Here you’ll find detailed information on how to get to Sawara by bus, train, or car:

🗾 Flexible travel route from Tokyo Station to Sawara Station depending on your departure time (Google Maps)

BY BUS - 1 hour 40 minutes

Recommended route and time:

I recommend only the direct bus to Sawara and avoiding bus routes that require transfers.
This is the fastest way to get to Sawara using public transport.

1. From Tokyo to Sawara: To follow this itinerary, you’ll need to catch the bus at 8:45 a.m.

• HOW TO FIND THIS BUS:

The bus to Sawara departs from the Tokyo Yaesu Bus Terminal.

📍 Bus terminal location (google maps)

The terminal is located underground, across the road from Tokyo Station.

You’ll need to go down to the underground level and find your platform. Usually buses depart from platform 14, but please double-check this information at the info desk at the Station or on website down below (destination: Sawara Station)

🚌 Bus schedule and platform info (Tokyo Yaesu Bus Terminal website)

You cannot reserve or pay for your bus ticket in advance. Payment is only possible once you’re on the bus, and you can pay with either cash or an IC CARD (Suica, Pasmo, Icoca and so on). Payment by credit/debit card is not available. The bus fare to Sawara is around 2,000 yen.

• HOW TO BOARD A BUS:

After finding your platform, you'll need to get in line. The platform have multiple lines marked A, B, and C (check out the second attached photo). To make sure you're in the right line, check the screen above the platform. Look for your bus by its departure time, and join the correct line. In my case, as shown in the third attached photo, you can see that I had to stand in line 'B'. As you can see, 'Sawara' is not written in English, so you'll need to find it by checking the departure time.

I highly recommend arriving at the station early (at least 20-30 minutes before departure) to find your platform and get in line. This is especially important on weekends, as the bus passes by a major fashion outlet and can get crowded.

Seats on the bus are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

• HOW NOT TO MISS YOUR STOP:

Once you're seated on the bus, you'll find a small "stop" button above your seat (please check out the fourth attached photo). Be sure to press it when they announce that the next stop is Sawara. If you don’t press the button, there is a chance that the bus will skip your stop.

BY TRAIN - 2 hours

Recommended route and time:

To follow this itinerary, I recommend departing from Tokyo on either the 08:12 a.m. or 09:14 a.m. train, with just one transfer in Narita.

1. Take the Sobu Line Rapid train from Tokyo Station to Narita Station. Please note that finding the Sobu Line at Tokyo Station might take some time (around 15 minutes), so I recommend arriving at the station 20-25 minutes before your train. And never hesitate to ask station staff for directions.

2. Then, at Narita Station, transfer to the Local Choshi train headed to Sawara Station.

Make sure there is enough time between trains (at least 10-15 minutes).

Total cost of getting to Sawara is around 2,500 yen.

BY CAR - approximately 1 hour 20 minutes

🗾 Travel route by car (google maps)

1. From Sawara back to Tokyo:

🗾 Flexible travel route from Sawara Station to Tokyo Station depending on your departure time (Google Maps)

BY BUS:

Once again, I recommend only the direct bus to Sawara and avoiding bus routes that require transfers.

The best options are either the 16:33 or the 17:45 bus. It usually departs from platform 3 of Sawara Station, located near the north exit (check out the last photo):

📍Bus stop, Platform 3, North exit (google maps)

You can double-check which platform your bus will depart from by visiting the tourist information center near Sawara Station (a couple of years ago, the bus used to depart from a different platform):

📍 Tourist information center near Sawara Station (google maps)

Please note that they are open until 5 PM. I recommend stopping by as soon as you arrive in Sawara to confirm which platform you'll be departing from on your way back.

The bus fare to Tokyo is around 2,000 yen.

BY TRAIN:

I recommend choosing routes with only one transfer and leaving Sawara by train no later than 19:19, as that will be the last train with a single transfer.

If you have any questions, you can stop by the tourist information center near Sawara Station - they usually have someone who speaks English:

📍 Tourist information center near Station

BY CAR

🗾 Travel route by CAR (google maps)

*Travel times are approximate and may vary depending on your departure time and traffic conditions.