Getting from Narita, Haneda and Kansai into the city
Which train or bus to take from Japan’s three main international airports, what it costs, and the one thing to set up before you land.
onesim team
Japan’s airport trains are fast and well signed, but each airport has two or three competing options and the right one depends on where you are staying. This guide covers the arrivals that most first trips start with: Narita and Haneda for Tokyo, Kansai for Osaka and Kyoto.
Before you land
Three things are easier to do at home than in the arrivals hall. Register on Visit Japan Web to pre-fill immigration and customs; you get QR codes to scan at the kiosks. Install your onesim eSIM over Wi-Fi so it is ready to switch on — see Installing onesim. And decide how you will pay for trains.
For trains, an IC card (Suica, Pasmo or ICOCA) is tapped at the gate and also works at convenience stores and vending machines. If you have an iPhone, the Welcome Suica Mobile app from JR East lets you issue and top up a visitor Suica on your phone before you arrive, with no counter queue; it is valid for 180 days and is not available for Android. Physical Suica cards are on sale again at Narita, Haneda and major JR stations after the 2023–2025 chip shortage, so Android users can pick one up on arrival.
Narita (NRT) into Tokyo
Narita is about 60 km east of central Tokyo, so the choice of train matters more here than at Haneda. Two rail operators run dedicated airport expresses, and the buses are the cheap option.
| Option | Where it goes | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Narita Express (N’EX, JR) | Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Yokohama | About 55–60 min to Tokyo Station | Direct to the most hotel districts. Around ¥3,070. Covered by the JR Pass. |
Keisei Skyliner | Nippori, Keisei Ueno | 36 min to Nippori, 41 min to Ueno | Fastest into the city. Around ¥2,470. Best for Ueno, Asakusa and the Yamanote line north side. Not covered by the JR Pass. |
Airport Bus TYO-NRT | Tokyo Station, Ginza | 60–90 min, depends on traffic | Cheapest at around ¥1,500. No luggage transfers. |
Airport Limousine Bus | Major hotels and stations | 90–120 min | Door-to-door with heavy luggage. Pricier than the TYO-NRT bus. |
If your hotel is near Tokyo Station, Shinjuku or Shibuya, take the N’EX. If it is in Ueno, Asakusa or along the north side of the Yamanote loop, the Skyliner is quicker and cheaper. From Nippori or Ueno you can change to the JR Yamanote line or the Ginza and Hibiya subway lines.
Haneda (HND) into Tokyo
Haneda sits inside the city, so this is the easy one. Two trains leave from the terminals: the Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho on the Yamanote line, and the Keikyu line to Shinagawa, where you can pick up JR lines and the Shinkansen. Either takes roughly a quarter of an hour to its first city stop, and both accept IC cards without a reserved seat. Limousine buses serve hotels directly; taxis are reasonable to the south and west of the city and expensive to the north and east.
Kansai (KIX) into Osaka and Kyoto
Kansai International sits on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, and again two operators compete. JR’s Haruka limited express runs to Tennoji and Shin-Osaka and on to Kyoto in about 75–80 minutes, the direct choice if Kyoto is your first stop. Nankai’s rapi:t express reaches Namba, in the south of Osaka, in around 35–40 minutes and is usually the better call for Osaka itself. JR’s slower Kansai Airport Rapid service reaches Osaka Station in roughly 65–70 minutes with no express surcharge.
ICOCA is the local IC card, but Suica and Pasmo work across the Kansai network too, so a card or app set up in Tokyo keeps working here.
Switching your data on
Your onesim package starts the first time the line connects to a Japanese network, not when you install it, so install at home and keep the line’s data roaming off until you land. Then open Settings, choose the onesim line for mobile data and turn data roaming on for that line only. Leave your home SIM active for calls and texts with its data roaming off. The step-by-step version is in Connecting when you arrive.
