Yokohama to Tokyo with 14 people and luggages

Hello, i need advice.
I'll be arriving in japan on 21 june and straight to Yokohama with airport Limousine with my big family (8 adults and 5 kids). The luggages gonna be a lot too, maybe around 8 large luggages, 2 cabin sized and 3 strollers. Since it's airport bus i don't think it's a problem.

On 23 June, we will move to Tokyo. We rent Airbnb around Ohanajaya station.

What is the best option do we have to reach Tokyo?

I tried to look for luggage transport (Yamato) but i don't find any drop points in Yokohama (cmiiw). So my original plan is: using the same airport bus to go from Yamashita park (yokohama) to Haneda airport, then using the airport bus again from Haneda to Tokyo Skytree, then taking trains to Ohanajaya station.
I know it will be a lot of hustle esp with so many baggages, maybe there are any other options?

Money-wise, i don't know if the hustle worth the money or i should just book taxis or even rent a car.

Do you have any similar experience?
Thank you in advance!

Just catch a train. Spread out over 2 carriage doors.

Train would seem the easier , faster and cheaper way. Don’t go in morning rush hour, spread I smaller groups over different doors.
Regarding shipping your luggage you can do it from most hotels. If that fails, you can ship from convenience stores. I always use 7/11 to ship. Others are also possible but I don’t know exactly which. There are more than enough 7/11 everywhere. If shipping to an Airbnb check if they have someone who can accept the suitcases. If not one of your party needs to be there waiting for the delivery. If you ship in the morning it would generally be next day delivery.
If you are staying at an Airbnb in Yokohama as well, you can also call Yamato to come and pick up the luggage from there.

Btw, why are you staying in Tokyo and Yokohama? Many people would find it easier to just stay the entire time in Tokyo and do the Yokohama things as day trip.

Thank you for the advice!

If that fails, you can ship from convenience stores. I always use 7/11 to ship. Others are also possible but I don’t know exactly which. There are more than enough 7/11 everywhere. If shipping to an Airbnb check if they have someone who can accept the suitcases. If not one of your party needs to be there waiting for the delivery.

Does Yamato also able to ship to nearest 7/11?
In case our airbnb host can't stay to accept the suitcases, so we don't have to stay for uncertain hours (or does Yamato give approximately arrival time?)

Btw, why are you staying in Tokyo and Yokohama? Many people would find it easier to just stay the entire time in Tokyo and do the Yokohama things as day trip.

We had families in Yokohama and our parent requested to stay there for a few days so they can be closer. I know it's inconvenient but since that is the only thing our parent asks for the entire trip, we agreed.

You might consider staying the whole time in Yokohama. The place you choose in Tokyo doesn’t look overly convenient either. So depending on where you are in Yokohama that might be a good base.

I don’t think you can ship to a 7/11 but you can choose the arrival time. Generally within a 2 h slot.

From yokohama to ohanajaya:780 yen,AtFirst
From JR yokohama to JR ueno st = 580 yen
Then keisei ueno to ohanajaya st =200 yen

First and foremost, I don't understand why you chose to bring your big family to stay at both Yokohama and Tokyo. They're within commuting distance. You could just stay at either, and do day trips.

With that aside, is the place you're staying in Yokohama near Yamashita Park? (cmiiw, because the city of Yokohama is as huge as Tokyo) If so, the nearest Yamato pickup station from Yamashita Park is their Yamashita-cho office.
https://locations.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/p/yamato01/dtl/026720/?&cond22=...

Yamato has about 4 other pickup stations in walking distance from the park.

And If you do decide to stay in both Yokohama and Tokyo, and if you are indeed to be located at Yamashita Park, you should have your luggage delivered, and then get on the train. I would say that the easiest route is to change trains at Yokohama Station (from Minatomirai Line to JR Keihintohoku Line) and at Nippori Station (to Keisei Line). Again, the route would be different if you're not leaving from Yamashita Park.

Have you also considered hiring a van for your whole trip? It could be worth the money since you're such a big group. Perhaps a travel agent would be able to create a cheaper package including accommodation and flights.

Do you have any similar experience?

No, I don't have a similar experience, but I'm just answering from a local resident's perspective.

As a person who used to live in Yokohama - I agree that it would be silly to stay in two different locations with such a big group and so much luggage. You can get to Shibuya from Yokohama in less than 30 minutes by train (non-Shinkansen) from memory.

Staying in one location also fixes your problem of getting all of that luggage back to the airport - since you are next to the limosine bus station.

I understand everybody’s concern, and i agree it doesn’t make sense. I’m going with my husband’s family and this is his parent request. The children had agreed, accommodations had been booked and i’m just trying to help lol. That’s why my question seems ridiculous, and I appreciate your replies!

We had similar experience back in 2018 (moved from Tokyo to Yokohama), that’s why he’s confident to do it again this time (but back then it was just 4 of us lol).

The place you choose in Tokyo doesn’t look overly convenient either.

True :( it was hard to look for Airbnb for 14 peoples that works for us closer to the city, so yeah this was so far the best one.

With that aside, is the place you're staying in Yokohama near Yamashita Park? (cmiiw, because the city of Yokohama is as huge as Tokyo) If so, the nearest Yamato pickup station from Yamashita Park is their Yamashita-cho office.
https://locations.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/p/yamato01/dtl/026720/?&cond22=...

We’ll stay in Citadines! I believe that Yamato pickup station is very near to the hotel. Thank you for this!!!

Have you also considered hiring a van for your whole trip? It could be worth the money since you're such a big group. Perhaps a travel agent would be able to create a cheaper package including accommodation and flights.

We had bought or plane tickets and accommodations separately. We do thinking about hiring a van, but as the last choice because of the rates. But you’re right, it might worth the money and more convenient for us. I’ll try to persuade them lol.

Yokohama resident here.

Normally, Yokohama-Tokyo isn't a difficult trip. It's a commute that lots of people do every day. Your situation is a little more complex since you're going from the south part of downtown Yokohama to the north part of downtown Tokyo, but still shouldn't be too bad.

Taking the limousine us from your hotel (near Yamashita Park) to Haneda, then another limousine bus from Haneda to Tokyo Station, and then the train to Ohanajaya, sounds like a lot of hassle and expense. Instead, I would do this:

1. Take taxis from your hotel to Yokohama Station
2. From Yokohama Station, take the JR Tokkaido Line to Ueno
3. From Ueno, take the JR Joban Line to Nippori
4. From Nippori, take the Keisei Line to Ohanajaya

There are no JR lines near your hotel (Citadines), so instead of buying a ticket for a non-JR line to get from your hotel to Yokohama Station, you may as well go in taxis - it's a short ride, so price-wise if you've got 4 people in each cab, it won't be too different from buying 4 tickets.

The Yokohama-Ueno-Nippori route means you'll only have to transfer twice during the JR-line portion of the trip, and both of those are at major stations with relatively wide walkways and good signage, making them pretty easy to navigate. They are both major commuter stations, so if you can avoid rush hour and go in the early afternoon (like, between 1 and 4 o'clock), it'll probably be easiest.

And as a side note, having shepherded large groups of friends/family visiting from overseas around Japan, for train transfers and the like it's usually helpful if you have two or three unofficial "leaders" in charge of a few people each. When my wife and I, who both speak/read Japanese, are showing a large group around we usually walk with one of us at the front of the group and the other at the back, and we each take half of the group onto/off the train. That way we're not trying to fit the whole group into the same train door at the platform or trying to press them all into the same corner of the car once we're onboard, which makes things a lot less busy and stressful.

Thank you for feedback. Now I get the picture. Well, maybe somebody loved that experience of staying at practically neighboring cities.

Yes, the closest Yamato to Citadines is their Yamashita-cho office. And you should also ask at the hotel, because hotels often do the delivery process for you.

You probably know that Citadines is a nice new cozy-looking hotel very conveniently connected to Nihon-Oodori train station, so the route I suggested should work when going to your Airbnb.

And keep in mind that a lot of group discounts in Japan start from 8 persons, with some even providing 5-ups. You should ask when buying tickets at museums and train stations.

Good luck with your adventures!

Let me add something.

I can't really agree with the idea of taking a taxi from Citadines just to avoid the non-JR train to Yokohama. Like I said, the Minatomirai Line is extremely convenient in your case. But BE SURE to ride near the very front of the train. When you get off at Yokohama Station, you'd be closer to the "North Gate" which is very crowd-less and therefore stress-free. Just use the escalators at the very tip of the platform (nearest to Tokyo-direction), and you'll end up at the right place.

Meanwhile, Citadines is not too far from JR Kannai station, if you ever wish to ride JR for some reason. Sure enough, most trains from Kannai will take you straight to Nippori, so you'll only have to change train once when going to Ohanajaya. But still, transferring from Minatomirai Line to JR at Yokohama Station is not a hassle at all if you don't have any luggage.

Again, you should look into hiring a van, though.

「I can't really agree with the idea of taking a taxi from Citadines just to avoid the non-JR train to Yokohama. Like I said, the Minatomirai Line is extremely convenient in your case. 」

My suggestion of taking a taxi from Citidines to Yokohama Station isn't necessarily to "avoid non-JR lines." It's to avoid having to walk to the nearest station (on the Minato Mirai Line), get everyone down to the platform, get them on the train, ride it for about 5 minutes to Yokohama Station, then get everyone off the train, up to the ticket gates, and through the connecting area just to get to the JR ticket gates for the next, much longer ride up to Tokyo.

Yes, taking taxis from the hotel to Yokohama Station will be slightly more expensive, but with four people to a cab, a short ride, and the fact that it's going to be a one-time expense for the group, I'd say it's worth it, especially for someone who's already concerned about how to smoothly make the trip from Yokohama to Tokyo. Minato Mirai Line stations are pretty deep underground, so they can involve a lot of navigating escalators or walkways to get to elevators, which can be a bit of a pain if you've got any leftover bags you're not sending ahead via takyubin.

As a local, I wouldn't take a taxi from the Yamashita Park area to Yokohama Station, and would instead take the Minato Mirai Line, or maybe even just walk. But if I was a traveler concerned about the smoothest way to guide a group from there to Ohanajaya, I think I'd opt for taxis.

「Citadines is not too far from JR Kannai station...most trains from Kannai will take you straight to Nippori」
It's a 15-minute walk. Again, as a local, that wouldn't be an issue for me at all, but it might be for someone who's in charge of a large group of visitors.

But you do make an excellent point about trains that go directly from Kannai to Nippori. Since the OP will have to transfer at Nippori eventually to get to Ohanajaya, it's probably easiest to get on the train at Kannai and skip having to navigate transfer/start riding at Yokohama Station, since Kannai is a less busy station most of the time. Again, for the smoothest trip, I'd probably still opt for taking a taxi from the hotel to Kannai Station.

Well, it's just one elevator and one escalator from the hotel lobby to the platform, while if you take a taxi, you need to go through the long and confusing walk plus ups and downs after getting off at Yokohama Station, but everyone has their preferences.

Actually, if you're going to take a taxi to a JR station, you should take it to Kannai instead of the vast and complicated Yokohama Station. Anyway. maybe the OP can discuss all that with the hotel reception people.

Oh, guest, you do mention the same thing about Kannai. Sorry about that.

Thank you for the replies! I now have bigger picture about it and more options. I’ll discuss this with my husband.

On the Keihin-Tōhoku Line, Rapid trains skip Nippori Station.

If you take a Rapid train
from Kannai or Yokohama
to Ueno on the Keihin-Tōhoku Line (Track 1),
you can make a quick transfer via the same platform
to the Yamanote Line (counterclockwise) (Track 2)
and then take a Local train for several minutes to Nippori.

Ueno Station of JR can be a labyrinth;
it sounds better to take a simpler route.

Uco:
most trains from Kannai will take you straight to Nippori

It depends on time zones whether they skip Nippori or make a stop there.

Trains for Ōmiya or Urawa
which depart from Kannai or Yokohama
from around 9:45 to around 14:00
are Rapid trains, which skip Nippori;
the other trains for Ōmiya or Urawa are Local trains.

(guest):
1. Take taxis from your hotel to Yokohama Station
2. From Yokohama Station, take the JR Tokkaido Line to Ueno
3. From Ueno, take the JR Joban Line to Nippori
4. From Nippori, take the Keisei Line to Ohanajaya

That requires changing platforms at Ueno,
which is not necessary in the above-mentioned transfer.

Taking a Tōkaidō Line train from Yokohama,
you may go a little faster until Shinagawa;
at Shinagawa,
you can make a transfer
to the Yamanote Line (counterclockwise) (Track 1) ;
you change platforms here.

At Nippori, you can get through the JR - Keisei transfer gate.
Only Local trains make a stop at Ohanajaya.

For Yokohama sightseeing,
Sakuragichō Station
(between Kannai and Yokohama Stations)
sounds convenient.

- Yokohama Akai Kutsu loop sightseeing bus
https://www.yokohamajapan.com/information/getting-around-yokohama/akai...

Enjoy your trip!

Sorry, "most" was misleading of me.