Getting to Tokyo from Narita Airport

The city of Tokyo is quite far from Japan's international airport, like how Seoul is not exactly walking distance from Incheon Airport in Korea. According to Google Maps, Tokyo is 71.2 km from Narita Airport. You definitely can't walk or run that far in a day!

While planning my trip to Tokyo, I considered three options to get to my hotel, Smile Hotel Sugamo:

1. Take the Tokyo Shuttle from the airport to Tokyo Station, then commute from Tokyo Station to Sugamo Station; walk to hotel

2. Take the Keisei Skyliner to Ueno Station, then commute from Ueno Station to Sugamo Station; walk to hotel

3. Take a taxi from the airport to hotel

The easiest, fastest and most convenient way to get to Tokyo is to ride a taxi. But I did not consider this option, because it was the priciest. I wasn't able to take a photo of the rates, but I know that the lowest amount to book a taxi was 22,000 Yen. Considering that I had a budget of 10,000 Yen a day, I knew that I would be bankrupt in seconds!

In the end, I chose the Keisei Skyliner option, because I felt more comfortable riding a train where I could sit down and rest while enjoying the scenery. I bought my round trip tickets via Klook. The entire trip, plus transfers, only cost me about 1300 Yen (13 USD).

A photo of me before riding the Keisei Skyliner from Narita Airport. Not included in picture: My huge luggage.

Riding a bus could also give me that option, but I don't really ride a lot of buses when I travel. I mostly use the train or subway system when I travel. It's just personal preference. Go ahead and choose the option that you're most comfortable with.

I had a huge check-in luggage so it was a chore for me to lug it around. I'm very thankful that one of the train officers helped me get my luggage inside the luggage rack. He was very welcoming and hospitable, a good sign that the residents of Tokyo will be kind to this first-time traveller.

My train ticket.

Transfering from the Keisei Ueno station to the JR Ueno Station was a bit of a challenge, but I was able to locate the JR station in ten minutes, because I followed the sign posts.

Before taking the train from Ueno Station to Sugamo Station, I bought a SUICA card first. It's kind of like the Octopus card in Hong Kong, or EZ-Link card in Singapore. In my home country, the Philippines, it is similar to the Beep Card. 

The SUICA card is a reloadable transportation card that allows commuters to ride almost all the trains and buses in Japan. Its mascot is a penguin, and you can even customize the card with your name! You can buy the card at any JR station.

The SUICA card.

I loaded my card with 1500 Yen; 500 Yen is payment for the card itself and 1000 Yen is the consumable amount. Later on, I would be reloading this card multiple times at the train station. 

With the SUICA card, I was able to travel to the JR Sugamo Station. From the station, I walked to my hotel and I was able to check myself in.

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