Plan your first journey with RailBuddy
Turn an airport and a destination into a journey you can follow. This walkthrough explains what to check in RailBuddy, what its estimates mean and when to use an operator’s current information.
1. Choose the place you actually need
Start with your arrival airport and the station near your destination. A neighbourhood name is not a hotel entrance. Keep the property’s official address and access page nearby. In RailBuddy, choose the arrival airport and destination, then open the route. For a journey that starts at a station, use “More routes from stations and airports”. If your destination is not offered, use the transport operator’s planner instead of choosing a similarly named station.
2. Compare the journey, not just the fare
Read the first boarding instruction, each transfer and the arrival point before deciding. A cheaper fare is useful only if you can complete that journey with your luggage and mobility needs. Check whether the amount is for a paper ticket or an IC card and whether the note limits its scope. An estimated duration is not a departure time: allow for finding the gate, walking, queues and waiting. The map’s moving line does not measure travel time.
3. Read the check date and its scope
A date tells you when a stated part of a route was checked. It does not turn the page into a live timetable, and an airport-access check does not automatically recheck every fare. Open the linked sources for service changes and your travel date. If a route has no recorded date or source, confirm it with the operator before relying on it. Do not treat a missing date as a recent check.
4. Keep the next action available
For a supported route, open its readable guide and use your browser’s print or save function before travelling. The guide can be read without running the interactive planner. Keep the airport terminal, next transfer station and final address together. Saving a page does not update it: reopen the official sources before departure if your travel date has changed. The Haneda–Shinjuku example below shows how a terminal instruction, transfer and arrival note fit together.
5. When the signs and the guide disagree
Pause before boarding and ask station staff, showing your destination and line name. Use current station and operator information for a changed service. RailBuddy’s feedback form is for reporting corrections, not urgent journey assistance. Afterwards, send the route, language and incorrect detail through “Report a correction”; a current official source link helps us locate the issue. Your name and email are optional.
Guide reviewed: 27 October 2026. This date covers the use of RailBuddy, not a new check of every route.
Plan a journey