samuell

We arrive Narita airport at 14.35 on Oct 6. I am trying to figure out our train schedule from Narita to Shinosaka.

Using a dummy date, from the Hyperdia web site, allowing myself a couple hours for clearing customs and exchanging for our JRpass and so on, the best connection I have found with no transfer is the 16.12 departure from Narita to Shinagawa by JR Rapid Airport Narita, arriving at 17.34, from there connecting SHINKANSEN HIKARI 527 at 18.10, arriving at Shinosaka at 21.13

I would appreciated if someone can check if this is correct…..
Thankyou very much for your kindness.

Mara

What I do is look up the schedule on hyperdia and make a little spreadsheet with the various possibilities showing connections at Tokyo and Shinagawa. Shinagawa is easier if it works for you as it is a smaller station. Then you can show this to the staff when you exchange your voucher for JR Pass and they will show you the best route and give you the applicable reserved seat tickets....You might not need a couple of hours - I start with one hour after my arrival time - customs can be fast - I carry on so don't have to wait for luggage - then I zoom down to the ATM one floor down, I think, then down another floor to the JR office....

Therese

You don't actually have to think so hard about this trip, samuell, because when you turn in your voucher you'll just say that you want to go to Shin-Osaka and they'll put you on the next convenient option. For a heavily travelled route like this one you needn't think too far ahead. They may ask you if you want to make a dash for it if the next N'Ex is just a few minutes from departure, or if you'd rather have a little more time, but it's otherwise very simple.

samuell

Mara and Therese,

it is comforting to be told that it's less complicated than it seems, just wasn't sure if we should spend our first night a Tokyo after a long flight, we have learnt to travel light with carry-on only, thankyou so much for the encouraging words.

thursdaysd

Is that the JAL flight from Vancouver? I arrive at the same time on Sept. 20, but faced with the same question (and one checked bag) I've decided to overnight in Shinagawa before going on to Kyoto the next day. It's my first real visit to Japan, and I don't want to arrive at my first stop that late. Plus if I have jet lag I can make use of it by visiting the fish market for an early breakfast.

Therese

There's no wrong answer there: break the journey at Shinagawa (where there are plenty of hotels) or get all the way to Kyoto/Osaka that first night. In samuell's case, I would tend to towards the latter and here's why:

He (is it a he?) is using a one week JR Pass, and clearly wants to get as much use out of it as possible (information from another thread). Stopping in Tokyo burns up a day of the pass (unless you wait to activate until the next day, in which case consider the RT N'Ex + Suica package if your total trip is 14 days or fewer). It also means another hotel check-in/check-out. Finally, it moves the rail journey to the next morning, burning up daylight that you could be putting to good use. You'll be tired when arrive at NRT, it's true, but once you've embarked on the rail journey to Tokyo you may as well keep going until you hit Osaka. The Shinkansen are very comfortable, so you'll drift off. No worries about your belongings going missing---this is Japan. Everybody else will be likely be napping, and you can buy snacks from the lovely attendants who pass frequently through the train. Set an alarm if you're worrried about missing your stop, and you might ask the conductor if he could give you a nudge one stop beforehand.

Japanese trains are so comfortable and so easy to use that I can think of few better places to spend a jetlagged first afternoon.

Therese

Another couple of hints about the rail journey: you'll know when to set your alarm on the train because the time of your arrival is printed on your ticket. You will arrive at precisely the time indicated, not a minute before, not a minute later. The carriages all contain frequently updated illuminated signs in Japanese and English telling you about the next stop and which destinations remain on your route. There are also announcements made overhead in Japanese and English (I wear earplugs if I plan to sleep, although it's the noise isn't too intrusive).

I mentioned upthread that you can buy snacks and drinks on the train. They are not priced exorbitantly, but it's also easy to buy a boxed lunch (bento) at the station before boarding. Generally very good and often featuring foods specific to that area. In Takayama, for instance, I had a bento that featured Hida beef.

Everybody eats on the trains. Just thinking about Japanese trains makes me hungry.

And eating on the train means you won't have to think about finding a meal once you arrive in Osaka.

samuell

thursdaysd, yes, it is the JAL flight from YVR, gets in at 14.35.

therese is right on about us not wanting to burn up one day of our seven day JR pass by staying in Tokyo the first night, checkin-out and losing half our second day in travelling to Osaka.

I really like the tip of setting the alarm, I am sure all four of us will be napping and hopefully not snoring too loudly after our meal, your re-assurance is much appreciated, thankyou.

mrwunrfl

Looks like you have train options up until about 18:15 (departure from Narita). After that you would miss the last Hikari from Tokyo/Shinagawa. As long as your arrival at NRT isn't 3 hours late you will be ok.

You could get a ticket from NRT to Osaka Itami airport departing at 16:50. The Yokoso fare would be only 10,000 yen: http://www.jal.co.jp/yokosojapan/ There is another flight at 18:30.

I flew JAL to NRT on one award ticket and connecting at NRT to a flight to Sapporo on a second award ticket. The flight was late by 6 hours and I missed the connection. JAL gave me vouchers for a bus to Shinagawa, hotel, and meals and a ticket for the next day from Haneda to Sapporo.

Therese

The Yokoso flight option sounds reasonable, but it adds at least 20,000 yen to the cost of the trip (as samuell uses "we" in his posts) and then there's the transfer from the airport. There's transfer from Shin-Osaka as well, of course (unless their lodging's right there), so I'd take the relative ease iof those into account.

Therese

Looking upthread I see that samuell's party is four people. So the flight would add 40,000 yen to the cost.

WillJame

Do you have to get to Shin-Osaka? The more central Umeda Station is an easy transfer from Itami Airport (25 minutes, ¥625 vs. ¥2900 for the Narita Express). You could also transfer to Kyoto and make that your base, but I recall that you're by-passing Kyoto this time.
The Yokoso option would let you put off activating your JR Pass--if it still proves to be worthwhile--for a few days while you took the preferred private trains (e.g., Hankyu and Kintetsu) to Nara, Kobe, or Kyoto.
You are getting lots of varying advice here, but flying to Osaka, as recommended by HT on the other thread, may give you the option of saving money on pay-as-you-go day trips around Osaka at the outset rather than from Tokyo at the end after your JR Pass has expired.

samuell

Wow, one would not find these options by reading guide books, thankyou, Mrwunrfl...flying to Osaka certainly would be an option in cutting down travelling time...but it does add yens to our trip...40,000+ as Therese said unless we find other places to use our JR pass on a later date as WillJame has suggested.

We do plan to stay at Shin-Osaka, as least for the first night, our plan is to visit Nara/Kobe from Osaka, we are by-passing Kyoto this time.