There are two types of tickets - one way or round trip. You can purchase either a one way or round trip ticket depending on your travel itinerary.

For us, we purchased a one way ticket from Narita Airport to Nippori Station since we will be flying home from Osaka, so there is no point buying a round trip ticket. A regular one way ticket costs 2,470 Yen if you purchase on-site on the day and a discounted one costs 2,200 Yen. By purchasing the ticket in advance online, we saved 270 Yen per person.

Please note that all seats on the Keisei Skyliner are reserved, so you will be guaranteed a seat. You can purchase the discounted ticket up to 30 days in advance via Keisei Skyliner website or through any of the designated travel agencies
However, it is easier to buy your ticket online.

You will need to fill up your personal information such as name, date of birth, credit card number etc) in the online booking form. Once you made the payment, you should receive an e-voucher in your email with an ID number that you will need when you exchange an actual train ticket.

Ticket Exchange 
Exiting from the baggage claim area at Terminal 2, you will arrive at the arrival hall. This is where you will find a lot of different counters, including the Keisei Skyliner ticket sales counter. However, you will not be able to exchange your ticket here. Take the escalator and go all the way down to B1 floor and look for the Skyliner & Keisei Information Center. Open from 7 am to 9 pm, the Skyliner & Keisei Information Center is located directly across from the station ticket gate.

However, if you arrive outside of the operating hours, you will need to go to the Keisei Ticket and Liner counter instead.


At the Skyliner & Keisei Information Center counter, you will need to present your e-voucher and all the passports when you exchange the tickets. The ticket will show your car and seat number and the departure time of your train. Please do not be late as the train will depart right on time.



The Keisei Skyliner departs from Platform 1 at Narita Airport Terminal 2 Station. Remember to take your ticket when you pass through the gate as you will need it to exit at Nippori Station. Once you are on the platform, look for your car number.

The train arrived right on time. There are luggage racks near the entrance but spaces are pretty limited.


We could not find a space to store our luggage and have to place them at our feet, which made our ride slightly uncomfortable.

Other than that, the train was clean and comfortable with spacious seating. There are USB outlet for you to charge your electronic devices and washroom can be found in the fifth car.

Transferring at Nippori Station
Once you alighted at Nippori Station, follow the JR Line sign, which will lead you to the transfer gate. You will need both your Keisei Skyliner ticket and a JR ticket or IC card to transfer to the JR line at Nippori Station. This is because Keisei and JR share the same ticket gate. First, you have to feed the Skyliner ticket to exit Keisei (even though the gate will not open) and then touch the IC card to enter JR. The ticket gate will open once you touch the IC card on the reader.

To get to Ikebukuro Station, you will need to transfer to the JR Yamanote Line. The journey from Nippori Station to Ikebukuro Station costs 170 Yen.

Arriving at Ikebukuro Station
Ikebukuro Station is the second busiest train station in Japan. We were awed by its massive size with hundreds of people rushing past us every second. The exit names signs in the station are confusing and unhelpful. Even Google map was not working well inside the station too. It was incredibly frustrating, especially we cannot seem to find our way to our hotel while dragging our luggage through the crowds.

But somehow, we still managed to find our way there with the help of Google map, which only started to work after we exited the station. It was 10.30 am when we arrived at Super Hotel Lohas Ikebukuro-Eki Kitaguchi and it was too early for check in. We planned to drop our luggage at the hotel so that we can go sightseeing empty-handed. It is certainly no fun to drag your luggage around, especially in such a densely populated city like Tokyo.

Ichiran Ramen
After dropping our luggage at the hotel, we decided to grab an early lunch at Ichiran Ramen as we were feeling a little hungry. Ichiran Ramen is a famous Ramen chain in Japan that specialize in Tonkotsu Ramen, which is a pork-based broth. I have been wanting to try their ramen out because I have heard so many people raving about it. Since there is a branch in Ikebukuro, we thought this will be a good time to try it out.

Ichiran Ikebukuro is located about 10 minutes walk away from our hotel, near the Ikebukuro Station East Exit. I have read that there is always a long queuing time to get a seat at the restaurant, but I guess we were really lucky because we did not even have to queue. The restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived, probably because we visited during non-peak time.


At the entrance, you will find a vending machine for you to place your order. The menu is very limited, offering only 1 type of soup ramen - Tonkotsu. To order, simply feed your money into the machine, press the photo button and flashing button below to receive your change.

My husband and I ordered a bowl of basic ramen each (890 Yen) and paid another 120 Yen for extra green spring onions. We received a small ticket for each of our order after we made the payment.

In the restaurant, there are small individual booths designed for solo dining. There is a small window with bamboo blind in every of the booth that is opened to the kitchen.You might actually ended up having to eat alone as there is a possibility that you will not be seated together with your partner. Thus, it is not an ideal place to date.

We chose an empty booth and sit down. There will be an order sheet for you on the table for you to customize your ramen. You can choose the level of spiciness, the firmness of the noodles, the richness of the broth, whether you want pork and spring onions based on your preference. Simply press the call button in front of you when you are done. The staff will collect your sheet from the small window and prepare your order according to your preference.

We had our order delivered to us through the little window. The bamboo blind was released once food is served so you can enjoy your bowl of noodles without distraction. There is a tap in each of the booth for water.

However, the bowl of noodles looks very underwhelming. It comes with only two tiny pieces of pork with very little green spring onions. The broth was a little too watery and not rich enough. There was nothing special and fantastic to rave about. The meat were very disappointing as well. They were very thin, a little rough and almost flavorless. The noodles were okay. They were smooth and thin, with a very firm texture.

I actually like that you can customize your own ramen at Ichiran. But unfortunately, I have to admit that they are a bit overrated. It is definitely not the best Ramen place in Japan because I have tasted better ones . Even though it was quite an unique experience, it is not worth queuing hours for it.
The good thing about Ichiran is that it is open 24 hours everyday, so you do not have to worry being hungry at odd hours.

The restaurant has started to get packed when we finished eating. It was nearly time for lunch. I guess avoiding lunch and dinner hours would help you to avoid long queue. You might also want to visit a less popular branch because popular branches like Shibuya and Shinjuku are known for long queues.

After filling our stomach, we were ready to explore the city. Our first stop of the day was to visit Shinjuku Gyoen, one of the popular spot in Tokyo for cherry blossoms viewing. So stay tuned!

If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 9 days in Japan. For anyone planning your first trip to Japan but have no idea where to start, you should read my "How To Plan A Trip To Japan" post.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook |Twitter | Instagram for the latest updates on my 9 days adventures in Japan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures.