Narita Airport to Shibuya: Narita Express, Rail Lines and Terminal Walks

You step out of customs at Narita with a long flight behind you, and the first thing you notice is how far this airport sits from the city it serves. Signs point to rail platforms, and the names on them (Narita Express, Skyliner, Access Express) are the first Tokyo vocabulary you learn.

Narita is Japan’s largest international airport, and it lies east of central Tokyo in Chiba, so the ride into town is part of the trip rather than an afterthought.

How do you get from the airport to Tokyo?

For Shibuya, the Narita Express is the direct rail answer: JR East runs it from the airport straight to Shibuya Station, with no change of trains along the way. The same train also calls at Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shinjuku, so it works for several parts of the city and not only for this one.

What decides your choice is mostly where you are sleeping and how much you are carrying. If your hotel is near Shibuya, Shinjuku or Shinagawa, a train that stops at those very stations spares you a transfer with your bags.

If you are headed toward Ueno or Nippori, the Keisei lines fit better, since their stations are on that side of town. Arriving late matters too, because the airport has a curfew on aircraft operations between midnight and 6 a.m., so most landings come well before the middle of the night.

Three rail lines serve the airport: the Narita Sky Access line, the Keisei line and the JR line. Two of those names belong to Keisei Electric Railway, and the third is JR.

Travelers who prefer to ride on a single reserved seat will like the fact that every seat on the Narita Express is reserved, in Standard or Green (first class). It has run since 1991, and it is nonsmoking throughout, which makes the ride a calm first hour in Japan. Its main competitor is the Keisei Skyliner, which heads to a different part of town.

Your options from the airport

Narita Express (JR East) to Shibuya

The Narita Express is the train that reaches Shibuya Station directly. Its stops, in order of the list JR publishes, are Narita Airport Station (Terminal 1), Airport Terminal 2 Building Station (Terminals 2 and 3), Narita Station, Chiba Station, Tokyo Station, Shinagawa Station, Shibuya Station, Shinjuku Station, Yokohama Station and Ofuna Station. It gives access to Tokyo, Shibuya, Shinjuku and the West Tokyo area.

Between Tokyo Station and the airport the ride takes between 55 minutes and an hour on average. Trains run about every half hour in the mornings and evenings and hourly through the middle of the day, so the rhythm of your arrival can shape the wait. Seats are all reserved, with Standard and Green cars, and the train suits anyone with suitcases who wants to sit down for the whole ride.

JR Line

The JR Line from Narita serves Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Yokohama and Ofuna, among other stations. It is the same family of rails the Narita Express uses, and it adds Ikebukuro to the list of places you can reach without leaving JR.

It suits travelers whose hotel sits near one of those JR stations, including Shibuya. An IC card such as Suica or Pasmo works on trains, buses and boats, and in vending machines and convenience stores, so one card can cover your first days.

Keisei Skyliner and the Keisei lines

The Keisei Skyliner stops at Narita Airport Station (Terminal 1), Airport Terminal 2 Building Station (Terminals 2 and 3), Shin-Kamagaya, Aoto, Nippori and Keisei Ueno, though some trains skip Aoto and Shin-Kamagaya. It is the main competitor of the Narita Express and leads to the Nippori and Ueno side of the city rather than to Shibuya.

Slower Keisei trains also serve the airport. The Access Express calls at Shin-Kamagaya, Higashi-Matsudo, Keisei Takasago, Aoto, Nippori and Keisei Ueno, while the Keisei Main Line stops at Keisei Narita, Keisei Funabashi, Keisei Takasago, Aoto, Nippori and Keisei Ueno. From any of those you continue to Shibuya by changing to another line, which suits travelers staying on the Ueno side or those who like to stop along the way.

Airport transfer options compared

The trade-off is simple. The Narita Express is the one that reaches Shibuya without a change, and its reserved seats make it the comfortable choice with luggage. The Skyliner is its main rival and heads to Nippori and Ueno, so it pays off only if your hotel is on that side.

The slower Keisei trains, the Access Express and the Main Line, serve more stops along the way and are for travelers whose destination is one of those stations. Timing matters as well, since the Narita Express runs about every half hour in the mornings and evenings and hourly in the middle of the day.

Arriving at the airport

Narita has three terminals, and each connects to the trains in its own way. Terminal 1 is a 5-minute walk from Narita Airport Station. Terminal 2 is a 5-minute walk from Narita Airport Terminal 2・3 Station, and Terminal 3 is a 10-minute walk from the same station.

The airport is large. Terminal 1 has 40 gates, and Terminal 2 has 32 boarding gates, so the walk from your plane to customs can already take a while.

Terminal 3 is where many low-cost airlines operate, and it was voted the best terminal for low-cost airlines in Asia by Skytrax in 2024. It also has a 24-hour food court, the largest airport food court in Japan, which makes it a place to eat whatever the hour.

Trains that serve Terminals 2 and 3 use the Terminal 2 Building station, and trains for Terminal 1 use Narita Airport Station. The Narita Express and the Keisei Skyliner both stop at both. Check which station is yours before heading to the platform, since the stop names differ between terminals.

The airport lies about 37 miles east of central Tokyo, in Narita, Chiba. That distance is why the rail lines matter so much here, and why the train names become familiar fast.

Good to know before you go

An IC card makes the first day easier. It can be used on trains, buses and boats, and in vending machines, convenience stores and some taxis. Regional cards have different names and characters, yet they work throughout Japan.

Once you reach Shibuya, you are in the Kanto region, on Honshu. Roppongi and Akasaka can be reached from Shibuya Station in about 10 minutes by train, which makes an easy second stop for dinner or a night out.