Journal
Haneda to Tokyo, and straight on to Kyoto
Haneda is inside Tokyo rather than an hour outside it. Land in the morning and you can be in an onsen before dinner, which is the best jet lag plan there is.
Photo: Pexels
Two trains, both easy
Haneda sits inside Tokyo rather than an hour outside it, and that single fact changes an itinerary. You can land in the morning and be at a ryokan in the mountains by check-in.
Two rail lines serve the airport, and both cost only a few hundred yen.
| Route | Time | Goes to | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keikyu Line | About 15 min | Shinagawa, then on to Asakusa via the subway | Anyone heading for a shinkansen |
| Tokyo Monorail | About 15 min | Hamamatsucho, then the Yamanote loop | Tokyo Station, Ueno, the east side |
| Limousine bus | 30 to 60 min | Major hotels directly | Heavy luggage, no changes |
Both trains run from the basement of the terminals, both take IC cards, and neither needs a reservation. Unless you are staying at a hotel the bus serves directly, take the train.
Going straight on to Kyoto or Hakone
This is the part people miss. The Keikyu line ends at Shinagawa, and Shinagawa is a shinkansen station. Landing at Haneda and continuing to Kyoto the same day means one easy change: fifteen minutes on the train, then straight onto a Tokyo-bound platform going the other way.
The same trick works for a first-night ryokan. Shinagawa to Odawara is about half an hour by shinkansen, and Odawara is the gateway to Hakone. With a morning arrival you can be in an onsen before dinner, which is the single best way to handle jet lag on a Japan trip.
Check your inn's check-in window before you plan this. Most ryokan take guests between 15:00 and 18:00 and serve dinner at a set hour, so a delayed flight has consequences a hotel booking would not.
Late and early flights
Haneda handles international flights through the night, and trains do not. The last departures leave around midnight, after which you are choosing between a night bus, a taxi, or waiting in the terminal, which is a well-established thing to do here and less grim than it sounds.
For very early departures, the same problem runs in reverse: the first trains arrive around 05:00, so a 06:30 flight means a taxi or a night in an airport hotel.
Questions people actually ask
- Haneda or Narita, if I get to choose?
- Haneda, for almost every itinerary. It is closer, cheaper to reach, and connects to the shinkansen network with one short train ride.
- Does the Japan Rail Pass cover the airport trains?
- The monorail is covered; the Keikyu line is not. The sums involved are small either way.
- How long do I need between landing and a shinkansen?
- Allow two hours from wheels-down to a reserved seat: immigration, baggage, fifteen minutes to Shinagawa, and a margin. Seats are easy to change if you are early.
- Can I send luggage from Haneda?
- Yes, there are forwarding counters in the arrivals halls. If a ryokan is in your plans, use them.
First night somewhere quiet?
Hakone is half an hour from Shinagawa by shinkansen, then a short local train.