Rush hour on Tokyo JR line

Hi all,

I know there have been some topic on how bad Tokyo train rush hour is, but I'd like be mentally prepared for the route I will take.

On the day of arrival at Haneda on a Thursday, 6am, I'm planning to drop luggage at hotel at Shinagawa and heading to Mt Mitake. The train route will be: Yamanote Line to Shinjuku - Chuo Line Rapid for Takao - Ome Line for Ome and Okutama.

The best route to Mitake is departing at 7:57am from Shinagawa. Should I consider to use coin locker and take the earliest departure I can get with expectation of better crowd on Yamanote line to Shinjuku?

After Shinjuku, I suppose the route to Mitake will be on direction from city to suburb, so will it be as bad during the rush hour?

Thank you.

Like this.
https://youtu.be/aGhLSjBXkkc
https://youtu.be/4feKKTKEK9U
Jump to 7:45(Yamanote line) and 12:04(JR Chuo line).

This is big accident happend after.
https://youtu.be/Bkglp6TtaaM

You can?

But no good escape rail route via Shinagawa.
If possible after check in will be best way take limo bus fr HND to west Tokyo "JR Hachioji" larger stn with big size coin locker.
http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/platform_searches/index/4/107
https://goo.gl/maps/dSf8kCXtXNN2
https://goo.gl/maps/m8Dn6KVsLpR2

From Shinagawa you could just go to Tokyo station and transfer to the Chuo rapid there. As it is the terminal station for the line you should be able to get a seat easily. Also, as it is heading out of the city it will be much less crowded.

The transfer at Tachikawa (my local station) isn't hard. I've thought about heading out the Ome line for a look as the countryside in that area is quite nice (along Tamagawa).

On the day of arrival at Haneda on a Thursday, 6am,
I'm planning to drop luggage at hotel at Shinagawa and heading to Mt Mitake.

When will you travel?

If the boarding day is (Thursday,) the 3rd of November 2016,
that day will be a public holiday in Japan,
so there will be no commuters' rush in Tokyo like ones on normal weekdays.
Train timetables may differ on public holidays.

The train route will be
: Yamanote Line to Shinjuku - Chuo Line Rapid for Takao - Ome Line for Ome and Okutama.

You can make a detour to avoid possible weekday crowdedness in Yamanote Line trains and in Shinjuku Station.

Just to make sure
: You will not travel as far as to Takao but make a transfer at Tachikawa.
Or, maybe you can catch a Rapid train to beyond Tachikawa to Ome.

Thank you for the replies and information!

@NAL:
I've seen the first video you shared and the crowd looks manageable. However on the second video, that looks bad!

I once did Ikebukuro to Tokyo. Hyperdia suggested to take Tokyo metro but there was huge crowd and I didn't understand the queue line system. I changed to Yamanote line and felt the crowd was much more manageable. It was on 8am.

@JapanCustomTours:
That's an interesting idea. Based on Hyperdia, there are plenty of options going from Shinagawa to Tokyo, including Shinkansen an JR Tokaido line. Will it be better on JR Tokaido line or Yamanote line? Or shall I splurge another 860 yen to ride Shinkansen on unreserved seat?

@omotenashi:
I will be arriving on 10 Nov.
Based on Hyperdia, a transfer is required at Ome, unless I take earlier train which make 2 transfers at Tachikawa and Ome.

Btw, I notice during rush hour, people formed several queue lines. I heard that the queues were for waiting for certain train to arrive (at the same platform). How to know if I'm queuing for the right train?

Thank you.

If it rains, you would not try to go to Mt Mitake. If the timing is a bit offset, due to the plane or the immigration, there would not be so serious...

I looked the second video up to 5:00. It is for Osaka, but you could see some signs on the platform. In some cases, signs are hanging over the platform, at a height of 2.5m or so. I also checked the third one up to 2:00. It is for Shinjuku station. That would be more similar to the situation in Tokyo.

I vote for a detour to Tachikawa directly from Haneda. If you take a Limousine bus, the luggage doesn't matter. Use a coin locker there.

Using Tokyo as a starting terminal looks good to take a seat, but Tokyo is also a huge terminal. Tokaido line with many commuters from Kanagawa directly to Tokyo could be more crowded with a mere central circular Yamonote line, I suppose.

Anyway, use Google Maps to decide which route you would take. Bypassing trains by bus to Shinjuku or Kichijoji seems to work as well. I usually avoid commuting trains when I am very tired after a long flight.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/HND+japan/okutama+station+japan/

I'll throw in another option.

You could forward your luggage to your hotel from the airport and then go to Kawasaki and then get the Nambu line to Tachikawa. (There is a short walk between the two Kawasaki stations, but lots of signs.) Even if you took your luggage, there are coin lockers at Tachikawa and you can pick them up on the way back.