Originally Posted by
gariben
I wouldn't recommend going out of NRT airport with only 10 hours.
Narita Airport is the middle of nowhere. To get to Central Tokyo, it's about 90minutes+ each way.
Visa Processing: 2/3+ hours, Waiting for departing flight: 1+ hour, Misc: 30
minutes.. Leaving you with about 5 hours.
If you just want to breath Tokyo air and get a lunch at a local shop outside of Narita Airport, then it's OK.
Looks like the OP would need to get a transit/visitors' visa before getting to Japan. That would not be 2/3+ hours of processing at the airport (unless Japan processes transit visa onsite, which i'm unaware of and have no knowledge of). Going through customs at NRT should be no more than 30-45 minutes at most, plus OP would not need to wait for checked luggages (i'm assuming).
Definitely don't go into Tokyo City because roundtrip on the fast rail service will take about 3 hours and around $60USD (at least) and hang out near the Shinjuku station.
Definitely check out Narita City if you want to "see" Japan as it is close to the airport and many local buses available on the arrival level. Check out Narita airport's website for bus lines and local tours (as mentioned in previous post) or just stay in the Terminal and hang out in the mall area.
Typing this makes me want to head that way again...
. love japan...