Narita to Kyoto?
 

I am travelling to Japan in early May. I'll be arriving at Narita, and plan to go directly to Kyoto. Do I need to go into Tokyo to take a shinkansen to Kyoto? (I have a JR Rail Ticket) Does anyone know if there is a more direct way of getting to Kyoto?

Thanks for your help!

The answer to your question is 'yes', you will need to go to Tokyo Station to take the Shinkansen. There is no Shinkansen at Narita airport.

Some things to consider:
1. Ensuring you have enough time to make the connection. (Taking into consideration flight delays, customs and immigration, I would feel safe to say a minumum 4 hours.) The fastest train takes 1 hour from NRT to Tokyo station.
2. I am not sure of your arrival time into Narita, but the last Shinkansen departure from Tokyo to Kyoto is around 9pm, I think.
3. If it is possible, you may consider flying into Osaka's Kansai airport, which is about an hour away from Kyoto.

The most direct way to get to Kyoto would be to fly into Kansai and train it into Kyoto. If you have to fly into Narita you should plan on about an hour to get through customs and immigration, an hour or two to activate your JR pass and get to Tokyo station via JR rail ( one about every 30 minutes), and about 2 and 1/2 hours to get to Kyoto via Hikari Shinkansen. (there is about one Hikari per hour) So I would add about 6 hours extra, possibly 7 from the time you fly into NRT and get to your hotel in Kyoto. Tends to make it a rather long trip for most people coming into Japan from overseas.

I believe there are two Hikari trains leaving Tokyo each hour (usually :06 and :36), and takes 2:35 to Kyoto. Not as frequent as the Nozomi, but only about 20 minutes slower.

Thank you for your help. That confirms what I had thought, but I really appreciate your comments- especially about the time it takes to get places.