express. Choose Airport Limousine if it stops at your hotel or each traveller has two large bags.
Five options: one-way fares and journey times
These are ordinary adult one-way fares checked in October 2026, including applicable rail limited-express charges. Journey times refer to the terminals and stations shown.
ServiceDestinationAdult one-way fareJourney timeSkylinerNippori, Keisei UenoOrdinary paper ticket: ¥2,580Airport Terminal 2·3 Station to Nippori: fastest 36 minutes; Keisei Ueno: fastest 41 minutesAccess ExpressAsakusa, Nihombashi, Higashi-ginzaPaper ticket: Asakusa ¥1,290; Nihombashi/Higashi-ginza ¥1,330Airport Terminal 2·3 Station to Asakusa: about 50 minutes; Higashi-ginza: about 62 minutesNarita Express (N’EX)Tokyo, Shibuya, Shinjuku and other stationsTokyo ¥3,140; Shibuya/Shinjuku ¥3,330T1 to Shibuya: 75 minutes; Shinjuku: 81 minutes, using train No. 28 as an exampleTYO-NRTTokyo Station, GinzaRegular services: ¥1,500T1 to Tokyo: about 68 minutes; Ginza: about 81 minutesAirport Limousine, Shinjuku routeShinjuku West Exit, Busta Shinjuku and designated hotels¥3,600T2 to Shinjuku West Exit: about 85–110 minutes on the timetable
The N’EX example comes from the October 2026 timetable: train No. 28 leaves T1 at 14:20, reaching Shibuya at 15:35 and Shinjuku at 15:41. Allow additional time for immigration, baggage collection and waiting. Buses are affected by road traffic; consult the timetable for your specific hotel stop.
Choose your route by accommodation area
Ueno/Nippori: Skyliner. All seats are reserved and the carriages have luggage space. Stay on to the terminus for accommodation near Keisei Ueno. To connect to the JR Yamanote Line, use Nippori's upper-level B transfer gate, paying for the JR segment with a JR ticket or a transport IC card with sufficient balance.
Asakusa/Nihombashi/Higashi-ginza: Access Express. Choose a service via Narita SKY ACCESS that runs through to the Toei Asakusa Line; no limited-express ticket is required. Transport IC fares are lower than paper fares: ¥1,276 to Asakusa and ¥1,318 to Nihombashi/Higashi-ginza, with the same fares from T1 and Airport Terminal 2·3 Station. Check the destination and select a service towards the Toei Asakusa Line, as some Access services head towards Keisei Ueno. For these neighbourhoods, a direct service avoids changing after travelling to Ueno.
Shinjuku/Shibuya: N’EX. Select your destination and reserve a seat when buying the ticket, then travel on the specified train and seat. This suits travellers staying near a JR station.
Tokyo Station/Ginza: TYO-NRT. Buses arrive at Tokyo Station's Nihombashi Exit. Airport-bound services depart from stops 7/8 outside the Yaesu South Exit; see the official stop map. For Ginza, choose a service stopping there, near Ginza Station Exit C4.
Shinjuku hotels: Airport Limousine. Choose a service calling at hotels such as Keio Plaza, Hyatt Regency Tokyo, Shinjuku Washington or Hilton Tokyo. For accommodation near the station, choose Shinjuku West Exit [in front of Keio Department Store] or Busta Shinjuku.
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Official discount tickets: what does a return trip for two cost?
Non-Japanese nationals living outside Japan can buy the official Skyliner online discount: ¥2,310 one way or ¥4,500 return per adult. Bring your passport and exchange code/QR code. Return tickets must be exchanged at Narita T1 or Airport Terminal 2·3 Station, where you receive the outbound ticket and a return exchange voucher. Exchange the return voucher and reserve a seat for the journey back.
Travellers with non-Japanese passports returning between Narita and the Tokyo area within 14 days can choose the N’EX TOKYO Round Trip Ticket for ¥5,200 per adult. Show your own passport when collecting it at a Narita station. It includes one airport-to-city journey and one city-to-airport journey, with ordinary-class reserved seats included. The city stations can differ between journeys. Continuous JR transfers within the designated Tokyo area are also included if you remain within the gates on the same journey.
For one adult, two ordinary Skyliner singles total ¥5,160, so the official return ticket saves ¥660. Two ordinary N’EX singles to/from Shinjuku or Shibuya total ¥6,660, so the eligible return ticket saves ¥1,460. Once your return date is set, choose the appropriate ticket.
The following assumes two adults each travelling once in each direction, between the airport and the destinations listed. Separately purchased city connections cost extra.
Option and destinationCalculationTotal return cost for twoRegular TYO services: Tokyo/Ginza1,500×4¥6,000Official Skyliner return: Ueno/Nippori4,500×2¥9,000Eligible N’EX 14-day return: Shinjuku/Shibuya5,200×2¥10,400Ordinary Limousine tickets, Shinjuku route3,600×4¥14,400
For two people, daytime TYO return journeys cost ¥3,000 less than the discounted Skyliner option, but TYO serves Tokyo/Ginza while Skyliner serves Ueno/Nippori. Choose the arrival stop by accommodation location, then add any separately payable city connections. If each person has two large cases and Limousine stops at your hotel, a direct hotel service reduces luggage handling during transfers.
Boarding, tickets and luggage
Rail: use Narita Airport Station for T1 and Airport Terminal 2·3 Station for T2/T3; T3 travellers first go to the T2 station. Skyliner and N’EX require the basic fare, limited-express ticket and a seat reservation. Using Suica for the basic fare still requires a separate limited-express ticket. Access Express uses the ordinary fare.
TYO-NRT: board at T1 stop 7, T2 stop 6 or T3 stop 5. At the airport, first buy a ticket for a specified departure at the counter, then choose any available seat onboard. Arrive at the stop five minutes before departure; T3 uses the yellow-and-green LCB counter. For daytime returns from Tokyo Station, buy at the JR express bus ticket office if paying by cash or credit card; transport IC cards can be used onboard.
Luggage: TYO accepts one bag in the hold per person, with combined dimensions up to 158cm. Limousine accepts up to two per person, each no more than 30kg and 50×60×120cm. Carry power banks and items containing lithium-ion batteries into the passenger cabin. N’EX's larger luggage areas require no reservation and are available first come, first served.
Late arrivals and the return journey
Under the current TYO timetable, the last Tokyo Station-bound departure leaves T3 at 23:20, T2 at 23:25 and T1 at 23:30, reaching the Nihombashi Exit at 00:38. It does not continue to Ginza. Late-night services from 23:00 to 04:59 cost ¥3,000 per adult. Pay onboard by cash or transport IC card; credit cards are not accepted.
Airport-bound departures from Tokyo Station between 05:00 and 06:00 retain the regular ¥1,500 fare. The ticket office is not yet open, so pay onboard by cash or transport IC card; credit cards are not accepted. Hotel guests can use the Limousine timetable to Narita to choose a hotel boarding point.
From the evening of 6 November to the morning of 8 November 2026, engineering work suspends some N’EX services between Tokyo and Shinjuku/Ofuna, with airport services turning at Tokyo. See the JR engineering notice for affected trains.
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