By bus
Hamamatsu serves as a major stop for bus travel throughout the country, thanks in large part to its location near the Tomei Expressway artery. Through buses may stop at the Hamamatsu Kita interchange of the expressway, a good distance from Hamamatsu station.
By plane
Geographically, the closest airport to Hamamatsu is in Shizuoka, about 30 minutes away by bus or car. However, flights there are very limited, with no service to Tokyo or Kansai and international services limited to Seoul and Shanghai.
From Chubu International Airport, Entetsu operates a bus called E-Wing, which runs directly to Hamamatsu. Buses depart the airport once per hour 00 minutes past in the morning, 45 minutes past in the afternoon and reach Hamamatsu station in two hours ¥3000. Schedule in Japanese (http://bus.entetsu.co.jp/...)
From Narita International Airport, when exiting customs take the Airport Limousine Bus ¥3000 to Tokyo station and then purchase a ticket on the JR Tokeido Shinkansen line to Hamamatsu Station about ¥8000. It is the 5th stop on the express train from Tokyo station and takes about 1 1/2 hours. Alternatively, take the Narita Express Train NEX from airport to Tokyo Station and transfer over to the Shinkansen. While slightly more expensive, the upside to this is that you can purchase both train tickets from the one vendor located at the same counter as the Airport Limousine Bus, and the NEX puts you right into Tokyo Station.
By train
Hamamatsu is situated on both the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, and the JR Tokaido Line, which serve major cities like Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
There are a handful of Hikari and Kodama services that stop in Hamamatsu. From Tokyo, there are two all-stopping Kodama trains that depart every hour, making the run to Hamamatsu in about 2 hours. Faster Hikari trains depart once per hour, running to Hamamatsu in 90 minutes. The fare is the same for both, at ¥8070 for a reserved seat.
There are hourly departures to Hamamatsu from Osaka and Kyoto on either a Hikari 90 minutes from Osaka or Kodama 2 hours from Osaka service. The reserved seat fare is ¥8700 from Shin-Osaka and ¥8070 from Kyoto.
If you wish to sacrifice travel speed for savings, you can take advantage of the Puratto Kodama Ticket in Japanese (http://www.jrtours.co.jp/...), which offers a discount for Kodama services if you purchase at least one day in advance. You get a reserved seat and a free drink on board. With this ticket a trip to Hamamatsu costs ¥6300 from Tokyo 2 hours, ¥3500 from Nagoya 50 minutes, ¥6300 from Kyoto 1 3/4 hours and ¥6800 from Shin-Osaka 2 hours. Kodama trains run once an hour from Shin-Osaka and Kyoto; twice per hour from the other cities. A few early-morning Kodama trains cannot be used with this ticket.
Regular local train services on the Tokaido Line will get you from Tokyo to Hamamatsu in approximately 4-5 hours for ¥4310 with at least one change of trains required. From Osaka, it takes around the same amount of time for ¥4940 with several train changes required.
Train service from Nagoya take as little as 1 hour 40 minutes on the regular Tokaido Line ¥1890, changing at Toyohashi, or as little as 30 minutes on the Shinkansen ¥4810.
All of the above train services are free with a Japan Rail Pass.
The Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto trains make overnight stops in Hamamatsu on runs to Izumoshi and Takamatsu, respectively.
By car
Japan's Windy City
Hamamatsu gets little snow in winter, but it often feels much colder than it really is, thanks to what is known as the enshu-no-karakkaze, a very strong and dry wind which blows across Lake Hamana and into the city. If you come here in winter, hold onto your hat because the enshuu-karakkaze is one of the strongest urban winds in the world.
The Tomei Expressway, the main artery through the Chubu region, also bisects the city.