jason8612

My parents are flying into nrt Monday at 11am and are flying out the following morning at 1045am to ord. As of now I booked them the cp nrt hotel.
They want to go visit the city and have dinner. I was wondering what's the easiest /affordable /best way to get in and out? Looking online it seems the JR line ends at 5pm. What's the latest train they can take?

lobsterdog

There's an 8:03pm Narita Express from Tokyo station that gets to the airport at 9:13; from there they can take a taxi or maybe a shuttle bus run by the hotel. There's also a local train from Tokyo station at 9:45pm, or if they want to stay out and go clubbing they can catch an airport bus at 2:03am which arrives at the airport at 3:49am

jason8612

Thanks.

gnaget

I suggest staying in Narita city. The hotels are generally cheaper there and I thought the Richmond was quite nice; get the most expensive, large room. Then you are 2 min from the train station. Maybe $120 all inclusive. Then you can easily take the regular trains into Tokyo. There is frequent train service using various combinations of trains and you can depart quite late. For example you can take a train as late as 23:15 from Nippori for 780 yen and takes 70 min to Narita city. The last train is slower. It will take at most 30 min to get to Nippori from large swaths of Tokyo.

If you stay at an airport around the discount parking lots (i.e. CP, Hilton etc.) then you have to either follow a shuttle bus timetable or a cab, and probably have to take a train all the way to the airport, so then you are generally stuck with the more expensive Narita Express, which stops early evening as described above.

You can get a decent flavor of Japan in Narita city. Unless you have a specific restaurant in Tokyo in mind then you can find something decent in Narita city.

wjj

IMHO, I would just book a hotel in Tokyo so there is not any stress or worry about getting back to the NRT area at night. Then they can sight see in the afternoon, refresh at the hotel before dinner, and return to the hotel after dinner whenever they feel like it. Getting back to NRT the following morning for a 10:45 flight is a snap compared to getting back at night.

gnaget

There is also the Keisei Evening Liner (maybe they have nice seats like the Skyliner? never taken it). It costs 1190 yen and I guess it's a premium commuter train. Last one at around 10 pm. It takes 55 min vs. 70 min for the regular trains.

Use the old version of Google maps to get transport options with prices.

NewbieRunner

I suggest your parents leave the main luggage in NRT and either go straight to Tokyo and return to stay near Narita Station or stay in Tokyo and come back to NRT in the morning. Staying at an 'aiport hotel' away from the airpot or Narita City seems like the worst option.

If they are catching a Narita Express back to the airport in the morning they should reserve seats in advance.

jason8612

Hmm. The hotel also has a shuttle to the keisei Narita station

http://www.anacrowneplaza-narita.jp/english/access/

lobsterdog

I think it would be far more relaxing and less stressful to catch a morning flight from an airport hotel rather than having to wake up at six a.m. and deal with taking a train to the airport.

NewbieRunner

If they are going to the hotel on arrival and catching a train later to Tokyo it might make sense, though if you look at the timetable carefully daytime buses go to AEON Mall on the way to the station. Also it doesn't make sense to catch a shuttle to the station in the morning.

When they have less than 24 hours between flights they don't want to spend more time than necessary travelling on a shuttle between the airport/hotel/station.

robyng

I realize it's a personal decision. But I vote in favor of going into Tokyo ASAP upon arrival - sightseeing in the afternoon and having dinner there - and then departing in the morning for NRT. The departing flight is at 10:45 am - no need to wake up at the crack of dawn. What to do with luggage depends on how much you're talking about. Robyn

gnaget

Storing luggage at NRT and then heading straight to Tokyo means that you need to carry around a carry-on for the overnight. I would prefer to "bag free" especially in Tokyo.

So taking the train to Keisei Narita, also possibly checking in and freshening up although the Japanese can be ornery, seems to be the smoothest way to unload luggage and then head into town.

Dealing with shuttles is not fun. Once an hour and on the way back the timetable has 20 minutes from train station to Aeon. So a 5 min drive followed by waiting 15 min at the mall before going to the hotel. So it takes like 30-35 min to get to the airport hotel and the shuttle is once an hour.

evergrn

Agree with above, especially given that OP's parents want to see the city, enjoy a nice dinner, etc.

The return train back the next morning won't be at the crack of dawn.
If they stay in Asakusa, there's an Access train leaving at 7.55a going straight to NRT arriving at 8.54a. Only 1290yen although it's a regular commuter train.
If they stay near Tokyo Sta, there's a Narita Express leaving Tokyo Sta 7.31a and arriving NRT at 8.37a.

wjj

They could go straight to their hotel in Tokyo and check in. If it is too early to check in, they can leave their luggage at the hotel and be "bag free" as they explore Tokyo and check in later (many Tokyo hotels will have the bags up in their room already when they return to check in).

gnaget

Catching a train at 07:31 does not involve getting up at the crack of dawn?

I suppose not for large parts of the year since Tokyo is in the wrong time zone, but that's another matter.