Keisei Ltd Express

According to hyperdia, if i take the keisei line ltd express from keisei ueno to narita airport, the fare is 1000 Y but this is the fare and there is 0 charge.

Does that mean for this ride I only need 1 ticket? And can I use Suica for this trip? And are all seats reserved?

Does that mean for this ride I only need 1 ticket?

Yes! No express surcharge has to be paid for the Keisei Limited Express, despite the name "limited express". The base fare of 1000 Yen is all you need to pay.

And can I use Suica for this trip?

Yes!

And are all seats reserved?

No! Seat reservations are not possible!

More details:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2027.html

Joanne,

Note that, despite the name, the Keisei Limited Express is just a regular commuter train with bench seats.

Hi, We will arrive in Narita @18:05. Can we buy food from airport and eat on the train?

yes

Michelle,

Can we buy food from airport and eat on the train?

It is not considered good manners in Japan to eat in local trains. You should either eat at the airport or catch the Skyliner, which is a proper express train with forward-facing seats.

yllwsmrf, the answer would be "NO" on the Keisei Limited Express.

The keisei limited express uses regular commuter rail stock, with bench style seating like all other commuter/subway trains in the area.

So if someone wanted to ride the skyliner and eat, either eat at NRT, or ride it out to Tokyo and eat there. Or as dave mentioned if you want to eat on the train, ride on the Keisei Skyliner instead of the other Keisei trains.

Many thanks for your info. We will have dinner in the airport then.

Or another Alternative is ride to Narita city and eat at a local restaurant there. Though if you have lots of luggage I'm not sure if the restaurant will have luggage hold.

Well I take that back, I figure if you are already on a train to Narita might as well ride it out to Tokyo and eat there.

John, I bed to differ that you can't eat on the train.

I should have elaborated in my earlier post, but while I agree that it could still be considered rude to eat on the train, that doesn't mean that you can't do it. Its a regular occurrence to see people eating, talking on their cellphones, having loud conversations, and doing other things that are considered rude while on the train. And while not condoning rude behavior, I'd say that you should use your discretion and decide whether or not it's ok based on the situation.

Don't eat in a crowded train or when people are sitting right next to you. Try to eat things that are easily consumed without making a mess, sandwiches and onigiri for example. Try to avoid smelly food as the smells, either good or bad, will carry in the cramped spaces of the train. Stop eating if you are bothering other people.

Eating in the train shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't leave a mess or garbage behind and are respectful of others so as not to perpetuate the rude foreigner stereotype.

It seems what you think is right must be right in all countries of the world. I think as a visitor, one should show a little respect to the tradition, culture, customs and other behavier when you visit a foreign country. Eating and drinking inside trains are not allowed in many countries. You may get into trouble if you do that in Singapore.

From my past experience, I have never seen any local passengers eating anything like sandwiches inside the train/subway of Japan!

Of course, in long rides, things can be different.

Have you ridden on the Keisei Main Line? Aside from the Skyliner, I wouldn't or haven't seen anyone munching down on bentos on those trains. The Keisei mainline where the Limited express runs on is a busy line serving Chiba prefecture and into/out of Tokyo. Thus the Skyliner which is more of an Airport express train with tray tables etc is more appropriate for that route if one wanted to eat on board.

It seems what you think is right must be right in all countries of the world. I think as a visitor, one should show a little respect to the tradition, culture, customs and other behavior when you visit a foreign country. Eating and drinking inside trains are not allowed in many countries. You may get into trouble if you do that in Singapore.

From my past experience, I have never seen any local passengers eating anything like sandwiches inside the train/subway of Japan!

Of course, in long rides, things can be different.

TW, I'm not advising people that it is ok to eat in trains all over the world. I'm talking specifically of Japan, the country in which I reside. I too believe that we need to "do as the Japanese do" while in Japan, however in this case that is why I am saying that you shouldn't have to strictly prohibit yourself from eating in a train in Japan. As a regular passanger of the train in Japan I have seen people eating as recently as yesterday.

What I am saying is that there is a moderate road to be taken here, that it may be acceptable to eat under certain circumstances, and that people need to use their discretion in deciding whether or not to.

Have you ridden on the Keisei Main Line? Aside from the Skyliner, I wouldn't or haven't seen anyone munching down on bentos on those trains. The Keisei mainline where the Limited express runs on is a busy line serving Chiba prefecture and into/out of Tokyo. Thus the Skyliner which is more of an Airport express train with tray tables etc is more appropriate for that route if one wanted to eat on board

John, I have ridden the Keisei Main Line, and I agree that the Skyliner would be a more appropriate place to eat as it has tray tables and more privacy. However I still say that eating on the main line wouldn't be a problem as long as you are not bothering other people.

I too would not recommend eating a bento on the main line. In fact, I wouldn't eat anything that requires utensils, more than one hand, or even removing a lid.Have you read my earlier post? I recommended limiting yourself to easily eaten hand held items, for example onigiri and sandwiches.

I think that travelers are able to make their own judgments on whether or not it'd be safe to eat but if people need more groundrules then here are the ones I tend to follow:

I eat mainly onigiri, drinks, candy, and snack foods
I try to only get drinks in resealable bottles
I don't eat from open containers
I don't eat things requiring utensils
I don't eat things requiring setting up
I only eat things I could easily eat while driving a car
I don't eat on crowded trains
I don't eat when there are people sitting next to me
I don't eat if people look like they'd be bothered by it (like eating candy in front of children)

I've never had a problem with eating on the train, and have done it regularly. However, I'm not saying that you should make the train your usual dining place. Of course I agree that it is better to eat before/after you get on the train, but time doesn't always allow for this, and I see no reason to starve yourself if you don't have to.

Of coruse there are always exceptions to the rule, however the poster sounds like they want to eat more then just some snacks. And generally speaking you don't want to eat on local trains. Considering the poster asked specifically about the Keisei line and say not some Local line the the Ome line, then I don't see what the argument is.

The issue was that a flat out no to eating on the train is not really correct.

However, I think we've come to the conclusion that you could eat if you must but there are better options.

Anyway, I think we've all been reading too much into the question and the original poster is probably long gone by now.

hi,
I'm writing a book that is partly based in Tokyo and have very limited knowledge of the city. Before anyone points out the obvious, I know that it's best to write what you know but I've made my decision now, I just need some questions answered when they arise. Is anyone interested in being my advisor for this? The first question I have is who would be likely to travelling on the Keisei S'liner at 8am from Narita International to Ueno? Obviously tourists - who else? Kids going to school? Workers? Busy?
Thanks!

Chris: why would kids take the Keisei skyliner from Narita airport to go to school by 8 am? the airport is closed at night and no one lives there plus the skyliner is expensive and has few stops.
workers, kids etc. would use the Keisei limited express as it has numerous stops and is cheaper but they would take it on any of the stops after the airport.
please check:
www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/keisei_us/html/o_express.html or just google Keisei limited express.
avid book readers and film goers absolutly hate it when they read/ see glaring mistakes (Dan Brown car trips across Paris in the original version of the Da Vinci code where hysterical! he had cars driving at night through a fenced and locked park that doesn't even have roads or go miles in the wrong direction. on the other hand I have visited Yanaka in Tokyo by following descriptions in Sujata Massey detective stories..Google has tons of maps, photos etc. it does take patience..will your hero or .. go to Ameyokocho or the back streets of Asakusa? if he/ she uses the Yurikamome don' t you dare call it a monorail!. Try also to avoid obvious places like Ginza.. go for unusual places (check maps, google real estate ads..)

Sensei, "regular" people use Skyliner services too, Skyliner train services (and its forerunner train services) have been operating many many years before Narita Airport opened.

HOWVER, many locals might not to go not from Narita Airport Station, but starting from Narita Station (the station in the city) you would have combined with travelers to/from Narita Aiport (doesn't necessarily have to be tourists, it can, but it can also be people returning home too), in the morning trains you might find business people who live out in Narita and going into Tokyo to conduct business as well. Remember to ride the Skyliner there is an extra surcharge, but in the morning the Skyliner is known as the morning skyliner so it is about 500yen cheaper to ride from Narita Airport/Narita into Tokyo.

It might sound strange to have schoolkids, but its not entirely strange that business people or someone who just didn't feel like meeting the morning crush that day to take the Skyliner.

It is a more luxury option available, just like how people in the Tokyo area also have green cars on Tokaido line/Joban line/Yokosuka etc line trains where an extra surcharge can be paid for a nicer seat to avoid rushes or crampness at times.

If you are envisioning more locals, school kids or just a mixture of a lot of people standing around or just want to leave it generic, leave it up to the reader, write they used the "Keisei Line", and not delineate that its a skyliner, express, limited express, local or rapid train. Since I don't know who your target audience is you have to keep it simple anyways for the average reader.