Landing in Japan and trains schedule
Landing in Japan and trains schedule
Hi everyone,
We are two wheelchair users who wanted to share with you some doubts when landing in Japan for first time and the schedule for trains to leave the airport.
in mid april, we are expected to land in Tokyo- Narita terminal 1 at 2:00 pm with Air China. Then our plan is going to travel directly to Kyoto.
So we wanted to buy wheelchair seats tickets train through SmartEx app of the Narita Express (to Tokyo station or Shinagawa) and also shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. The point is avoiding the risk of wasting time at the airport or not getting a wheelchair seats.
The question is what hours do you recommend to purchase it? I know that leaving aircratts and borders could be slow.
Landing at 2 pm, what donyou think for example Narita express at 4 pm? Shinkansen to Kyoto at 5:30 pm?
Any recommendation or tips are absolutely welcomed.
Thanks in advance,
- 5 Replies
Hi! I am a partial cane/wheelchair user. I can walk to my seat so I check my wheelchair in at the gate. I have found that compared to other parts of the world, Japanese ground crew and customs processes are LOT more efficient. That said, I would give yourselves some time (in case of flight delays and just to give you more time to get from the plane to the train). 2-3 hours sounds very comfortable to me and I believe the Narita Express runs pretty frequently. Better to give yourselves more time than less… if you have more time, you can stop for a snack!
Thank you so much for your answers. Perhaps I will extend a bit more the Narita (2,5 hours) after landing and get more time between Narita and Shinkansen for snacks.
thank you for your help!!
I checked Google maps and while doable I think you’re a little too tight with 18 mins between trains. The shinkansens don’t have any food service and you need snacks. Although I used the ‘wheelchair accessible’ option for google maps it still mentions stairs, so there is the added time for an elevator. With the Nozomi, you’re there in 3 1/2 hours anyway, so I would give yourself extra time at Shinagawa to take the next train.
Thank you so much for your answer. I will extend a bit more (like having 40’) between Narita and Shinkansen for snacks and getting in to the train without rushing.
thank you for your help!!
Hello,
from my personal experience, don’t be stressed too much about timings and seats availability in the Shinkansen. Trains in Japan are very efficient, so the help for wheelchair users is efficient too. If you have 2 hours between landing and taking the train, it seems in fact comfortable.
The main difference with express trains in Europe is that they are REALLY MORE FREQUENT in Japan. There is a Shinkansen almost every 15 minutes, so it would be really unlucky that ALL the wheelchair seats on ALL the shinkansen are already booked.
Japanese help staff will make all they can to help you and to succeed in their task, it is very important for them, so you can be more relax than using help services in Europe…
I hope my experience will help you, have a good trip !
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