This is based on official information from railway companies and airports, among other sources, as of October 2026. Fares and times change with timetable revisions and the like. Check the official timetable for the day you travel.
You get off the plane, clear immigration and wheel your suitcase out into the arrivals lobby. Head toward the station, and the signs list 3 or even 4 train names. Narita Express, Skyliner, Access Express… Which one should you take? This is where you stop in your tracks.
The answer is simpler than you think. Pick the one train that goes all the way to the area where you’re staying, with no transfers. If there’s no direct train, keep transfers to as few as possible.
Airport trains are clearly split by where they go. Some go to Tokyo Station, some to Ueno, some to Asakusa. Once you know where you’re staying, your train is all but decided.
Just 3 things to check
- Where you’re staying (by station name)
- Which train gets you there in 1 ride (see the table below)
- If you have a JR Pass, whether that train is covered by the pass
Number 3 only matters if you have the nationwide JR Pass (JAPAN RAIL PASS). The trains you can take from the airport are either JR trains or non-JR trains (private railways and subways). The pass covers the JR ones, plus the Tokyo Monorail at Haneda. For trains the pass doesn’t cover, you simply pay the fare as usual.
The 5 airports at a glance
| Airport | Destinations | Direct train | Time (fastest, approx.) | Fare (adult, one way) | Nationwide JR Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narita | Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Yokohama | Narita Express (N’EX) | 53 min to Tokyo Station | Tokyo ¥3,140 / Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku ¥3,330 | Covered |
| Narita | Nippori, Ueno | Keisei Skyliner | 36 min to Nippori | ¥2,580 | Not covered |
| Narita | Oshiage, Asakusa | Keisei Access Express | About 45 min to 1 hour to Oshiage | Oshiage about ¥1,200 | Not covered |
| Haneda | Hamamatsucho (change to the JR Yamanote Line here) | Tokyo Monorail | 13 min to Hamamatsucho | ¥520 (¥720 on a through ticket to Tokyo Station) | Covered |
| Haneda | Shinagawa, Yokohama, Asakusa | Keikyu | 11 min to Shinagawa | Shinagawa ¥330 | Not covered |
| Kansai | Tennoji, Osaka, Shin-Osaka, Kyoto | Limited Express Haruka | About 80 min to Kyoto | Kyoto ¥3,590 reserved seat / ¥3,060 non-reserved seat | Covered |
| Kansai | Tennoji, Osaka | JR Kansai Airport Rapid | About 1 hour 10 min to Osaka | Osaka ¥1,180 | Covered |
| Kansai | Namba | Nankai Rapi:t | 34 min to Namba | About ¥1,670 | Not covered |
| Chubu | Kanayama, Meitetsu Nagoya | Meitetsu μSKY | About 30 min to Nagoya | ¥1,430 (¥980 fare + ¥450 μticket) | Not covered |
| Fukuoka | Hakata, Tenjin | Fukuoka City Subway Airport Line | 5 min to Hakata, 11 min to Tenjin | ¥260 | Not covered |
(As of October 2026. Times vary by train.)
For trains the pass doesn’t cover, buy a ticket before you board, or go through the ticket gate with a transit IC card (Suica, ICOCA, etc.).
Limited express trains need a “limited express ticket” on top of the fare
Narita Express, Skyliner, Haruka, Rapi:t, μSKY. Named limited express trains need a limited express ticket (seat ticket) in addition to the fare. A transit IC card only covers the fare part.
You can also ride the Narita Express with a Suica plus a limited express ticket. Buy the limited express ticket before you board, from a ticket machine or a ticket office at the station.
Narita Airport
For Tokyo Station, Shinjuku, Shibuya or Yokohama: the Narita Express
The Narita Express (N’EX) is a JR limited express. It takes you from the airport to Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Yokohama with no transfers. The fastest trains reach Tokyo Station in 53 minutes. The fare is the same all year round: ¥3,140 to Tokyo Station.
N’EX trains run from the 7 a.m. hour to the 9 p.m. hour. During the day, there are 2 an hour.
All seats are reserved, but even when it’s full, you can buy a “Limited Express Unreserved Seat Ticket.” You choose only the train and the date, then sit in any empty seat, and it costs the same as a reserved seat. If there’s no seat free, you stand in the deck area by the doors.
Put your suitcase in the large luggage area on board. No booking is needed; it’s first come, first served.
There are 2 JR stations at the airport. In English, they’re signed Narita Airport Terminal 1 and Narita Airport Terminal 2・3. Look for the one with the number of the terminal you arrived at.
Notice (November 6–8, 2026) From the night of Friday, November 6 to the morning of Sunday, November 8, construction work near Tokyo Station means the Narita Express will run only as far as Tokyo Station. For Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Yokohama, change trains at Tokyo Station. On Saturday, November 7, this applies all day.
For Ueno or Nippori: the Skyliner
The Keisei Skyliner is a limited express run by a non-JR company (Keisei). From Keisei’s Terminal 2 station (空港第2ビル), the fastest trains reach Nippori in 36 minutes and Ueno in 41 minutes. The fare and the Liner ticket together come to ¥2,580. All seats are reserved, and every car has a large luggage area.
If you’re staying near Ueno or Nippori, this is the fastest single train. If you’re heading toward Tokyo Station, change at Nippori or Ueno to the JR Yamanote Line or another line.
For Asakusa or Oshiage: the Keisei Access Express
This train needs no limited express charge. There are no reserved seats, either. It goes to Oshiage and Asakusa with no transfers. To Oshiage, it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the train, and the fare is about ¥1,200.
To save money: JR rapid trains
If you don’t have the nationwide JR Pass, JR Narita Line / Sobu Line rapid trains take you to Tokyo Station for about ¥1,400. That’s about half the Narita Express fare, but it takes a little over 1 hour, and some routes involve a transfer along the way. With the nationwide JR Pass, you can ride these too.
Haneda Airport
For Tokyo Station and Yamanote Line stations: start with the Tokyo Monorail
To get from Haneda to central Tokyo, take the Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho, 13 minutes away. At Hamamatsucho, change to the JR Yamanote Line. Both the monorail and the Yamanote Line come every 5 minutes on average.
If you buy a single through ticket for the monorail and JR, it’s ¥720 to Tokyo Station, Kanda, Akihabara, Shinagawa and Ochanomizu, and ¥780 to Shinjuku and Shibuya (paper tickets).
If you have the nationwide JR Pass, you can ride the Tokyo Monorail too. From the airport to any Yamanote Line station, the pass is all you need.
For Shinagawa, Yokohama or Asakusa: Keikyu
Keikyu is a non-JR railway. From Terminal 3, it’s 11 minutes to Shinagawa, and the fare is ¥330. It also goes to Yokohama, and to Asakusa (running through onto the subway), with no transfers. You can also ride by tapping your credit card.
If you’re staying in Shinagawa, a single Keikyu train is the quickest way there.
Kansai Airport
For Kyoto, Shin-Osaka or Osaka: the Limited Express Haruka
The Haruka is a JR limited express. From Kansai Airport, it goes to Tennoji, Osaka, Shin-Osaka and Kyoto (the stops differ by train). It takes about 80 minutes to Kyoto, with 2 trains an hour during the day.
To Kyoto, it’s ¥3,590 for a reserved seat and ¥3,060 for a non-reserved seat.
Changing to the shinkansen at Shin-Osaka on the way to Kyoto hardly saves any time (on JR West’s route search, the Haruka alone takes 80 minutes, and changing to the shinkansen takes 77 minutes. The fare is about ¥2,300 higher). For Kyoto, the Haruka on its own is all you need.
For Osaka Station: the JR Kansai Airport Rapid
This is a JR rapid train with no limited express charge. To Osaka Station, it’s ¥1,180 and takes about 1 hour 10 minutes. You can ride it with the nationwide JR Pass, too.
For Namba: Nankai
If you’re staying near Namba, a Nankai train takes you there in one ride. The all-reserved limited express Rapi:t takes as little as 34 minutes, for about ¥1,670 in total. The Airport Express, which needs no limited express charge, takes about 45 minutes and costs about ¥970. On the Rapi:t, there’s a large luggage area near each door.
Chubu Centrair International Airport (Centrair)
To get to Nagoya, you take a Meitetsu train. JR doesn’t come to this airport. You’ll use the nationwide JR Pass from Nagoya onward.
The fastest option is the μSKY. It takes about 30 minutes to Meitetsu Nagoya. Every car on the μSKY is a first class car, so on top of the ¥980 fare, you need a ¥450 μticket. It leaves from Platform 1.
If you’d rather ride without a μticket, take a Limited Express from Platforms 2 and 3. On these, only cars 1 and 2 are first class cars, and you can ride the other cars with just the fare.
Fukuoka Airport
Hakata and Tenjin are both 1 ride away on the subway. It’s 5 minutes to Hakata and 11 minutes to Tenjin, ¥260 to either. The subway station is connected to the Domestic Terminal.
If you arrive on an international flight, first take the free shuttle bus to the Domestic Terminal. Buses run every 5–6 minutes during the day, and every 15 minutes after 10 p.m.
From Hakata Station, JR Kyushu trains go all over Kyushu. The nationwide JR Pass can’t be used on the subway. You’ll use it from Hakata onward.
Discount tickets for airport trains
Airport trains have discount tickets. The 2 for the Narita Express and the Haruka are for travelers with a foreign passport. The Haneda monorail discount can be bought by anyone, no passport needed, on weekends and certain other days.
| Ticket | Price (adult) | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|
| N’EX TOKYO Round Trip Ticket (Narita) | ¥5,200 round trip (a regular round trip to Tokyo Station costs ¥6,280) | Foreign passport. One trip each way within 14 days. Pick-up only at Narita Airport Terminal 1 and Narita Airport Terminal 2・3 stations |
| HARUKA One-way Ticket (Kansai) | Tennoji ¥1,300 / Osaka, Shin-Osaka ¥1,800 / Nara ¥1,800 / Kobe ¥2,000 / Kyoto ¥2,200 | For people who entered Japan with “Temporary Visitor” status on a passport issued by a foreign government. Can’t be bought within Japan (buy it online before you leave and pick it up after you arrive). Invalid if you get off partway |
| Monorail & Yamanote Line Discount Ticket (Haneda) | ¥590 (to any station on the Yamanote Line) | No passport needed. Weekends, public holidays and certain set days only. Valid only on the day of purchase. From the ticket machines at the 3 Haneda stations |
(As of October 2026)
Even with the HARUKA One-way Ticket, you can get a reserved seat on the Haruka. To Kyoto, a reserved seat that normally costs ¥3,590 comes to ¥2,200. You can’t buy it once you’ve arrived in Japan, so if you’re flying into Kansai Airport, buy it before you leave on JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION (sales open at 10 a.m., 1 month ahead). If your passport has an IC chip, you can pick it up from a ticket machine at the station after you arrive.
If you arrive late at night
Airport trains stop running earlier than you might think.
| Airport | Approximate last trains |
|---|---|
| Narita | Narita Express: the 9 p.m. hour. JR rapid trains and Keisei: until the 10 p.m. hour |
| Haneda | The hour after midnight (Keikyu, monorail) |
| Kansai | Haruka to Kyoto: the 10 p.m. hour. Kansai Airport Rapid to Osaka and Nankai to Namba: the 11 p.m. hour |
| Chubu | The 11 p.m. hour (to Meitetsu Nagoya) |
| Fukuoka | The hour after midnight (subway) |
(As of October 2026. Varies by day of the week and with timetable revisions.)
If you miss the last train, it’s a bus or a taxi.
Narita The last bus to Tokyo Station leaves Terminal 1 in the 11 p.m. hour. On the last bus from Narita Airport, you pay on board in cash or with a transit IC card (credit cards aren’t accepted; as of October 22, 2026). A taxi to central Tokyo costs around ¥30,000.
Haneda Even after the trains stop, buses to Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Yokohama Station still leave late at night. Taxis have fixed fares set for each ward.
Kansai A bus to Osaka Station (Umeda) leaves in the hour after midnight. A taxi to central Osaka costs somewhere in the mid-¥20,000s.
If you know you’ll be arriving late, another option is to book a car in advance to take you from the airport to where you’re staying.
For now, just this
- Pick the one train with no transfers, by the name of the station where you’re staying
- Named limited express trains need a limited express ticket on top of the fare
- The nationwide JR Pass covers the Narita Express, JR rapid trains, the Tokyo Monorail, the Haruka and the Kansai Airport Rapid. At Chubu and Fukuoka airports, no train is covered by the pass
- From Kansai Airport to Kyoto, the HARUKA One-way Ticket can’t be bought in Japan. Get it before you leave
- If you’re arriving late at night, check the last trains ahead of time
If you find yourself stuck in front of the signs, look for the name of the train you picked in this article. Narita Express, Skyliner, Haruka, μSKY. That name is your one train.
