Once of the busiest air hubs in the world, Narita International Airport is the main gateway to Japan. A recently completed, seven-year expansion of Terminal 1 is expected to ease congestion and speed connections. But the airport’s main drawback is the fact that it was built 40 miles away from central Tokyo and is still an hour’s journey by the fastest train.

Taxis into town are prohibitively expensive and buses can meet traffic jams, so rail is the best option. If your destination is in the Ueno area of Tokyo, take the Keisei Skyliner (60 min., about $17 to Keisei Ueno Station). Otherwise take the JR Narita Express (53 min., about $26 to Tokyo Station, with cars then separating and going on to Shibuya and Shinjuku or Shinagawa and Yokohama).

Getting around

The action in the capital isn’t at the center, but along several hubs on the Yamanote loop line, a people-mover extraordinaire. The railway links the must-sees of Tokyo, from the nonstop neon bustle of Shinjuku, to teeming youth hotspots like Shibuya’s Blade Runner-esque crossing, to new developments like Shiodome, a city within the city. Tokyo boasts a mass transit system that is likely both the largest and most efficient in the world, and it’s the best way to get around. Shinjuku Station, a nexus of 13 train and subway lines, is the planet’s busiest, with over three million passengers a day; the morning rush hour is unforgettable. Yet despite the sheer crush of people, public transport works amazingly well. Getting from one end of Tokyo to the other is simple via East Japan Railway lines (the Yamanote and the crosstown Chuo and Sobu lines) or the two subways, Tokyo Metro and Toei, which honeycomb the underground. The city’s immaculate taxis are plentiful and, though not cheap, are driven by men wearing white gloves and bowties. Walking the labyrinthine streets is an adventure, but best limited to specific neighborhoods because of the capital’s immense size.