Getting from Narita Airport to Kyoto University!
 

Hello JF,

I'm one of the very privileged people to have been awarded a Monbusho scholarship, and I'll be moving to Japan (Kyoto University) by the first week of april (hoping to go hanami).

The thing is: the government will make sure I get to Narita Airport, but I'm on my own from there on. This means I have to get to Kyoto by myself. Two lines of action came to mind:

1) Sending my luggage through some carrier system and taking the Shinkansen.
2) Getting on another plane with my luggage on it.

I haven't been able to find many japanese airlines' websites, but I guess it'd cost me around 30.000YEN to go from Narita do Kyoto (this value is a guess). But I've played around with
JAPAN RAIL PASS types and prises
and
http://www.hyperdia.com/
And they showed me confusing info on the prices of the fares from Narita to Kyoto.

Would you have tips or advice for me? Please remember I'll be carrying large bags (up to two 32kg bags, but I guess I only need one big bag).

Thanks in advance!

Why are you not flying into Kansai International, rather than Narita?

That's a little like flying into San Franscisco to go to Disneyland. Why not just fly to LA?

It will cost the same for them, and it will be a heck of a lot easier for you.

Hello MMM,

The idea is good, and I'd probably spend much less money on transportation, but everyone seems to think that's not really an option. I'll try to ask the embassy guys, though.

If money is your problem, you can also take a night bus but it might take some time.. If you planning on taking shinkansen, then it will cost you around 15000 yen..

i take for granted that u will arrive in japan with some sort of visa allowing you to stay longer than 3 months, which means that you can't use the JR Pass.

there are campaigns every now and then flying osaka-tokyo for 10,000 yen. however the most common leg for that flight is hanada-itama (in simple, the domestic airports for tokyo and osaka)

then again, the simplest, as MMM pointed out, is just to fly in to Osaka (KIX). if you are flying from Europe, there are not that many companies that do fly to Osaka these days. air france and KLM might be the only once, i am not too certain on this one though. With JAL and ANA you can always get a connecting flight form Narita to Haneda, it's usually the same price.

"seems to think", "not really"? Either you can or you can't. It sounds like it is more of a hassle for them, but the real hassle will be for you having to travel 1/3 way across the country rather than landing an hour away. You will save hundreds of dollars (US) as well as a few hours of travel time by landing in Kansai.

Finally got a response: everyone of the Monbusho's has to arrive through Narita. The "seems to think" and "not really" was what I could say while the embassy hadn't given me the answer.

Answer: I can't.

Bogger.

Ok. I'm feeling better now... How much would I pay for that night bus? Where would it drop me? Where would I hop on it?

As for the Shinkansen, it seems to be a lot cheaper than a domestic flight, right? Is it ok to take my luggage along (I heard local trains don't allow for big bags)?

it depends on the size of your luggage.. but it is easier if you just sent your luggage by post before taking shinkansen.. for night bus, the cheapest you can get is about 5000 yen if I'm not mistaken.. the price 4 the night bus depends on the day you take.. usually the price is high on friday nights and weekends..