Easy Guide to get around in Tokyo: Airport Transfer from Narita to Shinjuku

2014 was an interesting year for me. After being introduced into Japanese culture since I was 14 years of age, I was finally able to make my first trip to the Land of the Rising Sun last year.

Img courtesy of xcomglobal.com.sg

As someone who needs to have detailed planning before continuing with any plans (following through is something else though, guiltily), L and I made rather comprehensive research before the trip and planned out an itinerary with the objective to enjoy ourselves in a leisurely manner, i.e. no rushing from point to point, no mad tracking of time to ensure we adhere to the timing we state on the itinerary.

Because, what's the point of going for a vacation when it just feels like any other working/ school day of following tight schedules and meeting timelines?

Img courtesy of business2community.com

Step 1: Decide where you want to go

First thing to do as with any other trips is to figure out where do you want to visit for this particular trip. Work out a rough list of regions and cities you will be visiting and note it down. After that is done, decide which region you want to stay in and how to get there from the airport. 

Img courtesy of aftercollege.com

We decided to stay in Shinjuku because we will be exploring more of that region for the Tokyo leg (check out my next post for my itinerary in Tokyo), and so, we proceeded to make plans for airport transfer from Narita to Shinjuku.

Step 2: Find out what needs to be done before leaving your country

i. Decide on mode of transport after you leave the airport

There are several ways for one to get out of Narita Airport:

- By Taxi: 

It is not difficult to get a taxi and it is definitely very convenient to travel to your hotel through one. However, last I checked, a one way taxi ride from Narita to Shinjuku will cost you ~JPY 22,000, that is about 250 Sing Dollars!

- By Limousine Bus: Adults ~JPY 3,100 (SGD 35), Children ~JPY 1,550 (SGD 17.50)

One can enjoy the comfort of sitting comfortably from start till end at a more earthly price with the limo bus. However, the limo bus schedules are pretty limited, and you may wish to check out whether the bus stops at your hotel (or a hotel near your hotel) before you purchase the tickets at the airport counter. Check out the details at their official website here.

- By Rail (Narita Express): Adults ~JPY 3,190 (SGD 36), Children below 11 at 50% off

We decided to travel with the Narita Express (N'ex) (click on link to go to their official webpage) and alight directly at Shinjuku (150 minutes ride). The rail service allows tourists to alight at various train stations (e.g. Shinagawa and Shinjuku) and is included in the JR Pass package.

- By Rail (Skyliner): Adults ~JPY 2,470 (SGD 36), Children ~ JPY1,240 (SGD 14)

We chose this mode on our return trip to the airport from Ueno station, as our JR Pass would have expired by then and we wouldn't be able to enjoy a free N'ex ride. This is the fastest route as it takes only 41 minutes to reach the terminal  Check out the details here.

Banner in the airport advertising the Skyliner

ii. Booking flight tickets 

We checked out the various avenues available for airport transfer to Shinjuku and made sure that the arrival time is within Tokyo's public transport operating timings.

We then booked tickets from Delta Airlines which depart Singapore at approximately 5am, and reach Narita Airport at 1pm Japan time, GMT +9 (12 noon Singapore time, GMT +8). 

iii. Purchasing Japan Rail (JR) Pass

Exchange order for JR pass (purchased in Japanese Yen)

As mentioned in Step 1, we had a list of places that we are keen to visit, so we have done up a rough calculation of the cost to travel from cities to cities. As we will be travelling from Kantou (Tokyo, Chiba) to Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto etc), it is more economical to get a JR pass for the trip.

We then proceeded to purchase the JR Pass exchange order from an authorised agent before the trip as one cannot purchase it within Japan. For Singaporeans, you may wish to check out Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) Singapore office webpage (linked) for the prices and a full list of agents where you can purchase the pass from. More information on validity and use of JR pass can be found in the same link as well.

Do note that JR pass is only valid for foreigners who are visitng Japan as a 'temporary visitor' (i.e. not for studies or work) or for Japanese nationals who are permanent residents or married to a foreigner and staying in the foreign country.

I would recommend one to do the calculation of transport costs as many people have told me that their itinerary doesn't require them to get a JR Pass. You may wish to use Hyperdia to do your costing planning (I love this website!).


Step 3: After you touch down and your adventure starts

Upon arrival, we made our way to the skyliner counter to get our tickets for the trip back to Narita Airport. If you are keen to get the skyliner pass, you will see this counter at the arrival hall, after you have cleared the necessary procedures:

Img courtesy of mcha-jp.com

For us, we purchased the one way Keisei Skyliner and 2-day Metro Pass Package. The lady at the counter told us that we cannot book the timeslot and obtain the ticket from them, instead, I would have to go down to either Nippori or Ueno station to do the booking. The 2-day metro pass will be valid for two consecutive days after your first use.

Our next stop was the JR East Travel Service Centre:

Yes, this was the queue, but it cleared pretty fast

We got ourselves the one way N'ex and Suica Package. The Suica is their transport cash-card, or in Singapore terms, the ezlink card equivalent. The Suica comes in handy if you need to purchase food or drinks at a convenience store but found yourself lacking in cash.

A summary of the various passes purchased were (clockwise from left):
The N'ex and Suica (with pre-stored value of JPY2,000) Package, the 7-day JR Pass, the Keisei Skyliner Exchange ticket (you have to bring this ticket to the Keisei Service counter at Ueno or Nippori Station to reserve seats), and the 2-day Metro pass.

[After-note] In the end, we had under-utilised our metro pass (as some places are more accessible via the JR), and we are pretty sure that we will definitely not get this package the next time we go back to Japan.

Leaving the Airport

Look for the signboards that will lead you to the train platform.

You can't go wrong following these signboards in the airport

Hands trembling with excitement while sniffing Japan's air

If you reach the platform with some time allowance before boarding, take some time to look at the products sold in the kiosk at the platform. There are also vending machines available. 

Typical Kiosk in Japan's stations and platforms

Just grab some food and beverages and you will be excited and satisfied throughout the train ride.

From tea to beer to snacks to riceballs...

On a sidenote, I recommend this spicy squid soft bones snack (yaki ika nankotsu), which goes really well with the beer.

On the Narita Express

This was the route N'Ex followed to Tokyo:

For us, we chose the green car (premium tickets) for the first ride in Japan. 

The premium carriage come with fully reclining leather seats, retractable tables, and a really spacious restroom. 

Empty carriage made us feel like we have booked the place for ourselves!

Because in a practical sense, the restroom is an important aspect

All train carriages come with a designated luggage deposit area:

Just leave your luggage there and lock it with the cables

If you didn't manage to check out the kiosk, or if you are just feeling rich, you may also wish to purchase F&B on the train itself, like this cup of coffee which cost three times the price and yet tasted similar or worse than convenience store's coffee:

Reaching the destination

At long last, we arrived at our destination, Shinjuku Station!

Tokyo, here we come!!

We stayed at Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku for this trip. For more details on our trip and reviews of the various places we have been, check out our itinerary listing which will be updated as we go along! Or simply subscribe to us now!

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PS. All photos have been taken by me unless otherwise credited. Please do drop me a note or leave a comment if you would like to use any of my photos or texts in your own publications. Thank you.

8 Activities you can do in Mother Farm [Part 2]

We explored the various options to get to Mother Farm in the last post. So what exactly can you do when you are at the farm?



According to their official website, there are 8 main activities that you can do.

Image from Mother Farm official Webpage

We didn't manage to experience all of them due to time constraint (we only had 4 hours there because of the shuttle bus pickup timings), so if you would like to do so, perhaps you can consider the farmstay option :)

1. Farm events

Piglet Racing, Image from Mother Farm FB page

There are many farm animals events held at different areas of the farm, for example: sheep shearing, Duck Parade, piglets race, cow milking, horse riding, and many more.

Sheep herding parade, image from Mother Farm FB page

We managed to catch 'The Sheepdog and his Friends' show at the Agrodome, and before the different segments start, these adorable animals were all lined up in the enclosure outside the dome.

 I never knew sheeps are such orderly animals, look at them all lined up along the wooden fence:



It was spring, so they are all really fluffy and woolly. I couldnt resist sinking my hand into their warm coat:



The Alpaca seems to say, 'Look at me! I'm gorgeous!'



I have never seen such a furry cow in my entire life. This may sound like a frog in a well, but hey, in Singapore, where it is summer all year round, cows do not need such thick fur!

 The timeslots for events change every season, so be sure to enquire at the counters or check out the Japanese webpage for details.

2. Fauna Appreciation

The second to-do item in the list is fauna appreciation. There are different flowers to admire during each season such as Rape Flowers during Spring, Hydrangea during Summer, Salvia during Autumn, and Narcissus during Winter. Other flowers include Lavender and Plum blossoms.

Field of Salvia, image from Mother Farm FB page

Armed with the farm map at hand, we walked around the route to explore the theme park.
Being built on a mountain also means that we get to take panorama photos that extends far across into the horizon like this:



Though the trees have yet to start budding, the rape flowers were fast to be in season and blooming:



This is a particularly popular spot for photo-taking. We have seen families carrying their children up into the sea of flowers to get a photo:

We walked past the Lavender field, but it was still bare at that point of time:

3. Fruits Picking

Similar to the fauna collection, there are different seasons for different fruits. For example, you can pick ripe tomatoes and strawberries between January and May each year, blueberries in mid-July and August, and kiwis in November.

Strawberry harvesting, image from Mother Farm FB page

4. Hands-on Workshops

There are several workshops available at the farm, but reservations have to be made prior to the commencement of class. For food classes (such as cheese making, jam making etc), it typically cost JPY800-1000 (~SGD9-12) and each class is typically restricted to 36 pax.

There are craft classes available too.

Do note that the workshops are all conducted in Japanese.

5. Amusement Rides

The Waku-Waku Land Amusement park within the farm has several different rides which ranges from JPY200-500 (~SGD2-6) per ride. You would have to buy the JPY1000 coupons before going for any rides.



6. Restaurants and Food Kiosks

There is a designated area for restaurants but if you are hungry and need a bite, food kiosks are located all over the farm.

Food directory where the random boy decided to park himself there:



We wanted to get some food, but the queues for the restaurants were crazy. This was the shortest queue that day, but it was still at least an hour's wait:



The menu was actually rather impressive, just that with only 4 hours to spare, we really couldn't afford the wait:

Recommended items, image from Mother farm official webpage

Limited edition/ seasonal items, image from Mother farm official webpage

We decided to give up and look for a food kiosk with the shortest line. We can redeem the complimentary soft serve at any food kiosk, so it was rather convenient:



Actually, we were wrong. kinda.
The seemingly manageable queue crawls. No, we were not exaggerating because it took us 45 minutes to reach the counter, and many foodstuff were sold out. By my standards, I don't know how it can take them so long to clear the line when the food sold just required some microwaving to heat up. But at least Japan service crew is always polite.

Finally reaching the start of the line:



After queuing for so long, we decided we should at least get more food to make the lost time worthwhile. A slice of pizza (JPY350), hot coffee (JPY260), 2 yaki-onigiris (JPY100 each), and of course, the complimentary soft serves (original price at JPY330 each).

They pride themselves for using their own farm-produced sausages for the pizza:



Strawberry and mixed (strawberry and vanilla) soft serves:

7. Shopping

There were souvenir stores around the farm, but the most noticeable one is the store right near the bus bay.

They sell a variety of items, ranging from Mother Farm's snacks, to plushies and stationeries, to purikura (photo booths).

Waffle cookies at JPY630 for a box of 20:



Milk cake (JPY740):


Cheese of various flavours and varieties [shiso flavoured (perilla) featured here]. You can try the cheese flavours before deciding which one to get:



We took a purikura shot as a memento:



Giant cow plushie on display, human for scale:



Souvenirs were nicely placed in Mother Farm paper bags:

8. Camping

You can choose to stay in the cottages or campsite within the farm, or check-in to their partner hotels nearby. It is rather complicated to reserve a slot for the cottage, so I personally think that if you want to do so, it will be better for you to get someone who can understand Japanese to help you with it (if you don't understand the language).

Cottages

Reservations start 3 months in advance, and you need to pay extra for meals. Rates are based on number of people for each cottage.

Campsite

Available in July and August, reservations start in April. You would need to pay extra to rent tents, use the shower (per 5 min charge), electricity... etc.

Partner Hotel

You may also wish to skip all the hassle and book a night with Okura Akademia Park hotel, which is a 25 min drive away from the farm.

9. Miscellaneous

Here are some photos i took while walking around the farm.

The famed Alpaca (which has everyone surrounding it to take photos):


Little piglets (randomly, i think teacups piggies are cute! note: cute is not a reason to adopt a life on a whim):



Carrot sticks on sale right outside the stables. You can get a cup to feed the horses:





Sheep barn. This enclosed area has so many sheeps that the bleatings can be deafening. I never thought that a herd of sheeps can be so noisy:



It was a rather pleasant and refreshing trip to the farm. The only thing that could be improved was the food kiosk queue system and serving speed. 

Surprisingly, there wasn't many foreigners when we were there. Most of the farm-goers were Japanese families enjoying a relaxing day-off.


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