There are two international airports serving the greater Tokyo area. Narita and Haneda. When you come visit, most likely you will fly to Narita Airport. It is the larger of the two airports and the further of the two from where we live in Ikego. Haneda is the closer of the two and much smaller with fewer international flights to the U.S. Obviously, I will plan to meet you whenever and wherever your flight arrives. If you fly into Narita, you will need to prepare yourself for a 2 hour train ride back to our house.
The positives of this situation include us being able to chit chat for two hours while sipping our (non-exploding) roadies and enjoying Japanese snacks. Another positive is one of the trains we will ride is an express train. It is called the Narita Express. We will go from Narita airport to Yokohama, about 1.5 hours in comfy style. No worries, I will be there to help you purchase your ¥4,200 ($42) ticket. Once we arrive in Yokohama, it is only about 30 more minutes on the train to our house. Easy, right?
Well, I scoped it out today. Dave was returning from a business trip and we thought it beneficial for us to figure out the route together. Although, that meant first I had to do it solo in order to meet him at the airport. Here was my route to Yokohama.
My friend, Dina, has made the trip to the airport several times and schooled me on the process during one of our runs this week. The important thing is to purchase your ticket BEFORE going through the ticket stall. Do NOT use your PASMO card. (Normal train card) you have to purchase a special ticket. The other important thing is to purchase a reserved seat so you don’t sit in someone’s and have to move. Cost is the same. Once you are standing at the platform, you have to pay attention to where your car and seat will stop. I was confused and showed my ticket to one of the nice men wearing a conductor uniform. He escorted me to my spot.
The sign didn’t photograph well, but it says to stand here for car 12.
I planned my trip so I had about 25 minutes in Yokohama to purchase my ticket and find the correct track. All of that was pretty easy. The part I messed up – I purchased a green card ticket. (Side note, when buying train tickets it is possible to switch the ticket kiosk to English. I will never question why American ATMs offer Spanish again!) It cost ¥5,830! What! It’s only supposed to be ¥4,200. Oh, crap. Turns out, I bought a fancy seat in the fancy car. Leather seat with carpet floors. Very spacious. Oh, geez. For a while it was just me and one other passenger. After the second stop in Tokyo, we picked up more people. Anyways, here is the route on the Narita Express.
I also must admit, I was a bit emotional (wet eyes aka tears) once I was final seated on the train. I can’t really explain why. The romantic thing would be to say it was because I was going to pick up my husband, the love of my life. And perhaps that was part of it. Honestly, it has been very strange to be in Japan alone this past week. Simultaneously, I think it was because I managed to navigate yet another Japanese situation solo and successfully. Living here is fun, exciting and daunting. Adventure awaits around every corner. Every day I learn something new and gain more confidence. Today was no exception.
The Narita Express (NEX)
After arriving at the airport, I found Dave who didn’t find his luggage. It is still flying the friendly skies. We quickly purchased our tickets and made the NEX for home. Didn’t take too long for this to happen…
Keep that in mind as well. If you need a nap when you arrive, it’s completely ok. Trust me when I tell you – it’s a long flight and a long train ride home from Narita. Just relax and enjoy. I’m happy your here.
PS. I loved the green car so much I upgraded us on the way home, too.
PSS. I’ll tell you about traveling to Haneda next month. We fly out of there for our Xmas holiday.