Times, fares and rules are based on official information from rail and bus operators, airports, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japan Tourism Agency as of October 2026. They may change. For your travel and stay dates, check the official sources at the end of this article.
Start looking for a place to stay in Tokyo, and names such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa and Ginza keep appearing. They all sound inviting; the more you compare them, the harder it is to choose.
This article is for anyone caught in that dilemma. We’ll keep the explanation short and give you our answer first.
The answer first — this is our short answer!
For your first time in Tokyo, stay near Tokyo Station, on its eastern Yaesu and Nihombashi side.
What decides it is the station you travel through, rather than the neighborhood where you go out. The day you arrive in Tokyo, the morning you leave for your next city by shinkansen, and the day you head back to the airport: the 3 days when your luggage is heaviest all begin at Tokyo Station.
- Arrival day → From Narita, the Narita Express (N’EX) goes directly to Tokyo Station. From Haneda, it is about 30 minutes by train or monorail
- The morning you leave for your next city → Both the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka and the shinkansen to Kanazawa and Sendai leave from Tokyo Station
- The day you fly home → Both the N’EX to Narita and an airport bus that needs no reservation leave from Tokyo Station
At night, Ginza is about a 15-minute walk away.
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Here Is the Reasoning — 3 days connect through one station
Stay 3 nights in Tokyo, then go to Kyoto or Osaka, and finally return to Tokyo for the airport. Let’s look at those 3 days in order, using this common itinerary.
Arrival day — Direct from Narita, about 30 minutes from Haneda
From Narita, the N’EX stops at Tokyo Station (53 minutes at its fastest). But some evening services from Narita do not run every day. Check the timetable for the day you travel.
If you arrive at Narita late at night, there is the TYO-NRT airport bus. The last bus leaves Terminal 3 at 23:20, Terminal 2 at 23:25 and Terminal 1 at 23:30, arriving at Tokyo Station at 00:38. The departure time differs by terminal. There are no reservations and seats are unassigned, but capacity is limited: if it is full, you take the next bus (and after the last bus, there is no next one). The late-night fare for this service is 3,000 yen. Pay on board in cash or with a transit IC card (credit cards are not accepted). Get off at Tokyo Station’s Nihombashi Gate.
From Haneda, Tokyo Station is about 30 minutes away by train or monorail. If you take Keikyu, change to JR at Shinagawa.
Not having to puzzle over the station near your accommodation on arrival night makes the greatest difference on that first night.
The morning you leave for your next city — Shinkansen from Tokyo Station
The Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka uses tracks 14–19 at Tokyo Station, on the Yaesu side. Yaesu Central North Gate and Yaesu Central South Gate also have dedicated ticket gates for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen.
The Tohoku and Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa and Sendai use tracks 20–23.
If you stay near Tokyo Station, even the first train of the morning is easier to catch. For example, on the October 2026 weekday timetable, the 06:00 Nozomi arrives in Kyoto at 08:08. Pick an ekiben for breakfast and eat it on the shinkansen.
The day you fly home — Leave for the airport from the same station
Even when you return from Osaka to fly home from Narita, you get off the shinkansen at Tokyo Station. If you stay one more night in Tokyo, staying near that same station lets you leave for the airport from there.
- To Narita → On weekdays, the N’EX starts departing Tokyo Station at 06:18. The TYO-NRT airport bus runs from stops 7 and 8 beyond the Yaesu South Gate ticket gates, from 05:00 to 19:30. No reservation is needed; a one-way ticket costs ¥1,500. To pay in cash or by credit card, buy your ticket before boarding at the “JR Expressway Bus Ticket Office” (JR高速バスきっぷ売り場 in Japanese). With a transit IC card, you can pay on board. For buses leaving between 05:00 and 06:00, the ticket office has not yet opened, so check the bus operator’s official information on how to pay in advance
- To Haneda → About 30 minutes by train or monorail. If you stay on the Nihombashi side, trains from Nihombashi Station on the Toei Asakusa Line also run through onto Keikyu toward Haneda. Check the train’s destination before boarding
Buses to the airport leave from the Yaesu side. The dedicated Tokaido Shinkansen gates are on that side too. That is why we recommend the eastern Yaesu and Nihombashi side over the western Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station.
The names of the ticket gates and places to leave your luggage are in “Staying Around Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi“.
When booking, check just 3 things
Once you’ve chosen an area, choose and book your accommodation. These are the 3 things to check.
- Cancellation deadline — When cancellation fees begin varies by accommodation. Some places allow free cancellation until noon on the day of arrival; others charge from 7 days before. If you book through a booking site, check the conditions shown there too. Some rooms are nonrefundable, so look once more before completing the booking
- Final amount to pay — Prices in booking site listings may not include taxes or service fees. Check the total on the final booking screen. You may have to pay Tokyo’s accommodation tax at the front desk, separately from the cost of your trip
- Guest limits — Each room has a set capacity. Search with the number and ages of adults and children, then check that they fit the room and plan’s limit. Whether children may share a bed and whether there is a charge also depend on the accommodation and plan
The room occupancy rate across accommodation facilities in Tokyo was 75.3%, the highest of any prefecture (Japan Tourism Agency, preliminary figures for July 2026). Once you have chosen an area, check the cancellation deadline and book early.
For more on accommodation tax and cancellation fees, see “Paying for Your Stay“.
The Second-Best Option — Shinjuku if you are only staying in Tokyo
If you are not taking the shinkansen to another city and will return home after Tokyo, choose Shinjuku.
The N’EX from Narita also stops at Shinjuku Station. From Haneda it is about 50 minutes by train or monorail. By airport bus, Haneda to Shinjuku Station West Exit takes about 35 minutes.
Shinjuku suits people arriving at Haneda late at night. Even after the trains stop running, 4 late-night buses run from Haneda Terminal 3 to Shinjuku Station West Exit between 00:20 and 02:20 (¥2,800).
Shinjuku Station is on the Yamanote Line. To its south is the Busta Shinjuku highway bus terminal, connected to JR’s New South Gate.
But to board the shinkansen, you go to Tokyo Station. On the day you leave for Kyoto or Osaka, take the Chuo Line Rapid to Tokyo Station, a 14-minute ride. Shinjuku is a large station with many gates and exits, so note the name of the gate nearest your accommodation, including its English spelling.
For details, see “Staying in Shinjuku“.
Who might prefer another area
- Want a direct Skyliner train from Narita → Ueno
- Coming for anime and manga → Ikebukuro or Akihabara
- Going to Tokyo Big Sight → The Waterfront (Odaiba and Ariake)
- Planning a Disney day → Maihama, where Disney is, is in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture. You could split your stay and spend just that night in Urayasu
If you’d rather compare the areas yourself, see “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip“.
Before you go, just these things
- Check whether you will leave Tokyo for another city by shinkansen after your stay. If so, choose the Yaesu and Nihombashi side of Tokyo Station; if you are only staying in Tokyo, choose Shinjuku
- Check your arrival airport and time. If you reach Narita late at night, check the last airport bus to Tokyo Station
- On the accommodation booking screen, check the 3 things: cancellation deadline, final amount to pay and guest limits
- Decide which airport you will fly home from (Narita or Haneda) and which station you will use from your accommodation
More details
- Tokyo Station ticket gates and luggage storage → “Staying Around Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi“
- Which train to take from the airport to Tokyo → “Airport to City by Train in Japan“
- Send your suitcase ahead from Tokyo to Kyoto → “Luggage Forwarding in Japan“
If you are unsure, line up the 3 days of your trip: arrival day, the morning you leave for your next city, and the day you fly home. Stay where all 3 begin at the same station, and you won’t have a day of getting lost with heavy luggage.
