Narita to Ginza on weekday evening

Hello,

last time we used Narita Express, but this time there'll be four of us and bus will save us quite a lot of money (N'Ex is over 3000 per person, bus is 1000). We're arriving at the end of March on Thursday at 5:30pm (so I assume we'll be leaving Narita about an hour later) and we're staying in a hotel in Ginza, to which we'll walk, as we did last time from Tokyo Station. We won't have much luggage. We need 1 way only ticket.

I'm unable to google or find here in forum anything relevant about how bad the traffic usually is on this route at this time (let's say weekday between 6pm and 8pm, accidents aside). I'm thinking about up to 100 minutes for a bus, if it should be more, it's not worth it.

Also, I have to admit I'm overwhelmed by all the choices and different fares available, like various combined tickets. The next day we'll explore Tokyo mostly by JR Yamanote Line, and Metro just a few times, so combined ticket with a Metro Pass won't be worth it).

Thank you very much.

Buses could delay. Why not take a train? Trains do not make a delay. There is a direct train to Higashi Ginza. If you buy an IC Card, PASMO, it costs 1129 yen for an 83 min ride.
http://keisei.ekitan.com/naritaacs-i/N3?USR=PC&uid=45709&dir=19&path=2...
http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/index.php
https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/?p=0&xpd=1&from=Narita-Airport&to=G...

Thank you, Luisjp. Wow, I should have done my homework for trains as well, 1129 is a great price!

My original idea for a bus was pretty much a "new experience" in Japan, because we always took (and will take) trains, trams or subways. Also, the bus stops in Ginza, which is not a big deal, just a little convenience.

But I'll take your suggestion into consideration and probably will go with it. Thanks again.

Oh, I totally missed you suggested trains, that stops in Ginza. Great!

Btw., for others with the same question as me, that came here - Limousine Bus has current travel times on their website: https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/cgi-bin/realtime/busdata_e.cgi

I think 1000yen bus is better
It takes time to Ginza about 60min upto 90
Because if you go there by train
You have to walk with luggage
My friend working in NARITA airport use this bus every day from Tokyo
I am living in NARITA

http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/

The regular train is about the same price as the bus (not the limo-bus) and I use it often for my trips out to Narita airport. It is not as quick or as comfortable as the N'Ex or Skyliner, but it is economical and not much slower.
I recently encountered someone that got the bus into Tokyo and it took them two hours. The last time I got the limo-bus, it was over 90 minutes. While that is not so terrible, I find the trip really boring on the express-way as the sound shield/walls mean nothing much to look at.
For the local train, at least I can see the passing countryside, not affected by traffic, and more space.

For a new experience, then just try the bus. I love new experiences. Even there could be a delay, you could not miss a flight. In the evening, most traffic should be outgoing. Late March is a busy season. Train stations could be more crowded. Narita-Haneda trains go underground in the central Tokyo. You would lose the sight of that section.

The Access Narita costs 1000 yen, while Tokyo Shuttle could be 900 yen by a pay beforehand. The English site does not state 900 yen. They might not allow 900 yen bus tickets for foreign visitors.
http://www.keiseibus.co.jp/kousoku/nrt16.html
http://www.keiseibus.co.jp/inbound/tokyoshuttle/en/

Go by NARITA EXPRESS (NEX)...sure it costs a little more..BUT...no traffic hold ups, safer and comfortable!...Why try and save a few thousand Yen?..to spend on something less important like 'trinkets?.. than beginning your arrival in Japan after a long flight..in comfort, convenience and safety?...I have used buses myself and it can be a real pain sitting in heavy traffic, especially if there has been an accident etc...not with the stress..'in my opinion only'...good luck.

we're staying in a hotel in Ginza, to which we'll walk,

There are many hotels in Ginza district, some of which have similar names.

You had better check your walking route in advance; otherwise you might get lost in the forest of buildings.

What station is close to your Ginza hotel: Ginza, Higashi-ginza, Ginza-itchome, Yurakucho or maybe Shimbashi?

While Ginza district (of Chuo City) is not served by JR lines, your Ginza hotel may happen to be near Shimbashi Station of JR (#), which is in the neighboring Shimbashi district (of Minato City).

When you catch a JR Rapid train who has a destination other than Tokyo, that train continues beyond Tokyo Station as a Local train on the Yokosuka Line, making a stop at Shimbashi Station.

Every JR Narita Express train skips Shimbashi Station, but when you take one from the airport, you can change at Tokyo Station, usually via the same platform, to a Local train which goes on the Yokosuka Line and makes a stop at Shimbashi Station.

We're arriving at the end of March on Thursday at 5:30pm

On the 17th of March 2018, JR companies will revise timetables for major sections.
Now it is too early to expect precisely which train(s) you would take.

#: There are Shimbashi Stations of JR, of Tokyo Metro and of Toei Subway; they are close to each other but not sharing gates or platforms.

Just the correction. There is an English page for the 900 yen bus.
http://honyaku.j-server.com/LUCKEISEIB/ns/tl.cgi/http://www.keiseibus....

I almost always use a Keisei Tokyu train, especially to Narita. From the airport, I sometimes use a Limousine bus when I am very tired after a long flight. In my case, the number of transfers could be the least. I usually pay a fee for an express train when I could gain an hour per 1,000 yen. Most of long distance Shinkansen trains satisfy this condition, while the others are not; such as Keisei Skyliner and N'EX. I do not like box seats that a N'EX has. I also do not like making a detour to Chiba by the JR line. JR trains are slower than Keisei between Narita and Tokyo.

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. Some of you mentioned views out the window, but it's gonna be dark. Interior lights in a train makes windows act like a mirror, so I suspect even with highway barriers view from a bus would still be somehow better.

omotenashi, we're staying near Asakusa's Takaracho Station, which would be ~10m walk from THE Access Narita Tokyo Station stop. We plan all our stays quite thoroughly, we always have all notable points in a digital map and several backup ways (paper map, coordinates). Thank you sincerely for your concern. I'm especially grateful for your mention of the timetable revision, which I didn't know about and hence we'll check all trains from Hyperdia in our plan before departure once again.

Update:
http://keisei.ekitan.com/naritaacs-i/N3?USR=PC&uid=99706&dir=36&path=2...

I have heard that there was a delay in data updates in Hyperdia. Try another one as well. The ekitan above is the official one by Keisei. GoogleMaps should be OK. They adopt Jorudan. Hyperdia has a little share in the Japanese market, around 10th. Jorudan around 1st and ekitan around 5th.

While researching train timetables a few days ago (comparing some of the different services) I learned that for the JR trains Google, Hyperdia and a lot of other companies including Ekitan and Joudan appear to all use the same source - all working off the same base material. Kotsu publishing company is a busy organisation. At the end of the day, dealing with the companies direct when making the bookings is still the best way to do things, and the routing services are simply a guide, each with their own peculiar quircks, strengths and weaknesses.
http://www.kotsu.co.jp/jrlogo/

I know there is only a single source of timetables. The delays could occur in how the source databases are imported into each planner's program. As shown on the Kotsu websites, HyperDia is just a side business of a large company Hitachi. Jorudan and Ekitan are specialized companies. The latter likely do the transfer jobs even skipping to going to bed. That has made their brands in the market. I suspect that Hitachi would do that. However, they have already finished establishing automatic data transfer system. Late March is just a critical season.

Yes - agreed. I actually consulted the physical version of the JR timetable this afternoon checking an obscure issue someone on the TA forum had - out of interest.
While the revisions do some out periodically, most of the changes I encounter are very small - the ones that I come across in my day-to-day planning tend to be adjustments of a few minutes.

your mention of the timetable revision, which I didn't know about

I have checked the detailed info from JR-East about this time revision.
It seems Narita Express timetables will not be changed.

we're staying near Asakusa's Takaracho Station

Airport Express trains skip Takaracho and Higashi-Ginza Stations.
Other express trains and Local trains make a stop at every station on Toei Subway Asakusa Line.

which would be ~10m walk from THE Access Narita Tokyo Station stop.

The Access Narita bus sounds to be the best option for your purpose.

JR Narita Express trains arrive at the underground track on the opposite side of Tokyo Station.

Hitachi has contributed to development and improvement of the JNR | JR MARS [Multi Access Reservation System] since 1960s, i.e. about two decades before JNR was reorganized into private JR companies.
Now JR MARS is maintained by Railway Information Systems [JR-Syetem].

Unfortunately HyperDia (of Hitachi Systems) is not well refined as the current MARS;
also regarding its management, I see some problematic issues.

I have heard that there was a delay in data updates in Hyperdia.

Generally HyperDia tends to be late in taking new time data.
On the 25th of March 2016, HyperDia did not show routes by Hokkaido Shinkansen,
even though its operation was to get started on the following day.
(Ekitan and Jorudan got prepared much earlier.)

I'm back (sadly... :-) from our trip. We had no troubles whatsoever using THE Access Narita, departing at 19:30 from Terminal 2 Stop #2. Signs on the highway looked like there are some traffic jams ahead, but we didn't get stuck once.

I have to say I quite enjoyed the ride, I saw better outside than from N'EX train. I'm fond of Disney's parks, so going nearby Tokyo Disney Resort was a nice bonus :-)

I mentioned exploring Tokyo in the original post, we got PASMO cards and were quite happy about that. Returning cards was little bit tricky, you need a "right office" and I wasn't able to google any list of all of them. I bumped into one by chance (Nijubashi-Mae), but knowing where they are in advance would be better.

Thanks again to all, now I consider this topic closed. Hope it will help somebody :-)

As far as I know, PASMO cards could be returned to get a refund at any PASMO stations; most likely at the airports, or any non-JR stations in the central Tokyo.
https://www.pasmo.co.jp/en/use/repayment/
https://www.pasmo.co.jp/en/buy/

In the case to ride a NEX train from JR Tokyo, "Nijubashi-Mae" (C10 green in the below) is not so bad, but Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line "Tokyo" Station (M17 red) should have been the best.
http://www.tokyostationcity.com/en/information/pdf/aroundtokyosta.pdf
http://www.tokyoinfo.com/images/access/map/b1.pdf
http://tokyo-st-city.c.blog.so-net.ne.jp/_images/blog/_26c/tokyo-st-ci...

Well, I personally understand "any PASMO stations" as "any station of non-JR company", incl. all subway stations (Tokyo Metro + Toei), which is not the case, AFAIK. You can't refund your PASMO to any "man in a booth" at any subway station, which was my original idea :-) You need to find an office.

I was finally able to find a list of stations with offices for Tokyo Metro: https://www.tokyometro.jp/lang_en/ticket/pass/counter/index.html. I suspect there's no such list for Toei.