Tokyo or Shinagawa station?
 

Hello, we are travelling to Japan at the end of March and flying into Narita. Our flight does not arrive until 5 pm so we will need to stay overnight in Tokyo. The next morning we will be travelling to Fukuoka, so we want to stay in a hotel right next to the station. I know that Shinagawa station is much easier to navigate, but from what I can tell from the Nex schedule not every train stops there. We would probably need a 6:30ish train.

Also, the next morning when we travel to Fukuoka will be March 28, a Sunday. Will we have trouble getting a seat reservation since this is around cherry blossom time on the weekend? I figure if the train was booked, at Tokyo station we could get on a unreserved car and have a good chance at getting a seat whereas at Shinagawa the shinkansen will already have the Tokyo Station people on it. Or am I overthinking this?

Thanks
Kelley

There are NEx trains to Shinagawa at 5:44 and 6:48.

It is very unlikely that you would have trouble getting a reservation on the train for the following day. Although peoplem do go to see the blossoms, there are many, many train each day. As long as you're not traveling during the Golden Week in May, you'll be ok.

You can reserve your seat (and buy your ticket) either at Narita or at Shinagawa on the evening you arrive.

Are you sure you don't want to fly out there? Japan Airlines have a 7:50p flight NRT-FUK, so you can even get there same night.

We thought about flying but the airfares seem to be rather expensive, especially considering we would not be paying extra for the train (using a rail pass). If we could get a good price we would probably do it.

The reason I ask is that it's 5 hours from Shinagawa to Hakata on the Nozomis. And that has surcharge when using a railpass. And not including the time from NRT to Shinagawa.

If you don't use the Nozomi, that's an extra hour with one change.

Anyways, back to your main question. Shinagawa is much preferred for a N'EX -> Shinkansen transfer. But if you're staying overnight in Tokyo anyways, then the question is how far your potential hotel is from the stations, rather than ease of transfer.

<i>And [Nozomi] has a surcharge when using a railpass.</i>

That's a misconception that I've seen recently. If you have a rail pass, you <u>cannot</u> use the Nozomi -- period. (Unless, of course, you want to pay the full price of the Nozomi train.)

I have the exact same issue, except my flight arrives early in the morning. I originally intended to fly open jaw into Fukuoka but a return fare to Narita at a very good price was too good to pass up.

The airfares seem very pricey and March is a black out month for the airpass and discount fares.

I've decided to stay at Shinagawa and then I'm intending to break the journey halfway too (probably Himeji or Hiroshima, maybe both)

Exactly eigasuki. The discount airfares that I could use are all blackouts until after March 31. We also got a good deal roundtrip to Narita. We're not too worried about the long train ride. We plan to leave very early the next morning-I believe the first train is at 7:30 or so. If there won't be a problem getting a seat we'll look into Shinagawa. Thanks!

Not sure your budget, but I can give you two options which are cheaper and easier....

both revolve around flying out of Haneda airport which is 90% domestic and easy to get to, about 25 minutes from Tokyo. Use one of the only discount airline in Japan, which is www.skymark.jp

Hotel, as you need to take the monorail from Hammatsucho Station (three stops, 5 minutes from Tokyo station), you might as well stay there. Matsui Garden Hamamatsucho is about 90 usd a night, quiet location. Hotel is new, room is new but about 200 square feet.

Or, stay attached to Tokyo Station. Not easy to navigate but you can request pick up service direct from the platform for Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo. Five star, so this is not the cheapest option.