Rush Hour

[Lpcsharon1]

Hi trying to catch Shinkansen at Omiya Saitama to Hakodate in the morning 8.40. Which line is best option to avoid rush hours ?

minowa to ueno to Omiya Saitama
Nishinippori to ueno to Omiya Saitama
Ikeburuko to Omiya Saitama

We will holding a jr pass. So we can take Shinkansen from ueno to Omiya Saitama.

Seeking advice as we are currently searching for our accommodation.

 

[snap99]

Are you carrying loads of luggage ? If you want to avoid rush hour crush then stay close to ueno and avoid trains. If you need to stay away from ueno then nishi nippori is the nearest on the Yamanote line to ueno. Ikebukuro is mad in the morning .....

 

[anyhowsaysay]

What you should do is to take the earliest train to Hakodate, the Hayabusa 1.

depart Minowa 6:12 and take Metro Hibiya Line to Ueno.
Then take Hayabusa 1 at 6:38 from Ueno to Shin Hakodate-Hokuto.

Lastly just a local train from that station to Hakodate station.

Wake up early and reach Hakodate early, You can sleep easily on the train itself Hayabusa which will take more than 250mins.

 

[Lpcsharon1]

Are you carrying loads of luggage ? If you want to avoid rush hour crush then stay close to ueno and avoid trains. If you need to stay away from ueno then nishi nippori is the nearest on the Yamanote line to ueno. Ikebukuro is mad in the morning .....

Thanks. We managed to find a hotel near ueno station.

 

[bluetwinkle]

Are you carrying loads of luggage ? If you want to avoid rush hour crush then stay close to ueno and avoid trains. If you need to stay away from ueno then nishi nippori is the nearest on the Yamanote line to ueno. Ikebukuro is mad in the morning .....

Actually Ikebukuro is not that bad for most of the lines during the rush hours.

The really scary one is the train that gets to Shinjuku from Ikebukuro in 5-6 min. You literally get push in at Ikebukuro and push out at Shinjuku. If one did not manage to turn 180 degrees in the train, one is going to have a scary time to be pushed out of the train backwards.

The rest of the lines are much more manageable.

 

[darkmatt]

Most lines are ok.

Just avoid JR Chuo in the morning lol

 

[whuttt]

Sorry, i like to borrow this thread as I'm taking shinkansen from tokyo to hakodate too. First time to Japan, so don't know much (or anything) yet.

I used HyperDia and was given this:

09:08
begin KAMEIDO [10 Min]
through JR CHUO/SOBU LINE LOCAL SERVICE for NAKANO

09:18
09:20
transfer AKIHABARA [5 Min]
through JR Yamanote Line(Outer loop) for OSAKI

09:25
09:36
transfer TOKYO [ Departure track No.22 ] [238 Min]
through SHINKANSEN HAYABUSA 11

13:34
13:47
transfer SHIN-HAKODATE-HOKUTO [ Arrival track No.12 ] [15 Min]
through HAKODATE LINER for HAKODATE

14:02
end HAKODATE


My question:
I look at transfer time of 2 mins at Akihabara, 11 mins at Tokyo, 13 mins at Shin Hakodate. Are these timings doable, especially with heavy luggage and not familiar with the place?

 

[Delardino]

Sorry, i like to borrow this thread as I'm taking shinkansen from tokyo to hakodate too. First time to Japan, so don't know much (or anything) yet.

I used HyperDia and was given this:

09:08
begin KAMEIDO [10 Min]
through JR CHUO/SOBU LINE LOCAL SERVICE for NAKANO

09:18
09:20
transfer AKIHABARA [5 Min]
through JR Yamanote Line(Outer loop) for OSAKI

09:25
09:36
transfer TOKYO [ Departure track No.22 ] [238 Min]
through SHINKANSEN HAYABUSA 11

13:34
13:47
transfer SHIN-HAKODATE-HOKUTO [ Arrival track No.12 ] [15 Min]
through HAKODATE LINER for HAKODATE

14:02
end HAKODATE


My question:
I look at transfer time of 2 mins at Akihabara, 11 mins at Tokyo, 13 mins at Shin Hakodate. Are these timings doable, especially with heavy luggage and not familiar with the place?

Tokyo Station is abit risky with the luggages.

Ur most impt timing that cannot afford to miss is the 9.36am departure, might be better if u set off 15~20 mins earlier from Kameido so u can have some time to look around

 

[whuttt]

Tokyo Station is abit risky with the luggages.

Ur most impt timing that cannot afford to miss is the 9.36am departure, might be better if u set off 15~20 mins earlier from Kameido so u can have some time to look around

thanks for the reply!
So the 2 mins transfer time is it like Singapore City Hall Red transfer to green line just cross the platform. And their 11 mins like Dhoby Ghaut Red to purple line must walk a distance?

 

[purpleberry]

thanks for the reply!
So the 2 mins transfer time is it like Singapore City Hall Red transfer to green line just cross the platform. And their 11 mins like Dhoby Ghaut Red to purple line must walk a distance?

Always good to leave earlier by at least 30 mins or more. Tokyo station is very big and confusing even for seasoned visitors. The directions are not as clear as here, especially if you factor in the crowd.

 

[Delardino]

Not cross platform, have to go down escalator/stairs then go up next platform track. Anyway u miss that cyan line also nvm, can take Yamamoto line also.

Tokyo Station u come dwn platform should be turn left all e way straight, look for track 22.

I suppose u should have make seats reservation before the day u move off also right since u going in the morning?

 

[wacko]

Sorry, i like to borrow this thread as I'm taking shinkansen from tokyo to hakodate too. First time to Japan, so don't know much (or anything) yet.

...


My question:
I look at transfer time of 2 mins at Akihabara, 11 mins at Tokyo, 13 mins at Shin Hakodate. Are these timings doable, especially with heavy luggage and not familiar with the place?

First time to Tokyo? then it will be almost impossible for you to meet the first two transfer timings. every one will get lost in Tokyo station on their first try, heck even if you are on your 5th visit, it doesn't get much easier. And with the early morning timing, you are going to be caught out in massive human traffic (assuming it's a weekday), if you do not immediately know your way, you will either be carried along with the crowd and go into a wrong direction, or be forced to step aside while you figure your way about. do set aside ample time to figure your way around the stations, I would suggest even more buffer time than what Delardino suggested. If you get to platform 22 much earlier, then you just earned yourself plenty of time to decide which ekiben to get!

 

[Lpcsharon1]

Sorry, i like to borrow this thread as I'm taking shinkansen from tokyo to hakodate too. First time to Japan, so don't know much (or anything) yet.

I used HyperDia and was given this:

09:08
begin KAMEIDO [10 Min]
through JR CHUO/SOBU LINE LOCAL SERVICE for NAKANO

09:18
09:20
transfer AKIHABARA [5 Min]
through JR Yamanote Line(Outer loop) for OSAKI

09:25
09:36
transfer TOKYO [ Departure track No.22 ] [238 Min]
through SHINKANSEN HAYABUSA 11

13:34
13:47
transfer SHIN-HAKODATE-HOKUTO [ Arrival track No.12 ] [15 Min]
through HAKODATE LINER for HAKODATE

14:02
end HAKODATE


My question:
I look at transfer time of 2 mins at Akihabara, 11 mins at Tokyo, 13 mins at Shin Hakodate. Are these timings doable, especially with heavy luggage and not familiar with the place?

I buffer 15 to 30 mins for the transfer. Japan train are very punctual especially Shinkansen. So better be early then late.

 

[thwysg]

Sorry, i like to borrow this thread as I'm taking shinkansen from tokyo to hakodate too. First time to Japan, so don't know much (or anything) yet.

I used HyperDia and was given this:

09:08
begin KAMEIDO [10 Min]
through JR CHUO/SOBU LINE LOCAL SERVICE for NAKANO

09:18
09:20
transfer AKIHABARA [5 Min]
through JR Yamanote Line(Outer loop) for OSAKI

09:25
09:36
transfer TOKYO [ Departure track No.22 ] [238 Min]
through SHINKANSEN HAYABUSA 11

13:34
13:47
transfer SHIN-HAKODATE-HOKUTO [ Arrival track No.12 ] [15 Min]
through HAKODATE LINER for HAKODATE

14:02
end HAKODATE


My question:
I look at transfer time of 2 mins at Akihabara, 11 mins at Tokyo, 13 mins at Shin Hakodate. Are these timings doable, especially with heavy luggage and not familiar with the place?

Have you considered luggage forwarding? Won’t recommend first timers to do this. Take a later train or start earlier to reach Tokyo. Then make your way to the platform for the train to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. Book your seats in advance, at least one day in advance.

 

[VD]

do give yourself ample time to locate the platform at major stations like Tokyo. I remembered running with my luggage once to catch the next train