Is it safer (speaking about time management: less minutes of travel and lower probability to arrive late at the airport due to traffic issues) with the Haruka? I suppose that generally the risk of being delayed much is lower concerning railroad than highway bus.
(The departure time of your plane was unknown, so I did not mention this risk in my previous post.)
Of course a trouble may happen also to railroad, but I seldom hear news like passengers got locked in a Ltd. Express train of an airport access.
[Inside Kanto Region]
wasn't Suica for JR trains and Pasmo for subway and railways other than JR? Suica Cards and PASMO Cards have been replaceable in and round Tokyo, since PASMO systems began to work in March 2007.
Keisei Skyliner (Narita-Ueno) 2000 YEN The cost is 2465 yen if you travel with an IC Card (Suica or PASMO).
This route is not the cheapest one, but if Keisei-Ueno Station is located close to your hotel, it may be the easiest route.
Your first station will be nether Keisei Narita of Keisei or Narita of JR; they are stations outside the airport.
If you fly into NRT Terminal 1, the official name of your first station is "Narita Airport."
If you fly into NRT Terminal 2, the official name of your first station is "Airport Terminal 2."
Seats of Keisei Skyliner trains and of JR-East Narita Express trains require reservation.
If you donft mind not reserving your seat until reaching Keisei-Ueno,
you can take only non-liner train(s) on Keisei Main Line for 1025 yen with your IC card;
in this case, in your Keisei station in NRT you will pass through both entrance and intermediate gates.
If Ueno Station of JR is located much closer to your hotel than Keisei-Ueno Station,
it is worth considering taking first a Narita Express in a reseved seat to Tokyo and second a Local train to Ueno, all for 1500 yen with a NfEX Tokyo Direct Ticket; one possible demerit of this route is the transfer in Tokyo is rather long.
Asakusa-Oshigae for Tokyo Skytree (240 YEN), Oshigae-Ueno (200 YEN) total of 610 YEN I do not recommend the route Asakusa (G-19) -- (G-12) Mitsukoshimae (Z-09) -- (Z-14) Oshiage / the route Oshiage (Z-14) -- (Z-09) Mitsukoshimae (G-12) -- (G-16) Ueno.
A shorter route exits for each of the two, and in Mitsukoshimae Station, Ginza and Hanzomon Lines are apart.
(Tokyo Metro Transfer Planner on the website returns routes on Tokyo Metro subway lines only, so there may exist a better route including another linefs section.)
In Asakusa, you can get out to the ground via Exit 1, which is good for Sensoji Temple.
After touring Asakusa area, you can get down to Asakusa Station (A-18) of Toei subway via Entrance A4 and take a direct train to (A-20) Oshiage(not Oshigae) on Asakusa Line for 170 yen.
- Map of Asakusa Stations of Toei and Tokyo Metro subway
http://www.tokyometro.jp/station/asakusa/yardmap/images/yardmap.gifIn Oshiage, Exit B3 is good if you approach Tokyo Skytree from the outside. There is an elevator connecting the concourse and the exit.
After touring around Tokyo Skytree, you can use Toei subway back to (A-18) Asakusa and Tokyo Metro subway from Asakusa (G-19) back to (G-16) Ueno, for 265 yen with your IC card if you make the transfer within 30 minutes.
[From Ueno to Fuji Shibazakura Festivalfs site]
Tokyo Metro (Ueno-Shinjuku and return: 480 YEN) You can take a JR train from Ueno (departing at Track 2) to Shinjuku (arriving at Track 14) for 194 yen with your IC Card. In Shinjuku, Track 14 is near West Gate, which is good for the highway bus terminal.
Highway Bus (Shinjuku-Kawaguchiko and return: 1800 YEN) + bus to Shibazakura festival (not sure about the fees...) During the days of Fuji Shibazakura Festival, direct highway buses are available to and from the site for 4400 yen (= 2200 yen per way). The admission fee will be 520 yen.
However, if you choose these direct buses and make this roundtrip in one day, your time to enjoy the festival may be less than 4 hours.
If you take shuttle buses between Kawaguchiko Station and the festivalfs site, the highway bus fares will be 3500 yen, and the sum of the shuttle bus fares and the admission fee will be 1900 yen.
