My Romantic experience with the Narita Express

If you somehow didn’t know from my numerous blog posts about trains in Japan and my chatter on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube etc., I am crazy about the Japanese train system, the trains themselves, the history, whats to come in the future, everything. So not surprisingly one of the main things I wanted to see and experience in Japan was… you guessed it, the trains! Before visiting Japan I thought that train loving my heart belonged the Shinkansen or Bullet Train but I was mistaken as after almost a day in the sky, numerous flights and lots of walking I somehow fell into the comforting arms of a new love – The Narita Express.

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JR N’EX

The trip from Kingston to Tokyo is tiring to say the least. After landing halfway around the world in a foreign country, my brain numb with a bunch of large bags as disciples and hearing almost nothing but a language I could barely understand it was good to hop onto the Narita Express from Narita Airport to Yokohama. The 90 minute ride in the spacious and comfortable train felt like a palace compaired to the cramped quarters of the 3 planes I spent the last day in. I could recharge my gadgets while recovering from the shock that after years of wanting to go there, I was actually “in” Japan. The ultra smooth ride, offered evening views and glimpses of Tokyo, a playground I would be romping around for the next few weeks.

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My first “Traingasm”

Indeed all throught my adventures in Japan I would spot the Narita express every now again and I remember going crazy when I saw 2 of them at the same station and unable to decide if I should just look, take a photo or record a video – I beleive that was my first traingasm. Being the first and last train I rode while in Japan my overative imagination can’t help but picture her (yes her) as the fist to welcome me and the last to say goodbye. I look forward to seeing you again Narita Express-chan, I long to see your shiny curves.

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[love]

14 thoughts on “My Romantic experience with the Narita Express

  1. Wow dude. I have always been a big admirer of trains and sadly (as a Jamaican) never been able to ride one.

    Sounds like it’s amazing and I’m ridiculously jealous that you got to go to Japan. Hope to make it there one day soon, but doubt that’ll be for a while.

    great post.

  2. Ah – you should have experienced years ago. Coming into Narita was such a drag getting into the city of Tokyo. Slow and lots of train swapping (not good with suitcases). Of course the other alternative was the limousine bus that goes between airports and the city. Still, even after only a 9.5 hour flight from Australia, I know how nice it is to just dump yourself into a train seat and enjoy the ride.

  3. It sure is a nice train, but I’ve only used it once (last time from Narita to Shibuya) and I don’t think I’ll use it next time. There’s a lot of nice extra space in it and it has decent bathrooms which is quite nice after flying for such a long time, but the seats are horrible. It feels just like sitting down in another flight seat, only without the noisy engines. It’s also not so cheap…

    Instead, I like to just get cozy in a nice soft bus seat in a bus that will actually take me to where I need to be, not just to one of the big stations. It’s cheaper and more comfortable so I definitely recommend it, even though you love trains.

    1. it did take me where I wanted to go (Yokohama) and (out of all the options) was much faster and less hassling than a bus. The seats weren’t so bad with much more leg room than a plane and plugs. I had a rail pass which covered the ride so the price wasn’t an issue.

      I am not encouraging others to take it but if you can afford it or have a railpass and one of its (few) stops is convenient for you then by all means use it, but if you just going to a downtown hotel or somewhere out of it’s range then all means use a bus, or another train ^_^.

      1. Well, my point being that buses can take you to more specific places, Yokohama is big! But yeah, if you have a rail pass, why not use it πŸ™‚ As soon as you’re not going to one of the bigger stations, you’re better off with a bus, For example, in my case I’m going to Eda in Yokohama, and it’s definitely faster than taking NEX to Yokohama Station because you have to transfer two times to get to Eda (another 440 yen right there). If you insist on taking the train and you’re going to Eda it’s actually better to take it to Shibuya. It’s maybe just a few hundred yen cheaper to take the bus but I personally find it to be much more comfortable.

        And it’s not more hassle at all, you just go buy a ticket at the counter just like with NEX^^ They even take care of your bag(s).

  4. This is so funny, traingasm! That’s kinda how I felt riding the Knutsford after years of mini buses in JA.

    Nice train though! Is this a fast one like bullet trains?

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