Tokyo to Matsumoto: the Azusa Limited Express, Journey Time and What to Expect

Under the departure boards of Shinjuku Station, with commuters streaming toward a dozen different platforms, a traveler heading for the Japan Alps looks for one name: Azusa. It is the limited express that carries passengers out of the capital and into the mountains of Nagano Prefecture. The short answer is that you take it from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, a ride of about two hours and forty minutes.

How do you get from Tokyo to Matsumoto?

You take the Azusa limited express from Shinjuku Station to Matsumoto, and the trip takes 2 hours and 40 minutes by train. The Azusa is operated by the East Japan Railway Company, known as JR East, and it mainly runs between those two stations. Shinjuku is a major railway station in Tokyo and the main connecting hub between central, eastern and western Tokyo, so travelers reach it by subway or commuter line from wherever they are staying.

The route follows the Chuo Main Line out of Tokyo and then, beyond Shiojiri, turns onto the Shinonoi Line to finish at Matsumoto. That junction matters.

At Shiojiri no train continues from the Chuo East Line to the West Line, so the Azusa is the service that carries you onward to Matsumoto rather than toward Nagoya. The Chuo Main Line itself connects Tokyo and Nagoya, and its eastern portion is operated by JR East, with the dividing point at Shiojiri.

Starting at Shinjuku

Shinjuku was used by an average of 3.59 million people per day in 2018, which made it the busiest railway station in the world as registered with Guinness World Records. Expect long corridors, many exits and several operators sharing the same complex. In Tokyo you will find Japan Railways trains, Tokyo Metro lines and Toei Subway lines, among others, and the JR East section alone handles an average of 1.5 million passengers per day.

Narita Express services to and from Narita International Airport begin and end at Shinjuku, which makes the station a natural place to start if you land at Narita and are heading straight for the mountains. Give yourself time to find your platform, because the walk between exits can be long. The east-west free passageway, opened in 2020, shortened the time pedestrians need to pass between the east and west exits by 10 minutes.

Tickets for the Azusa

Boarding an Azusa takes two tickets: the basic fare ticket and a limited express ticket. Then comes a choice of seat. A Reserved Seat Ticket gives you a specified seat for the ride, while an Unreserved Seat Ticket lets you sit in any unreserved seat on the train.

All Azusa services have used E353 series trains since 23 December 2017. When every service moved to that type, the old name Super Azusa was abolished, so you will see only Azusa on current boards. The name itself comes from the Azusa River in Matsumoto.

Which options are there?

The main option is the Azusa by rail, and the alternatives are slower local trains on the same line or a coach from Shinjuku. The Azusa is the limited express that runs the whole way to Matsumoto, and it is the one the Japan National Tourism Organization points to when it gives the journey from Shinjuku as 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The Azusa limited express

The Azusa is the straightforward choice because it runs through from Shinjuku to Matsumoto without a change at Shiojiri. Its path takes in the Chuo Main Line and the Shinonoi Line, and a few Azusa trains also run on the Sobu Main Line and the Oito Line.

The line climbs into the hills as it leaves the Kanto plain. Its highest point, near Fujimi, is about 900 meters (3,000 ft) above sea level. Along the Chuo East Line section, peaks of the Akaishi and Kiso ranges as well as Mount Yatsugatake can be seen from trains, which gives the window seat some purpose on the way up.

Local and rapid trains

Japan also runs local and rapid trains. Local trains stop at every station, which makes them ideal for short distances, while rapid trains skip smaller stations and do not require a supplement. They are part of how the network works around Tokyo itself, and they suit hops between neighboring stations far better than a long run into the mountains.

Beyond Shiojiri the picture changes. The Shiojiri to Nakatsugawa corridor is served by only one limited express and one local service per hour, so the western side of the line is a thinner timetable than the Tokyo end. That is a reminder that this is a mountain railway, not a commuter loop.

Express buses from Shinjuku

Shinjuku has a second kind of departure point. Busta Shinjuku, the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, opened on April 4, 2016 near the south exit of Shinjuku Station, and considerable numbers of coaches and airport buses depart from it. It is the place to look if you prefer a road journey to the rails.

Driving yourself is a different matter. In Japan traffic moves on the left side of the road, and if you do not know Japanese you will have trouble understanding road signs. For a trip into the mountains, the train keeps those questions away.

What should you know before you travel from Tokyo to Matsumoto?

Know that you need two tickets, that the journey runs about two hours and forty minutes, and that Shinjuku is large enough to deserve a little time. Japanese trains have a reputation for being always on time, which allows travelers to plan their trips to the minute, so a connection into your day in Matsumoto is easy to picture.

What the ride is like

The trip begins in dense city and ends among mountains. Out of Tokyo the Chuo Main Line is grade-separated between Tokyo and Mitaka, with no level crossings, and then the track works its way west and up toward the high country. After Shiojiri the Azusa swings onto the Shinonoi Line and rolls into Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture.

The Chuo Main Line is a long railway. Its whole route from Tokyo to Nagoya, including branch, is 264 miles (263.8 mi), and it is the slowest direct railway connection between those two cities. For Matsumoto you ride only the first part of it, and then the Shinonoi Line.

Other lines and onward trips

Not every limited express on the Chuo Main Line goes to Matsumoto. Its limited express services include Azusa, Super Azusa, Kaiji, Hamakaiji, Narita Express and Shinano, and the Kaiji, for example, terminates at Kofu, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture. If a board shows Kaiji, it is not the train you want.

From Matsumoto you can keep going. Nagano Station is 50 minutes by train, and Nagano City lies approximately 47 miles to the north. Nagoya Station is 2 hours away by train. The Chuo West Line there parallels the old Nakasendo highway, famous for the preserved post towns of Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku and the steep Kiso Valley.

Reaching Shinjuku

Many routes lead into Shinjuku. The Odakyu Odawara Line is a major commuter route stretching southwest to the coastal city of Odawara and the mountains of Hakone, and the Keio Line links the station with Hachioji to the west. The Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line station opened on 15 March 1959, and the Toei Oedo Line station followed on 19 December 1997.

If you are coming from the airports, Tokyo’s nearest are Haneda Airport, officially Tokyo International Airport, and Narita Airport, Japan’s largest international airport. From Narita, the Narita Express ends at Shinjuku, so the first leg and the Azusa meet in the same station.

Good to know before you go

Matsumoto sits in Nagano Prefecture and has been a designated core city since April 1, 2021, so it is a proper city with a station to match rather than a mountain stop. Keep your basic fare ticket and your limited express ticket together, since the Azusa needs both. Shinjuku is a hub where several operators share one building, so look for the JR East gates and the Azusa name on the departure boards.