There are a couple of options for getting to
Hakuba from Tokyo, but the main thing to remember is
that Tokyo and Narita airport are not that close
together, and it generally takes 1hr to 90 minutes
to get from the airport into Tokyo.
If you want to come from Narita Airport direct to
Hakuba then there are 2 main options, both following
the route on the map below.
Hakubus / Nagano Snow
Shuttle
Daily service from Dec
17 - Feb 28. Leaves Narita at 8PM, arriving in
Hakuba at about 1AM. Drop off at accommodation.
Online Bookings Available
Advantages:
- Cheapest
option available (only 9,900yen)
- Large
comfortable coaches, with luggage stored in luggage
bays under bus.
Disadvantages:
- Only
one service per day.
Shared Taxi Service
On
demand service that meets all flights. Driver waits
in arrival lobby with sign. Door to door service. Online Bookings
Available
Advantages:
-
Meets all flights
Disadvantages:
-
You may have to wait for other people sharing the
same taxi.
- Luggage is stored inside van making
things a little cramped if the van is full.
If you want to use public transportation, then the options are endless, so we'll only go through the
main routes here.
Train - Bullet Train - Bus
At Narita 
Airport you either validate your rail pass, or purchase a ticket to Nagano.
You need to take 2 trains to get to Nagano. The
first is the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, and
then the Nagano Shinkansen "Bullet Train" to Nagano.
On arrival in Nagano you go out the east exit, down
to bus stop number 6 and get on a bus to Hakuba.
Narita Airport to Tokyo: 1 hour
Tokyo to Nagano:
90 minutes to 2 hours
Nagano to Hakuba: 1 hour
* But you will find that you will have at least 90
minutes to 2 hours of wait time between transfers
Advantages:
- On paper and if you time it right, it is the
fastest way to get to Hakuba.
- You get to ride
the Shinkansen
Disadvantages:
- Cannot be done if you arrive at Narita after about
3PM, as the last bus from Nagano to Hakuba is about
8PM.
- There are longish transfers at Tokyo
Station and Nagano Station. At Tokyo you arrive at
the underground platforms and have to go up about 5
floors and walk about 300m to get to the Nagano
Shinkansen Line. With luggage at rush hour this is
very stressful.
Bus - Bus
This
is
the cheapest option of all, but can be a bit of a
nightmare if you cannot speak Japanese. From Narita
Airport, you take a Limousine bus to JR Shinjuku
Station and transfer to a highway bus to Hakuba.
Narita Airport to Shinjuku Station: 90 minutes
Shinjuku to Hakuba: approx 4 hours
Advantages:
- Only costs about 8,000yen for the whole trip
-
Only 1 transfer, so luggage is not too much of an
issue.
Disadvantages:
- The bus from Narita to Shinjuku can be booked on
arrival, but the Shinjuku to Hakuba bus needs to be
booked in advance. You can wing it and try to get a
seat by just showing up in Shinjuku and going to the
highway bus terminal, but the bus does get booked
out at times and you'll have a bit of a wait if you
miss it. The down side is that if you do manage to
make a booking in advance, and your flight is
delayed, you lose your seat and there is no refund.
- For first timers, Shinjuku Station is hell on
earth, and actually finding the right place to get
the bus is difficult.