Participant Information

Narita to Nagano Prefecture via Tokyo

Tokyo to Suwa City via Yamanashi Prefecture

Suwa City: Kami-Suwa Station (JR railway station) to Rako Hananoi Hotel

How to access from Narita International Airport (NRT) to Venue:

The route is basically simple, but you must pass Tokyo metropolis that seems quite complicated for tourists in the exchange of transportations. The IWEMM10 recommends following three ways (variations of the access route).

(Most easy in the transportation; charge is the highest in the three choices)

1. Narita Airport – Shinjuku Station (central of Tokyo metropolis) – Kami-suwa Station (Suwa, Nagano) – Venue:

1. 1.1: Airport terminal (1st or 2nd): arrival gate →　(by walk in the building)　→　JR Narita Airport Station (1st or 2nd terminal station): At the ticket counter please buy train tickets from Narita Airport Sta to Kami-suwa Sta which includes three charges, i.e., basic charge (from Narita Airport Sta to Kami-suwa Sta) and express ones (from Narita Airport Sta to Shinjuku Sta, and from Shinjuku Sta to Kami-suwa Sta). When you buy those tickets, please indicate that you get on Narita Express train (by Shinjuku Sta) and Azusa Express train (by Kami-suwa Sta). Both expresses equip reserved sheets (no free sheet).
2. 1.2: JR Narita Airport Station →　(by Narita Express train)　→　JR Shinjuku Station: This trains pass the central of Tokyo (Tokyo Sta) and accesses to Shinjuku Sta, which takes ca. 90 min. The train arrives at line 5 or 6 in the Shinjuku Sta. Please walk by another line (see below) to change a train in the station, which takes several min (but sometimes heavily crowded; one million people use this station per day!).
3. 1.3: JR Shinjuku Station →　(by Azusa Express train)　→　JR Kami-suwa Station: This train passes Yamanashi Prefecture and accesses to Suwa City (Kami-suwa Sta), Nagano Prefecture, which takes ca. 130-140 min. The train leaves from line 9 or 10（Chuo-line）in the Shinjuku Sta. When you arrive at Kami-suwa Sta (a small station), please pass the gate and wait in the concourse. You will find a person who shows a placard indicating RAKO Hananoi Hotel. You can get on the shuttle bus and arrive in the hotel for the registration. Alternatively, you can walk from the station to the hotel, which will take ca. 20 min.

(Most comfortable in the transportation; charge is a little bit lower than the choice 1)

2. Narita Airport – Nippori Station (central of Tokyo metropolis) – Shinjuku Station (central of Tokyo metropolis) – Kami-suwa Station (Suwa, Nagano) – Venue:

1. 2.1: Airport terminal (1st or 2nd): arrival gate →　(by walk in the building)　→　Keisei Narita Airport Station (1st or 2nd terminal station): At the ticket counter please buy train tickets from Narita Airport Sta to Nippori Sta. When you buy the ticket, please indicate that you get on “Keisei Skyliner Express” train. The express equips reserved sheets (no free sheet). Alternatively, you can move to Nippori Sta by ordinary train (the ticket price is cheaper than that of express one, but it takes much time).
2. 2.2: Keisei Narita Airport Station →　(by Skyliner Express train)　→　Keisei Nippori Station: This express train access to the central of Tokyo, which takes ca. 40-45 min. After arriving at Keisei Nippori Sta, you must change the railway company to JR.
3. 2.3: Keisei Nippori Station →　(by walk in the same floor)　→　JR Nippori Station: Please pass the north gate of Keisei Nippori Sta and turn to left, where you can find a ticket counter of JR Nippori Sta. At the ticket counter please buy train tickets from Nippori Sta to Kami-suwa Sta, which include two charges, i.e., basic charge (from Nippori Sta to Kami-suwa Sta) and express one (from Shinjuku Sta to Kami-suwa Sta). When you buy those tickets, please indicate that you get on Azusa Express train (by Kami-suwa Sta). The express equips reserved sheets (no free sheet).
4. 2.4: JR Nippori station →　(by ordinary train)　→　JR Shinjuku Station: Please move to line 11 (Yamanote-line; directed to Ikebukuro and Shinjuku) in the Nippori Sta and get on the train (a green line is a mark of the train) that takes ca. 20 min to Shinjuku Sta (arrive at line 14). At Shinjuku Sta, please walk by another line (see below) to change a train in the station, which takes several min (but sometimes heavily crowded; one million people use this station per day).
5. 2.5: JR Shinjuku Station →　(by Azusa Express train)　→　JR Kami-suwa Station: Please see above 1.3.

(Lowest charge in the three choices, but it takes time extra ca. 1~1.5 hours)

3. Narita Airport – Shinjuku Station (central of Tokyo metropolis) – Shinjuku Express Bus Terminal – Kami-suwa Station (Suwa, Nagano) – Venue:

1. 3.1: Airport terminal (1st or 2nd): arrival gate →　→　→　→　JR Shinjuku Station: Please see above 1.1~1.2 or 2.1~2.4.
2. 3.2: JR Shinjuku Station →　(by walk in the station building)　→　Shinjuku Express Bus Terminal: After getting off your train (1st floor), please move to “new south gate” on the 2nd floor (remark: two independent areas are present in the second floor; If you are present in the area that has “south gate”, you must change the area), and pass the gate. You can easily move to 4th floor of the building, where you can buy bus ticket and get on the highway bus. You had better use “Manned ticket office” to buy the right ticket in the direction (and reservation of your sheet). Several bus companies share the route. Your designation by bus is Kami-suwa station (bus stops at the rotary of JR Kami-suwa station).
3. 3.3: Shinjuku Express Bus Terminal →　(by Express Bus)　→　JR Kami-suwa Station: Please get on the bus at the C-area (C7~C9) of 4th floor. The bus takes ca. 3~3.5 hours from Shinjuku to Kami-suwa. Please refer to above 1.3 or 2.5 in the access from Kami-suwa station to RAKO Hananoi Hotel

Remarks:

1. 1) You can use Shuttle Bus from Narita Airport to Tokyo (JR Tokyo Sta). This charge is lower than those of trains. However, you must move from Tokyo Sta to Shinjuku Sta by JR Chuo-line (or Yamanote-line), which is generally crowded. If you want to enjoy such situation in Tokyo, this may be a good choice.
2. 2) If you arrive in Japan via Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport; HND), please access to JR Shinjuku Sta via exchange of transportations. It takes ca. 1~1.5 hours.
3. 3) If you arrive in Japan via Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya (NGO) or Kansai International Airport　（KIX）, please access to JR Nagoya Sta, and change the line to Chuo-west-line and get on Shinano Express train by Shiojiri Sta (Nagano Prefecture). After that, please get on an ordinary train by Kami-suwa Station. It takes ca. 3 hours from Nagoya Sta to Kami-suwa Sta.
4. 4) Ordinary trains on the central of Tokyo metropolis and connected lines are heavily crowded at AM 7: 30–9: 30 and PM 6: 00–8: 00 in the weekdays. Therefore, if possible, please avoid these time frames to use trains on those lines with carrying large baggage.
5. 5) Generally, public peace is quite good in Japan, including train and bus transportations. Therefore, you can use those transportations even in night time.
6. 6) The following websites may be valuable for your exchange of transportations:
   https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/
   http://www.hyperdia.com/en/
   https://transit.navitime.com/en/
   https://japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/route/

General Information

City and Nature information	Transportations
Nagano Prefectural Official Tourism Guide	Narita International Airport	Tokyo International Air Terminal
Suwa Tourist Information	East Japan Railway Company	京成電鉄
Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture (Wikipedia)	The LCC Bus between Narita Airport and Ginza Sta.Tokyo Sta.	京成バス
Japan Meteorological Agency	Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal