The Skyliner is the quickest way from Narita into Tokyo: 41 minutes to Ueno, with a reserved seat, for ¥2,580. The Narita Express is the one-seat ride to Tokyo Station, Shibuya and Shinjuku, and on a short layover the Keisei Main Line reaches Narita town in about 8 minutes.
What's the best way from Narita into Tokyo?
For most layovers, take the Keisei Skyliner from the station under your terminal: 41 minutes to Keisei Ueno for ¥2,580, with a reserved seat. The Narita Express takes 53 minutes to Tokyo Station for ¥3,140. With only 6 hours, take the Keisei Main Line 8 minutes to Narita town instead. Allow about an hour from landing to the train, and leave Ueno 2 hours 55 minutes before your flight.
Getting through the border
Before any train, you pass Japanese immigration and customs. Narita International Airport (NRT) doesn’t publish queue times, so plan on about an hour from landing to sitting on a train, and more at busy times.
- Before you land. Fill in Visit Japan Web, the free government service for the immigration and customs forms, so you’re not doing it in the queue. Who needs a visa: visa and transit rules.
- Bags. On one ticket, they go through to your next flight. On separate tickets you collect them after immigration; leave them in a locker or at a counter before you go (storing bags).
- A slow queue costs you time in town, not your flight: the time you must head back stays the same.
- The airside closes from midnight to 6am, so on a connection through the night you pass immigration anyway, even if you never meant to leave the airport.
The options at a glance
| Skyliner | Narita Express | Keisei Main Line | Taxi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To | Nippori and Keisei Ueno | Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku | Keisei Narita, for Narita town | Any address, fixed fare by zone |
| Time | 36 minutes to Nippori, 41 to Keisei Ueno | 53 minutes to Tokyo Station | About 8 minutes | At least an hour (our estimate) |
| Single fare | ¥2,580 | ¥3,140 to Tokyo, ¥3,330 beyond | A few hundred yen (our estimate) | ¥23,500 to ¥34,000, plus tolls |
| Pay with | Ticket from the Skyliner counter, or online | Ticket from JR East’s machines or counter | Ticket machine or an IC card | At the taxi |
Skyliner: the best way into Tokyo
- Finding it. After customs, follow the signs for the trains to the Keisei station under your terminal: Narita Airport Terminal 1, a 5-minute walk from Terminal 1, or Terminal 2·3, 5 minutes from Terminal 2 and 10 from Terminal 3.
- The ride. 36 minutes to Nippori, where you can change to JR lines, and 41 minutes to Keisei Ueno, by Ueno Park. Every seat is reserved, and each car has space for large bags.
- How often. Three an hour from about 10am to the evening. Before that the trains are few: from Terminal 2·3 the first leaves at 7:27am on weekdays (7:34am at weekends), then 8:16am and 9:11am. Landing early, expect a wait, or start your day in Narita town.
- Paying. A single to Ueno or Nippori costs ¥2,580: the ¥1,280 fare plus a ¥1,300 Skyliner ticket for your seat. Buy it at the Skyliner counter in the airport station before you board, or online; boarding without a Skyliner ticket costs ¥300 more. With a Suica or PASMO card you can tap the gate for the fare part (¥1,267), but you still need the Skyliner ticket. Tickets go on sale a month ahead.
- Going on by subway. Keisei sells the Skyliner & Tokyo Subway Ticket, a Skyliner ride with a 24, 48 or 72-hour pass for Tokyo’s subways, which suits a plan that carries on from Ueno to Asakusa.
| Monday to Friday | Saturday, Sunday and holidays | |
|---|---|---|
| First Skyliner from Terminal 2·3 | 7:27am | 7:34am |
| First Skyliner from Terminal 1 | 7:23am | 7:30am |
| Last Skyliner from Terminal 2·3 into Tokyo | 11:03pm | 11:03pm |
| Last Skyliner back from Keisei Ueno | 8:20pm | 8:17pm |
| Last Skyliner back from | Monday to Friday | Saturday, Sunday and holidays |
|---|---|---|
| Nippori | 8:25pm | 8:22pm |
These are Keisei’s timetables in November 2026. The Skyliner stops early: few layovers need it after 8:20pm, because Narita has no flights from midnight to 6am, so it only matters for a flight after about 11:15pm. For one that late, take the last Skyliner and wait at the airport. After it, an Access Express leaves Keisei Ueno at 8:46pm (Nippori 8:50pm) with no reserved seat and a slower ride, and the Evening Liner, a reserved-seat train, at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm. After 11pm only a taxi is left. At New Year Keisei runs special timetables, so check its website before you rely on the last train.
Narita Express: one seat to Tokyo Station, Shibuya and Shinjuku
- The ride. JR East’s Narita Express (N’EX) runs from both airport stations to Tokyo Station in 53 minutes at its fastest, then on to Shinagawa, Shibuya and Shinjuku. Every seat is reserved.
- Fares. ¥3,140 one way to Tokyo Station, ¥3,330 to Shinagawa, Shibuya or Shinjuku. With a foreign passport, the N’EX Tokyo Round Trip Ticket costs ¥5,200 for a ride each way within 14 days, which is the better deal for a layover. Pick it up with your passport at the JR East Travel Service Centers in the stations (Terminal 1 8:30am to 7pm, Terminal 2·3 8:30am to 8pm) or at the passport-reading ticket machines (6:30am to 9:45pm).
- When it runs. The first N’EX from Terminal 2·3 leaves at 7:40am, every day, then about twice an hour in the day and once an hour in the evening, with the last into Tokyo at 9:47pm.
- When it’s worth it. For a plan around Tokyo Station, Shibuya or Shinjuku, with no change of train. For Ueno and Asakusa, the Skyliner is quicker and cheaper. No plan on this site uses the N’EX, so check the time of the last one back on JR East’s timetable before you go; if you miss it, the Keisei trains from Ueno and Nippori run later.
Keisei Main Line: to Narita town
- The ride. About 8 minutes from the airport to Keisei Narita, then 10 minutes on foot along Omotesando to Naritasan Shinshoji. Take a Keisei Main Line train that stops at Keisei Narita: check the departure screen. JR’s Narita Line also reaches JR Narita station in about 8 minutes, and the temple is 10 minutes on foot from there too.
- How often. Every 20 to 30 minutes in the day. The first from Terminal 2·3 leaves at 5:20am on weekdays and 5:19am at weekends, so Narita town works even for a dawn landing.
- Paying. Buy a ticket at the machine, or tap a Suica or PASMO card at the gate. The fare is a few hundred yen (our estimate).
- The last train back from Keisei Narita leaves at 11:48pm on weekdays and 11:56pm at weekends, later than any Narita flight needs.
Taxis, buses and pre-booked cars
- Taxis. Taxis from the airport charge fixed fares by zone: ¥23,500 to the nearest Tokyo wards (Edogawa, Katsushika and Adachi), ¥29,000 to central Tokyo (Chuo, Chiyoda, Taito, Bunkyo and Arakawa) and ¥31,500 to Shinjuku, Shibuya and most of Minato (Daiba, in Minato, is ¥28,000), by the Keiyo Road route. Expressway tolls are extra, and a late-night and early-morning surcharge applies from 10pm to 5am. Ask at the taxi stand for the fixed fare. Allow at least an hour each way, more in traffic (our estimate).
- Buses. The Airport Bus TYO-NRT reaches Tokyo Station in 65 minutes at its fastest for ¥1,500, and the Airport Limousine Bus costs ¥3,600 to Tokyo Station. They depend on the traffic, so no plan on this site uses them.
- Pre-booked transfers. A driver meets you in arrivals and takes you to any address; GetYourGuide lists transfers from Narita (opens in a new tab).
When a car is worth it. After the last train, or with children and heavy bags. On your own or as a couple, the Skyliner does the trip in less time for a tenth of the price.
Storing bags before you go
Every left-luggage option is before security, so you leave your bags after customs and pick them up on the way back:
- Coin lockers in Terminals 1, 2 and 3: ¥400, ¥600 or ¥800 a day by size, for up to 8 days. At Terminal 2 (basement) and Terminal 3 (2nd floor), some charge ¥300, ¥500 or ¥600 for the first 6 hours (seen November 2026).
- Staffed counters in Terminals 1 and 2.
If you take a big bag into town anyway, the Tokyo National Museum has lockers in each hall, and large bags aren’t allowed in its galleries.
Suica, PASMO and tickets
A Skyliner or N’EX ride needs its own ticket, so for one ride each way you don’t need a card at all. A card saves buying tickets on Tokyo’s subway, on the Asakusa plan, and on the train to Narita town.
- Welcome Suica, JR East’s card for visitors, is sold at the Welcome Suica machines and the JR East Travel Service Centers in both airport stations. It needs no deposit and lasts 28 days, but the balance can’t be refunded, so load only what you’ll use.
- Tourist PASMO is sold at the Skyliner & Keisei Information Centers in the Terminal 1 and Terminal 2·3 stations, and also lasts 28 days.
Timing your return
Aim to walk back into the terminal 90 minutes before your flight, boarding pass in hand. That leaves time for departure immigration and security; on separate tickets, where you also check in and drop bags, allow the 2 hours Narita advises.
In practice, leave Keisei Narita 2 hours 35 minutes before your flight, Keisei Ueno 2 hours 55 minutes before, and Asakusa 3 hours 10 minutes before. Flying from Terminal 3, allow 10 minutes more for the walk from the station.
| Layover | Time in town |
|---|---|
| 6 hours (Narita town) | About 1.5 hours |
| 6.5 hours (Narita town) | About 2 hours |
| 7 hours | About 2 hours |
| 8 hours | About 3 hours |
| 10 hours | About 5 hours |
| 12 hours | About 7 hours |
These times assume about an hour from landing to the train and 90 minutes at the airport before your flight, as in the itineraries. The Narita town rows allow about 40 minutes to get there, with the wait for a train, and about 65 back; the others take the Skyliner to Ueno, with about 65 minutes in and 85 back. A plan in Asakusa has about 30 minutes less.