dreaburn 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Hi everyone.... my first post here. i'm heading to Japan early March and it will be my first time there. i'm finding it a bit difficult to arrange travel from Tokyo to Hakuba. My flight gets in at 8pm so i can't take the Shinkansen as the last one leaves Tokyo at 10pm and i wouldn't have time to get to the JR station. Can anyone suggest any other ways of getting there? I want to avoid staying overnight in Tokyo and then going early the next morning. I was thinking about an overnight bus but haven't found decent websites with timetables. any help appreciated. dave Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 http://www.alpico.co.jp/access/express/index_e.html That is your best option Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 right, if you don't want to stay in Tokyo the bus from Shinjuku is a good option. A cheap one too. Keisei line goes to Tokyo Station, there you can catch the ringline to Shinjuku. You still have to hurry. Passport control can take time and the Keisei line also takes 90 Minutes for the 'normal' ¥1000 train. City transport then another 30 minutes. Link to post Share on other sites
dreaburn 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 Kraut_in_HongKong, The bus from Shinjuku leaves at 10:30. Assuming i land on time at 8:10 and got through customs by 9, is it feasible to get to Shinjuku and find the bus in 1.5 hours? Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan.Com#2 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Some info here: http://www.snowjapan.com/e/spotlight/hakuba-village.html Link to post Share on other sites
JPchucky 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 The time you stated is surely cuttin it close. The fastest way is to take Keisei line to Nish-Nippori and transfer to the Yamanote line > Shinjuku. Link to post Share on other sites
JPchucky 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Actually, you would have to be on the train by 8:40, which may be possible. Everytime I've flown into Japan the arrival time has been figured by the time you'll get out of customs. Ofcourse that's not guaranteed but... You should be in Shinjuku by 10:10 because that station is huge, and quite confusing with people everywhere going everywhich direction. If your on the train by 8:40 you'll arrive in Shinjuku at 10:11 assuming you know how to transfer trains, and know exactly where your going. Heres a website for train times: http://www.hyperdia.com Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by dReaburn: Kraut_in_HongKong, The bus from Shinjuku leaves at 10:30. Assuming i land on time at 8:10 and got through customs by 9, is it feasible to get to Shinjuku and find the bus in 1.5 hours? From the gates I suggest you rush to the passport check ASAP. No looking, no washroom, just move! I also suggest to get all possible information about airport transport. In your case you may want to consider on of the faster ¥3000 trains to the city. They take about 1 hour. But I am not sure about spending all night in the bus. I am sure I would have a problem to sleep there. Link to post Share on other sites
me jane 0 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Sounds stressful to me. As its your first time to Japan and your not familiar with the train system, I'd just plan to stay the night in Tokyo. Least then you can book somewhere in advance and know where you are going rather than risk getting stranded in Shinjuku at 10:30 at night with no-where to go. Another option would be to rent a car at the airport and drive up - depending on how many of you there are and how tired you will be. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Kraut_in_HongKong: Keisei line goes to Tokyo Station, there you can catch the ringline to Shinjuku. Really? I thought Keisei line is till Ueno. People tell me Ueno is a bit inconvenient to change train from Keisei line to Yamanote line and opposite because Keisei Ueno and JR Ueno station are a bit far apart. So usually people seem to change train at Nippori ( 1 station before Ueno if it's from Narita ). Yamanote line is a loop line, you will reach Shinjuku whichever (Sotomawari : driven clockwise or Uchimawari : driven counterclockwise ) you take. I think Uchimawari is quicker (25 mins ) than Sotomawari (35 mins) if it's from Nippori to Shinjuku. One point you have to note is, there might be some Uchimawari trains bound for Ohsaki , Shinagawa or Tokyo, Sotomawari do for Ikebukuro etc. They don't take you to Shinjku, they quit service on the way. Don't worry then, wait for next train. Maybe service available every 5-10 minutes even at night. Good luck Link to post Share on other sites
dreaburn 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 thanks for the replies. Definitely helped. i think i'll stay a night in Tokyo and take an early train to Nagano. Hyperdia has one listed at 6:24 and getting in at 8am so should be fine. Definitely don't want to be stressed my first time in Japan! what's the best way to buy a Shinkansen ticket? Should i pre-buy it from Australia or wait til i get there? thanks again for your help Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Shinkansen and Narita express are both JR line, so if you take both, maybe JR-East pass might be cheaper than purchasing tickets trip by trip. http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass/prices.html JR-East flexible 4 day pass is 20,000 yen, so if Narita express plus Shinkansen Asama costs more than 10,000 yen for one way, you had better get a JR-East pass, I guess. But you need to get something like a voucher for it BEFORE you leave your country. People live in Japan can never get the pass. Only foreign tourists with the vouchers can. Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 gamera You are of course correct! If you take Keisei line you should get off at Nippori. The 2 Ueno stations are 130m apart. That's still manageable. dReaburn I don't know from where you fly in, but spending presumably a few hours in an airplane, travelling 2 hours through Tokyo, spending a few hours in the bus, arriving Hakuba at 05:30 or so - does not sound like a relaxing way to start the holiday. Link to post Share on other sites
JPchucky 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Well in that case. Maybe you can come stay at my place and I can go up with ya for the day. Email comin. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 you can buy the pass inthe country at JTB. do a google search JR east 4 day flexible pass. you need your passport and plane ticket to prove that you are not living here. Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 If you just go to Hakuba then the JR pass is not much use. It's costs 20,000 - but the single journey to Nagano is only 7500 or so. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 if you take the narita express then the shink and the train to hakuba it is cheaper to buy the pass, not much cheaper but cheaper. Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: if you take the narita express then the shink and the train to hakuba it is cheaper to buy the pass, not much cheaper but cheaper. GOOD POINT! I din't thought about the airport transfer. Link to post Share on other sites
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