Jpan rail pass travel help
 

Hi
I have purchased a JRpass and need to get from Narita to Kyoto
Have been on the Hyperdia and japan rail website but am struggling to source the correct trains!! What are the trains called that DON'T stop at every station? How long should the journey take
Thanks in advance for any help.
Sorry for being a bit dense!

You can take any trains except the Nozomi shinkansen with your pass. The Hikari and Kodama are fine. You will first need to get to Tokyo Station or Shinagawa station (depending on which shinkansen you take) to connect to the train to Kyoto. It will take less than 4 hours, time depending on which trains and your connections.

Take the Narita Express from the airport to Tokyo or Shinagawa, as KimJapan mentioned.

From either of those stations you want to get a Hikari shinkansen train to go to Kyoto, with no change of train.

Avoid taking the Kodama shinkansen since they make far too many stops.

Great! many thanks for the info and all your help its much appreciated.

Hi

I agree with mrwunrfl. When you get to Narita I guess you have to activate the Railpass and then you can take the Narita Express to the Tokyo train station. Follow the signs for the Shinkansen and make sure that you get on the Hikari bound for Shin-Osaka. There are cars that have free seating and cars that are reserved. But we didn't have any problems finding a seat when we went there in May. I have posted a long trip report with pictures and links on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com :-) Maybe you can find some useful information there.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

I believe Gard meant to say Kyoto, not Shin-Osaka.

Actually, gard was correct. The destination sign on the train will say Shin Osaka. OP would get of at the Kyoto stop.

calcrimson, after you exchange your voucher to get your JR Pass you can then get your reserved seats to go to Kyoto. The JR ticket person will work out the best connection for you and issue you reserved seat tix for the N'Ex and the shinkansen. Check the shinkansen ticket to make sure it says Hikari and not Kodama. It would be better to wait and take the next Hikari. Then just follow the shinkansen signs to the track for your train. As a final check, the train will say Shin Osaka in a destination window.

Don't forget to have your passport available when you activate your Railpass (we did and had to go all the way back to our hotel!!).
Have a good trip

Many many thanks to one and all for your help.
calcrimson

oops, my apologies :-] How quickly I forget. I better go back to the platform at Tokyo station and refresh my memory. ((Y))