Eric's Beijing Diary

Narita Express. This is not the only way to get the job done, but in my opinion, it is the fastest and simplest. The problem, of course, is that, although Narita Airport is used as the International Airport for the Tokyo area, in fact, Narita is not anywhere near Tokyo. It is about 60 Kilometers out of town.

Being a train, the Narita Express is not traffic dependent. So you never have to worry about a traffic snarl making you late. Aside from that issue, the Narita Express travels quite a bit faster than a bus. It is not a maglev, to be sure. But this really is a very fast train. I rode the Narita Express from the Shinjuku station to Narita in a little over an hour. Mind you, this is coming from someone who doesn't like busses. On a bus, you have to sit cramped in your seat for the whole trip. On the Narita express, you can get up and move around anytime you feel like it. There are airplane style seats, restrooms on every car, and a lady who comes through with condiments. And the end of the line at Narita is inside the terminal building not too far from the departure gates. It is very simple, even for someone who is not familiar with Tokyo.