Transport between Narita Airport-Tokyo-TDR

[lozzypop]

We are vising Tokyo for the first time in May. It will be me (52) and my daughter (20). We have a week in Tokyo, but our primary focus is going to be Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea. We are travelling from Vancouver to Narita on a Saturday and staying at a hotel in Shibuya for the first few days before transferring to a hotel in TDR (hopefully the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel which I finally get to book tomorrow!)

I am torn between whether we should use the Narita Express or the Limousine bus from Narita to Shibuya. I know the bus has only just started running in the past month or two, and has a limited timetable. But it does stop right at our hotel and it would be nice to not have to drag luggage onto a train and keep track of it there and walk to our hotel after arriving. Only a 6 minute walk I grant you, but it will be after a long day travelling.

Does anyone have any input on the pros/cons of Narita Express vs the Limousine bus?

We plan to take the limousine bus from TDR to Narita on the Saturday when we leave - will the front desk assist with pre-booking transportation, or will I have to book that myself?

Lastly, I was agonizing over the best/easiest way to transfer from Shibuya to TDR on a weekday. I know we can navigate the train system, but again it is dealing with the luggage that is putting me off. We should be able to get a cab for $80 - $110 and it will take about 20 minutes. Aside from the cost, is there any reason why this isn't a good plan? (Note - not going to use Uber for my own reasons) The time savings is a huge bonus for me on that particular day since it will be my daughter's birthday.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I usually prefer the Limousine bus when my flight arrives in time to make it work. Remember that it can take some time for you to exit immigration and figure out how to buy tickets.

The Narita Express is more comfortable but I don't think it's worth the price given that you won't be buying a round trip. Navigating Shibuya can be intimidating if you've never been there before.

The front desk will be able to help you with making reservations for the bus when you leave.

Another option is the bus from Shinjuku bus terminal to TDR. It'll be slightly more expensive than the train but cheaper than a taxi. They have space for your luggage and should be able to drop you off directly at your TDR hotel but only go to TDR in the morning since it's mainly for people trying to get into the parks. A taxi will definitely be the easiest though. And I don't recommend Uber in situations where you don't have a local account with a local phone number and actually understand the language.

 

[CanucksRock]

We were not able to take bus as it was sold out. But we did just fine taking 2 trains + monorail to get to TDR with all our luggage.

 

[Kwami]

One thing to keep in mind is that it can take quite a while to get through everything when you arrive. I usually plan three hours for getting off the plane, going through immigration, getting my luggage, going through customs, exchanging some currency, buying N'EX tickets, riding to Tokyo station, and taking a taxi to wherever I'm going (usually Akasaka). The train and taxi is probably about half that time, so figure an hour or maybe an hour and a half for all the rest.

Basically, make sure that you have time to get to the bus if that's what you're planning to do.

Also, note that the N'EX has luggage racks so that you don't really have to keep track of your luggage while you relax on the train. Not so much for the subways, though.

 

[lozzypop]

Thanks for the input everyone! The Narita Express is our second choice after the Limousine bus. It’s the walk from Shibuya station to our hotel that is the sticking point.

We land at 3pm so I think we can make the bus, but if not the NEX will be fine

 

[MasonsG]

We just stayed in Shibuya and depending on where your hotel is, moving the luggage might be simple or challenging. When we were in the final stages of booking, the Limousine bus (that we used 15 years ago) was not yet running so they had booked a shuttle transfer for us. But getting the luggage to the Shinkensan via the metro was difficult because they are undergoing a massive renovation of the JR entry right now at Shibuya- so it depends on which side you are accessing it. We had to do one set of outdoor stairs, guessing 20 steps, and then the rest we could mostly use escalators and elevators but we often had to walk quite a ways further to hunt them out. depending on the metro line you need it could be worse. We used the M line and it involved more stairs coming back from Osaka. To take the luggage on the metro, if you have both a checked bag and a carryon it really helps to strap one on top of the other to take it on the metro. I cannot begin to tell you how kind the people of Japan are.
We only took the Express bus over to DisneySea for the day we went, rather than hotel over there, that worked out better for us, if you are going to the parks multiple days then it would be worth staying closer. But the express bus from Shinjuku (40 min) let us off right at the park entrance, very nice. BTW, the crowds were staggering and yet they moved So MUCH Faster than they do here in CA or in FL. We arrived 33 minutes to opening and they started letting people in at 30 minutes early, it looked like10 times as many as I would see here in the US and yet we were still through bag check and inside the turnstyles with still 5 min before 9am, it was amazing. So well done!!

 

[Kwami]

We only took the Express bus over to DisneySea for the day we went, rather than hotel over there, that worked out better for us, if you are going to the parks multiple days then it would be worth staying closer. But the express bus from Shinjuku (40 min) let us off right at the park entrance, very nice.

Another option is the Tokyo metro. The Yurakucho (Y, gold) line stops at Maihama, which is adjacent to the TDR monorail station. Lots of nice Disney decorations at Maihama station, too!