Getting from Haneda Airport to Hakuba Valley

Boarding the Train

Put the Monorail ticket into the ticket gate and it will pop out halfway down the gate. You must take your ticket as you need it at Hamamatsu Cho to exit the station there. Go to the platform and board the train.

Note that there are 3 different types of train on the Tokyo Monorail Line.

1. Haneda Express trains only stop at the 3 Airport Terminals then head directly to Hamamatsu Cho without stopping. These trains take as little as 13 minutes to cover the trip
2. Rapid Trains stop at 3-4 stations between Terminal 3 and Hamamatsu Cho. The trip take about 15 minutes
3. Local Trains stop at every station en-route. These trains can take up to 20 minutes to cover the full trip.

The Trip

The seats in the monorail are facing in all directions, and during busy periods you may not get a seat but have to stand. There are smallish luggage areas on board, but due to the short nature of the trip, many people just keep their luggage with them.

Transfer at Hamamatsu Cho Station

On arrival at Hamamatsu Cho, you get off the left hand side of the train. Don’t lurk too long as the doors on the right hand side open about 30 seconds after arrival and people going back to the airport get on board.

At Hamamatsu Cho Station you transfer to the JR lines. If you have tickets already, then you can use the dedicated transfer gates. If you do not have tickets, then you just exit the ticket gate, swing right and go to the JR ticket counter and purchase tickets.

Once you have your tickets, insert into the ticket gate, and retrieve them as you walk through. Head to platform # 1 or #2 (both are the same platform). All trains from platform 1 &2 go to Tokyo Station. Platform 1 is the Keihin Tohoku Line, while platform 2 is the Yamanote Line. Only commuter trains run on these lines, so you may not get a seat during rush hour.

Trains from Hamamatsu-Cho to Tokyo Station leave from platform 1 & 2. All trains on this platform will make a stop at Tokyo Station.

Theese trains are standard commuter trains, so can be quite busy during rush hour.

The trip from HamamatsuCho to Tokyo Station only takes about 8 minutes.

Tokyo Station is massive, and is the 3rd busiest station in Japanese with nearly 500,000 people daily.

On the main concourse level there are 10 platforms for commuter and express trains, and 10 platforms for Shinkansen Bullet trains.

There are also basement platforms (4) and a further 2 platforms for the JR Keio Line. Add in a couple of subway stations and you get the picture.

Rush hour here can be mayhem!

At Tokyo Station you will arrive at platforms 3 or 4 (these both share a platform). The platforms are on level 2, and you need to go down to level 1 to transfer to the Shinkansen Bullet train.

The Shinkansen have an extra set of ticket gates. You need to put your tickets into the machine before you can pass through (always remember to collect your tickets as they pop out part way through the gate).

Once through the gates you’ll see a lot of digital signs that flick between English and Japanese. They will show the Train Name, Departure Time and Platform Number. Locate your platform and take the escalator up.

Hokuriku Shinkansen via Nagano

Train Classes
There are several classes on the Hokuriku Shinkansen.

1. Standard Class (reserved and non reserved*) – 5 seats across the row in a 3-2 configuration (Cars 1-10)
2. Green Class (superior class) – 4 seats across the row in a 2-2 configuration (Car 11) – Green Class costs about 20% more than standard class
3. Gran Class (first class) – 3 seats across the row in a 1-2 configuration (Car 12). Complementary food and beverage service (Kagayaki and Hakutaka trains only) – Gran Class costs about double of standard class

• reserved seat means you have an assigned seat / non-reserved means you can sit in any seat in a “non-reserved” carriage (first come first seated basis)

Train Types

There are 3 types of train that run on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line. While the train body is the same, the speed and number of stops vary. All trains will have either Kanazawa or Nagano as the destination, but all trains do make a stop in Nagano.

In all cases there are 12 carriages on the train with 12 being the front of the train heading towards Nagano.

1. "Kagayaki" – This is the fastest type of train. After departing Tokyo it only stops at Ueno, and Omiya before arriving at Nagano. All seats on this train are reserved (seat assigned). The destination for the Kagayaki trains is Kanazawa. From Tokyo Station to Nagano this train takes about 90 minutes.
2. "Hakutaka" – This train also heads to Kanazawa, but it stops at more stations along the way and is about 15 minutes slower than the Kagayaki Train. There are reserved and non-reserved seats on this train.
3. Asama – This train only travels as far as Nagano, but it stops at most stations along the way.

There are 2 bus routes from Nagano Station to Hakuba Valley.

1. Nagano Snow Shuttle
   The Nagano Snow Shuttle operates from the Metropolitan Hotel (connected to Nagano Station) on the Zenkoji (West Exit) of the station.
   This can be booked in advance and your seat is guaranteed. Yuo can also wait in the hotel lobby, and not outside in the cold. Bookings can be made online
2. Alpico Bus
   Alpico Kotsu operate from the East Exit (Bus Stop 26) of Nagano Station. Reservations cannot be made for this service. It is a first come service.

For more info on transferring at Nagano Station to these services, please watch the following video.