Tokyo Arrival Guide: Haneda or Narita, Suica, and How the City Actually Works

Which airport will you land at — and what does it mean?

Tokyo has two international gateways and the difference is enormous. Haneda (HND) sits inside the city, on the bay south of the centre: international arrivals clear immigration into a hall with a monorail station (to Hamamatsucho, about 20 minutes) and Keikyu trains (to Shinagawa and through-running onto the Asakusa subway line) — door-to-door times of 20–35 minutes are normal, which makes Haneda the only airport where landing and standing in your hotel room within the hour is a realistic plan. Narita (NRT) is not in Tokyo at all: it is 60-odd kilometres northeast in Chiba Prefecture, and every transfer plan starts from the fact that you are 60–90 minutes from anywhere central regardless of train or bus.

Neither airport is "wrong": Narita hosts a huge share of the world's long-haul carriers and often prices below Haneda for the same dates. The right mental model is a fare-vs-time trade — compare total door-to-door cost, and note that a Haneda arrival buys you a first evening in the city that a Narita arrival spends on trains. If you land at Narita late at night, check the last N'EX/Skyliner times before assuming a train exists; after they stop, airport limousine buses and (expensive) taxis are what is left.

Getting into Tokyo: monorail, Keikyu, N'EX, Skyliner and the budget trains

From Haneda: the Tokyo Monorail runs to Hamamatsucho (Yamanote/JR interchange, about 20 minutes, around ¥500); Keikyu limited expresses run to Shinagawa in about 15 minutes and continue directly onto the Toei Asakusa subway line, which is why many travellers ride one train from the airport platform to Asakusa or beyond without changing. Fares are in the few-hundred-yen range — the cheapest airport-to-city rail of any major world city. Taxis from Haneda to the centre are expensive (several tens of thousands of yen is possible in the worst cases), so the rail default is strong.

From Narita: the Narita Express (N'EX) is the comfort option — reserved seats, about 55 minutes to Tokyo Station, ~¥3,070, with direct services onward to Shinjuku, Shibuya and Yokohama. The Keisei Skyliner is the speed option to the northeast — about 40 minutes to Ueno, ~¥2,570 — ideal if your hotel is on the Yamanote's east side or you are connecting to the Shinkansen at Ueno/Tokyo. The budget plays: the Keisei access trains (the ordinary, all-stations services, ~¥1,050, 70–90 minutes) and the low-cost discount buses. There is no single "best": N'EX for west-side hotels, Skyliner for east-side and Ueno, access train for the patient. Buy tickets at the airport counters or machines; IC cards cover the ordinary trains but not the N'EX/Skyliner reserved seats.

One word on luggage: Japan moves bags beautifully but the last hundred metres to a hotel can involve stairs, and the trains above all have luggage racks rather than holds — the takkyubin (luggage forwarding) counters at both airports will send a suitcase to your hotel for next-day delivery for a modest fee, which is the single best first-day quality-of-life purchase in Japan.

First-day practicalities: Welcome Suica, cash, SIMs and the Japanese rhythms

Get an IC card immediately: the Welcome Suica, sold at Haneda and Narita for tourists, requires no ¥500 deposit (the regular Suica's card fee), loads from ¥1,500, and works for 28 days — enough for virtually every trip. One tap rides every JR line, metro, private railway, bus and convenience store register. Note the 2026-era nuance: Suica and Pasmo are interoperable and you will not notice which is which; children ride half fare with a child IC card from the same counters (passport needed).

Cash is the honest second card: Japan is card-friendly in cities and konbini ATMs (7-Eleven, Post Office) accept foreign cards, but small ramen shops, temples and some izakaya remain cash-only — carry ¥10,000-ish at all times and the country opens fully. Buy a Japan or Asia eSIM before you fly; airport SIM desks work but queue.Jet lag is the invisible itinerary item: a European or American arrival usually lands in the afternoon with 6–12 hours of offset — the proven first-day plan is one walk (Shibuya crossing, a shrine at dusk), one konbini dinner, and a sleep aligned to local time, not a schedule.

Etiquette is simple and real: no phone calls on trains, queue in marked lines, keep your voice down in carriages, and let people off first. The machine rewards you for it: Tokyo's rail system runs with a frequency and precision that makes any taxi feel like a downgrade.

Getting around Tokyo: the two-company trap and the lines that matter

Tokyo's rail is a federation: JR (including the green Yamanote loop and the Chūō line) plus two metro companies (Tokyo Metro and Toei) plus private railways. The practical consequence: fares are per-operator, so an IC card handles every transfer automatically, but a rail pass that covers only JR covers only part of the city. The lines that matter to visitors: the Yamanote loop (Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Tokyo), the Chūō rapid (cross-city), Tokyo Metro's Ginza and Marunouchi lines (the postcard core), Toei's Oedo and Asakusa lines (the old town and Roppongi), and the Yurikamome for Odaiba's driverless bay ride. Google Maps handles all of it flawlessly, including platform numbers — trust it over any printed map.

Taxis are plentiful, spotless and expensive (flag fall several hundred yen, rapid escalation); the metro almost always wins. Buses matter in a few neighbourhoods. Walking is the secret system: Tokyo station-to-station distance is short, and the above-ground city — vending machines, tiny shrines between towers, konbini on every corner — is half the experience. One trap for the unwary: some stations (Shinjuku above all) are cities in themselves; follow the signs for your exit number, and if the app says "exit A4", exit A4 it is.

Where to base yourself: six districts, six trips

Shinjuku: the biggest transport hub on the planet plus nightlife, towers and the park — chaotic in the best way, unbeatable for day trips west. Shibuya: young Tokyo, crossing-and-commerce, strong on the Yamanote and two metro lines. Ginza and Tokyo Station: the elegant, central, businesslike core — best for first-timers who want calm streets and fast Shinkansen access. Asakusa: old Tokyo on the Sumida river — cheaper rooms, temple mornings, direct Keikyu access from Haneda. Ueno and Yanaka: museums, park, market streets and the city's best value, with the Skyliner at the doorstep for Narita. Roppongi and Azabu: galleries, embassies, late eating, and the Oedo line's long reach.

Hotel pricing is event-driven (cherry-blossom weeks, New Year, trade shows) and room size is the real luxury — Japanese business hotels are brilliant and small; a room that fits two large suitcases open simultaneously costs more. Compare dates, book refundable, and note that staying ON a Yamanote-line station beats being one metro-transfer away, because the loop line is the city's clock.

The mistakes that ruin first days

Landing at Narita and promising Shibuya by 15:00: Narita's 60–90 minutes is a planning input, not a footnote. Buying a JR Pass "because everyone says so": the nationwide pass prices rose in 2023 and now rarely pay off for Tokyo-only trips — regional passes and IC pay-as-you-go win almost every modern itinerary. Exchanging money at the airport counter: konbini ATMs and card payments beat it. Taxis for airport arrivals: rail beats them at both airports on almost every axis. Planning temples for Monday and museums for Sunday without checking: schedules vary and some close midweek. Skipping the konbini: it is a meal, a bank, a pharmacy and a cultural experience for a few hundred yen. And the classic: trying to "do" Shinjuku, Shibuya and Asakusa on day one — Tokyo repays one district per day, walked, with a train home and a konbini nightcap.

Day trips that earn their morning

Kamakura: an hour south on the JR Yokosuka line — the Great Buddha, temples, a beach and hiking trails in one compact town. Nikko: two hours north for the ornate Tōshō-gū shrines — a long day, worth it outside winter. Hakone: onsen, mountain railways and (with luck) Fuji views, 90 minutes with the Hakone Free Pass doing the arithmetic for you. Yokohama: 30 minutes, Chinatown and the harbour, criminally underrated. And within the city, Odaiba, Shimokitazawa and a sumo morning practice make "day trips" that never leave Tokyo.