International Railroad Discussion > Shinkansen to Haneda

Wednesday I'll be arriving Tokyo on a Shinkanesen from the north. I'll have lots of suitcases. Is there a way to get to Haneda airport without dealing with the crowded Yamanote line to the monorail? I've always flown from Narita before.

If I had lots of luggage I'd go for a taxi. Not real cheap, but real convenient.

Leo

There is a bus terminal on the "Yaesu" side (east) of the Tokyo station.
You could find a Limousine bus service to Haneda there.
I heard that it temporarily discontinued the service due to COVID-19 last December.

A Taxi cab is available to the airport. 
The driver may ask if you want to use the paid highway to the airport.

If you do not want to take the Yamanote, try using Tokaido mainline trains.
The second stop of the line is Shinagawa, where you can transfer to the Keikyu line.
The Keikyu provides a direct train to Haneda Airport. It says Ltd. express, but no extra fee is required.

Still considering taking a mono-rail from Hamamatsucho, then taking Keihin Tohoku southbound, not the Yamanote.
During the daytime, it provides "Rapid" service. It means that the next stop, Hamamatsucho.  

If you need further assistance, drop me PM, and I will try my best.

I hope this helps,

Hiroshi

symph1 Wrote:
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> Wednesday I'll be arriving Tokyo on a Shinkanesen
> from the north. I'll have lots of suitcases. Is
> there a way to get to Haneda airport without
> dealing with the crowded Yamanote line to the
> monorail? I've always flown from Narita before.

Yamanote Line (light green) and Keihin-Tohoku Line (blue) run parallel and they share the same platform going the same direction, so you have a choice to hop on the first one that arrives, or if time allows, wait for either of the train that's less crowded. Both of them stop at Hamamatsu-cho, even the midday rapid service on the Keihin-Tohoku Line, so you won't miss your Monorail transfer.

You probably already know that Tokyo is the better station to make the transfer from the Shinkansen, since all the platforms are about the same level elevation wise, none underground - Shinkansen runs underground at Ueno, and it's a bit of a maze to transfer to Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku Line there.

https://www.jreast.co.jp/estation/stations/1248.html

Above link is the official Japanese map of Hamamatsu-cho Station with the elevator locations. Even if you can't decipher the kanji, elevators are available (3rd Floor to 5th Floor for the monorail past the JR fare gate), so hopefully, moving your luggages won't be too much of a hassle.

If you have a JR Rail Pass, you can transfer from the Joetsu/Hokuriku Shinkansen to Tokaido Shinkansen at Tokyo. The platforms are adjacent, elevators available, so very short distance-wise. Then you detrain at Shinagawa, no additional charge. You'll have to walk the entire width of Shinagawa Station to transfer from Shinkansen to Keikyu Line, but the walk is flat, and there's elevator available on the Keikyu Line side, minor elevation change since both the transfer walkway and Keikyu Line are above ground. Onto Haneda from there.

Official Japanese Shinagawa Station map:

https://www.jreast.co.jp/estation/stations/788.html

It is a bit tricky to pick the right Keikyu train to go to Haneda instead of toward Kawasaki (and Yokohama) if you haven't done it before, but the bilingual announcements should be clear enough, and just wait in the correct color-coded line, and you'll be OK. Watch for other travellers with luggage for hints.

Both Monorail and Keikyu trains offer convenient access to the departure area at Haneda. Monorail platform is on the same floor, and there are large elevators from the underground Keikyu platforms.

If you have further questions or are curious for other alternatives, ask here, or PM Hiroshi-san - he has posted many reports on the Keikyu Line. FYI, bus terminals at Tokyo Station is on the Shinkansen side (Yaesu Exits) so as Hiroshi-san suggested, a logical choice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/23 17:25 by cchan006.

LeoBird Wrote:
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> If I had lots of luggage I'd go for a taxi. Not
> real cheap, but real convenient.
>
> Leo

Kamata is geographically the closest major station to Haneda Airport. One alternative is to take the Keikyu Line to Keikyu-Kamata, or take the Keihin-Tohoku Line to JR Kamata. They are separate stations, a bit too far to be considered transfer stations, but taxis serve both stations, and there can be substantial cost savings for the last leg on the wonderful Japanese taxis.

Thanks all to offered advice. After sharing these with my son, we decided to just go for the Yamanote/Keihin-Tohoku Lines. Knowing that there was a same-platform choice if Yamanote was too crowded was a relief.

And as it turned out, there was no problem. Either choice offered plenty of room—not enough to sit, but easy on and off, even with my suitcases. For a Wednesday at 4:00, I was pleasantly surprised.

Thanks again!