8 hour layover in Narita Airport - What to do??

Question

I'm flying from Seoul(ICN) to Chicago(ORD) via Tokyo(NRT).
However, I'm having an 8 hour layover in Narita Airport.

I know the city center or downtown Tokyo is 1hour 30minutes away from the airport and that makes more than 3hours for a roundtrip.
But I hate waiting at the airport for 8 hours!!

Is there any place closer to the airport but worth hanging around?
I just want to walk around and have fabulous lunch!!!
Any suggestions for a layover passenger?

One more question, I'm flying with American Airlines for the first time. (From Tokyo to Chicago)
Are they good compared with UA, Northwest, JAL, Korean Air or Asiana?
(It was the cheapest option of the five other airlines)

Answer 1

Eight hours might be OK. Think about this schedule and idea. Since you are doing a layover, you will not have to claim your baggage, it will/should be forwarded to your final destination. Check with the airlines to be sure and let them know your plan to visit Japan for a few hours. OK here it goes:

Go through immigration and customs, then proceed down to the train station area. Take the Keisei Skyliner to Ueno station. Walk right out of the Keisei Ueno staiton and you are smack in the middle of Ueno.

Want a good lunch? Just across the street from the Keisei Skyliner station is a set of small streets. The area is called Ameyoko-cho. It is an old flea market style place, only modernized. It is a neat place to walk around. In and around that area are many small restaurants. Visually it is an experience. Also, you can say you visted one of th eolder parts of Tokyo.
Time wise, I estimate
1 hour clear customs and immigration
1 hour train ride out,
1 hour train ride in
1.5 hours to check in at gate
----------------------------------------
total 4.5 hours of overhead
you still have 2 hours for walking arond Ueno
+ 1 hour of buffer time

If that seems to risky due to the time crunch. My second suggestion would be to head into Narita City, see Narita-san and take in some local flavor and sights. You can probably relax and walk around more and feel safe that you are only a 10 minute cab ride away from the airport terminal.

Answer 2

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RE:
8 hour layover in Narita Airport - What to do??
I'm flying from Seoul(ICN) to Chicago(ORD) via Tokyo(NRT).
However, I'm having an 8 hour layover in Narita Airport.

I know the city center or downtown Tokyo is 1hour 30minutes away from the airport and that makes more than 3hours for a roundtrip.
But I hate waiting at the airport for...

Answer 3

5 hours in Tokyo would be a bit rushed and getting back may not be so convenient. Narita has a temple with a pagoda along with shopping for traditional items. I recommend Boso-no-Mura. From Narita station go to the JR Narita station - it's practically around the corner. Take any train going to Tokyo or Abiko. Get off at the next station. It's about a 2lm walk through Japanese countryside. The place has old farmhouses from the 19th century and a replica-street of what towns looked like more than a hundred years ago. There's a samurai house where you can try on samurai armor even.

http://www.city.narita.chiba.jp/english/welcome/sightseeguide/05_boso_mura.html

Answer 4

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Here is some information based on my experiences over the years. Your 12 hour layover may actually be turned into about 8-9 hours of time to run into Tokyo. I will explain It will take about 1.5 - 2 hours from the point of landing to when you will be cleared from immigration and customs. You may need to consult the airlines since you are connecting at Narita. Usually, when we land there is a pont where connecting passengers go to the waiting lounge and everyone else who is entering the country will proceed to immigration. After immigration is baggage claim. Since you are on a layover, you will not need to claim bags, so you can go to customs and then pass the doors and you will be in Japan. From the airport you have two options for going to Tokyo, train or bus. I suggest train because it is very efficient and is 99.99% on time and reliable. I suggest you take the Skyliner versus the Narita Express because it will take you striaght to Ueno. This is my pitch for a few hours stay in Tokyo. Take the Skyliner into Ueno see the area, walk around Ameyokocho flea market area and take in the sights and sounds. You can walk through Ueno park see some of the sights and take some pictures. Next you can take the Yamanote line up to Akihabara and see some of the electronics and anime stuff. Next take the Yamanote line to Tokyo and see the Imperial Palace. From the Tokyo station you can catch the Narita Express back to the Airport. I spent lots of time in the Ueno area before I was transferred to work and live in Japan. Here is another idea. You take the Narita Express to Shinjuku and then walk around Shinjuku for a while. As far as destinations, Shinjuku is very interesting and is also a very busy place. From Shinjuku you can take the Yamanote line to Shubuya and take in the sights and sounds of Shibuya. Shibuya is where my family and I spent lots of time since we lived in the Shibuya ward. Shibuya has sights and sounds that can amaze you. Take a walk around the entire area take some pictures and try a restaurant or two. In either case you should budget 2 hours of time to return back to the airport. Good luck and have fun.

Answer 5

I would have a go sightseeing in central Tokyo. Airport stations to Tokyo City Centre will be less than 90 min, especially when you use faster airport trains (Narita Express). I know one tour operator is running city coach tours from / to Narita Airport for stopover tourists (search the Internet with "Sunrise Tours", which is a branch of JTB). Probably other Tour operators may have similar excursions. So check it out.

I'm afraid there are not many places to visit in and around Narita City, but if you're interested in Japanese traditional culture then Narita-San Shinsho-Ji Temple is very famous.

Answer 6

Things To Do In Narita

Answer 7

I recommend going into Narita City, not all the way out to Tokyo.

Narita City is right next to the Airport, it has a famous temple, various restaurants and shopping.

Again, I would not suggest going out to Tokyo with the amount of time you have.

Answer 8

Go to Narita-san temple. Narita city is a nice town and I am sure you will be able to find a nice spot to eat. The temple and the town were there long before the airport. The temple also has a very nice museum associated with it.

The other possibilty is going to a hotel as a guest without a room. You have to pay a reasonable fee, but the airport hotels usually have a product where you go in and use the sauna, pool, gym, etc. without actually getting a room. An Atlantic lobster is referred to as a homard-ebi in Japan.

Answer 9

Just keep staying inside of the airport. Tokyo is far from the airport. You may have big trouble if you don't understand Japanese in accident. You can come back to Japan next time as tourist. 12 hours from arrival time to departure time is too short to explore safely and reasonably there.

Answer 10

Interesting discussion!