Update 2016/6/29 by R. Saito
Welcome to Tohoku University. Tohoku University is in Sendai city with 1 million population which is 350km north of Tokyo. Our office is in the Aoba-hill (100m high) in 5km west of the Sendai JR (Japan Railway) station.
If you have trouble with the following sentences about the way to my office, I appreciate your comment on what is confusing. I will fix the corresponding points. Thank you for your suggestions.
Please take a flight to
Narita Tokyo Air Terminal. From Narita to Tokyo city area, you can select the following possibilities. If you directly go to the Tohoku University, your next destination is Tokyo station. You can go to Ueno-Station by Keisei-line.From Korea, Hong Kong, Beijin, Chanhai, Hawaii, we have a direct flight to Sendai. Please try to find this. It is very convenient.
If you want to use domestic flight to Sendai, Narita airport is not always good. There is only two flight between Narita and Sendai. If you have a flight to Nagoya, Kansai (KIT), domestic connection flights are many. Please try to find this connection flight. If you select ANA (All Nippon Airways) or Star Aliance team, the domestic flight combined with the international flight seems to be cheap. I am not sure for this information. From Sendai airport to Sendai JR station, we have a train (630 yen), 30min.
Some countries (China, Brazil, Russia etc. ) are required to get visa. It takes a long time more than three month to get this. Please take a sufficient margin of the time. We have a lot of experience for visas.
When you arrive at Narita, please check the train time of
at the arriving gate after the custom. The easiest way is that you tell there that you will go to Sendai and need to reserve both NEXT and Shinkansen. It costs about 15,000 yen.
If the JR pass is useful, please consider to buy JR pass before coming to Japan. After arriving to Japan, we can not buy JR pass. With JR pass, you can take a Shinkansen but you can not reserve the ticket. Automatically, you can not use NEXT and the fastest Shinkanse "Hayate" which has only reserved seat. However you plan to visit many places in Japan, JR pass is very reasonably inexpensive.
Sinkansen-line (bullet train) starts from Tokyo Station but most of them stop Ueno Station, too. See some Web pages for relative locations.
It is noted that there are several Shinkansen lines. Tokaido-Shinkansen goes to Nagoya, Osaka, Hakata which is operated by JR-Tokai company (symbol color is blue), Tohoku-Joetu Shinkansen goes to Nagano, Niigata, and Sendai operated by JR-East companry. (Green Color) If you could not find your reserved train number at Tokyo station, it means that you stand in front of wrong Shinkansen lines or company. If you go to Sendai, you need find the name of Shinkansen, "Hayate", "Hayabusa" or "Yamabiko". Check JR East information.
If you have a good express (called NEXT) to Tokyo Station, please reserve this train and Shinkansen train to Sendai, too, at Narita station. Then you will know the arriving time at Sendai.
If you need to wait NEXT more than 1 hour or the train is too busy to reserve a seat, you can try to find a normal JR train to Tokyo station. Even in that case, you can know the arriving time at Tokyo station, you can reserve the Shinkansen at Narita station. You can reserve the ticket at Tokyo station, too. But comparing with Narita, they might not understand English.
The other choice is to use Keisei-line to Ueno station and take a Shinkansen to Sendai from Ueno Station.
Both Tokyo and Ueno station is very large station and the connection is not easy even for Japanese people. You need to walk a lot. Please consider at least 15min for connection.
You can find the map and the time table of the station by the Web.
I personally recommend Keisei Skiliner Express Line, which becomes much faster and the price is reasonable. If you are frequent visitor to Japan, try Keisei Commutor Express that I usually use.
Sendai station is a major one and will be announced in English.
In Dec. 2015, new subway system has started and the bus service from Sendai station to the Aobayama campus no more exists. Following the instruction, going down to the underground level to reach the Sendai Subway station whose entrance is common for the two lines Tozai-line (Green color, lower level) and Nanboku-line (Blue color, upper level).
Please take Subway Tozai-line by buying 250 JPY ticket (or Suica) from Sendai Station (T08) to Aobayama station (T02) in the direction of Yagiyama Doubutu Kouen station (T01). It takes 9 min and it operate every 6min. It is very convenient and highly recommended.
After arriving the Aobayama station , get out of North 4 exit (it takes 5 min from the bottom to the ground level. Please use elevator which is fast.). After getting out of the exit, turn to the left and you will find a convenience store 7-11 200m ahead in the 2nd floor of the building. This building is called Science Complex C (our building Complex B is the next building of Complex C) with the curved surface of the building. When you go along the corridor of Complex C on the same floor of 7-11 Shop, you will go over the short bridge to 2F of Complex B. If you take an elevator to 8F by turning the left twice after entering the entrance and you will find my office at 847. If you feel difficult to find my office, please call me 022-795-7754 for my office. Then I will pick up you.
An other choice in day time is so-called Loople bus: This is a sight-seeing bus whose shape is traditional. This loople bus starts near No. 9. 1 ride: 320 yen, tickets for the whole day: about 700. This bus directly goes to the Faculty of Science after some sight-seeing trip in Sendai.
Taxi: Say "Rigakubu, Aobayama". Or showing this page
(To taxi driver, please take us to Faculty of Science, Aobayama) It takes 20min and 2000 yen. Since there are many campuses in Tohoku University. Taxi driver can not understand which campus with saying ouly "Tohoku University". In this case you need to show the messages directly to taxi driver. The official informatin and maps can be obtained, respectively, access information and map In the Aobayama Campus map, a tall "Physics" building H03 in front of the road is my building.
More general information can be obtained by Tohoku University Web.
After getting off the bus stop, you can see 10floor building (H-03, Science Complex B) in which my office exisit at room 847in 8th floor. Use the elevator in the left tower. Even if you are not sure left or right, do not worry. The 8 th floor is connected to each other. You just follow the number.
