alenlin

I booked a Delta Airline flight from LAX to TPE with an overnight layover in Japan. It arrives at HND at 10:30pm (2/23) and departs from NRT at 6:15pm (2/24).

The layover is 19 hours and 45 minutes.

I am a US Citizen. And here are my questions.

1. What is the best way to travel from HND to NRT? (i.e., train, bus).
2. Will Delta be able to transfer my luggage or do I have to carry it with me?
3. With the time that I have, is it possible to venture into town, and if so, where? Any recommendation on places to see and eat at would be greatly appreciated.
4. With my schedule, which hotel would you recommend?
5. What time should I head back or arrive at NRT for a 6:15pm flight?

Thank you!

Alen

N639DL

I've never been to Tokyo so I can't answer questions around that, but keep in mind you have:

-19 hour layover
-Overnight
-Airport transfer

I don't think DL will be able to take your bag. I doubt they would be willing/able to transfer a bag from Haneda to Narita.

Barbella7

You have an overnight so it isn't an immediate concern regarding a transfer. Just watch out since the flight gets into HND later, some public transportation could be closed by then. Delta won't through check your baggage. You should have most of the day to see Tokyo so that will be nice. It all depends on where you stay for when to head to NRT. Just keep in mind it is a ways out of town. Enjoy your trip!

view-with-a-room

Train is quicker and less expensive but requires a transfer. Bus is direct. Both appear to cease to run prior to midnight, though. No Delta will not transfer your luggage. A 19 hour layover arriving prior to midnight is not practical for a day trip to Tokyo, in my opinion. As with all international flights, arrive 2.5 hours prior to departure and so arrive at 3:45 PM.

I would be inclined to catch the train from HND to NRT, sleep at one of the convenient airport hotels in Narita via the free hotel shuttle, tour Narita via cheap circle bus, and head back to NRT via free hotel shuttle for a late lunch at any one of the dining options at the airport. Narita the town and Narita the airport are both quite nice. The time and cost associated with a trip to Tokyo are better suited to a multi day visit.

Two night layover in Narita some months ago and concluded travel to Tokyo was 2 hours each way, $40 round trip, and 3X the price for a hotel in Narita; and to my delight Narita proved to be a wonderful location for a two day visit with the free hotel shuttles, cheap circle bus, tourist friendly malls and temples, and endless options for dining in town or at the airport. The Crowne Plaza ANA Narita proved to be a good value and a good view of the planes departing.

ricardobtg

Hey Alen

1.- Bus is the easiest, but at the time you are arriving, bus options might be limited. There are however limited direct train options via the Keikyu Line for about 1600 yen, in fact, last month when I arrived on the LAX-HND flight, the train I took for Shinagawa was heading to Narita town.



In any case, if you overnight in Tokyo instead of Narita, as I would personally recommend, this point is moot. Most of Tokyo is about a 30-40 minute train ride from Haneda.

2.-You have to transfer your bags.

3.-It all depends on you, as the previous poster mentioned, you can head straight to Narita, have a good night's rest and check out Narita town in the morning. However, if you are so inclined, you have plenty of time to spend a leisurely morning in Tokyo. If you stay in Tokyo, you can have a good night's rest, wake up early, buy a day pass for the JR Line or Tokyo Metro and see plenty of sights.

4.- Any hotel close to public transportation would do. I recommend looking for something on japanican.com or travel.rakuten.com, Shinagawa, Tokyo Station, Akihabara or Ueno areas should all have reasonably priced (60-80usd for a single room) options close to the train. If you want a bigger more "western" style room expect to pay more, but I've found Japanese Business hotels do the trick quite nicely. If you stay in Ueno or Tokyo station you'll have the best access for the airport trains, although Keisei Ueno station is easier for luggage vs Tokyo Station imho.

5.- If you head to the airport at 2pm you'll have plenty of time. It's no good to get to Narita too early as check-in will be full with US bound departures, getting there at 4pm should be perfectly fine. The Narita Sky Access from Ueno should have you there in less than 40 minutes (faster and for less money than the pricey Narita Express), or if you're on a budget, the regular Keisei Line (Or JR Sobu Line from Tokyo Station) are both around 1000 yen but take almost 90 minutes, check http://www.hyperdia.com/en/ for the best connections, or you can take one of the limousine buses which are pricier but more convenient if you do not want to deal with hauling luggage.

Daytona

First, welcome to FT!

To the questions you asked:
1. What is the best way to travel from HND to NRT? (i.e., train, bus).
2230 arrival in HND is still fairly early. There are trains leaving from HND to the city until around 0005. My choice is to hop on the Keikyu line to Shinagawa (never understood what's so appealing about the Monorail). From Shinagawa you can transfer to the Narita Express to NRT.

2. Will Delta be able to transfer my luggage or do I have to carry it with me?
No, you will need to retrieve any checked luggage. You will re-check your luggage in NRT.

3. With the time that I have, is it possible to venture into town, and if so, where? Any recommendation on places to see and eat at would be greatly appreciated.
4. With my schedule, which hotel would you recommend?
You definitely have time to see around Tokyo (quickly). What I usually do is to get a room at either the Keikyu-EX Inn or the Shinagawa Price Hotel. These 2 hotels are literally just across the street from the Shinagawa station which makes it incredibly convenient.

Depends on what time you wake up from the trans-pac flight, you will have a couple hours to see the shops and stuff (shops in Tokyo usually opens at 10). The Tsukiji fish market opens even earlier so you can get some breakfast there if you want to. You can hit up Akihabara if anime/electronics is your fancy.

I don't know how much luggage will you carry with you, but most major train stations have storage lockers inside the paid area. They range from 300 to 500 yen. You can put your luggage in the lockers in Shinagawa so you can travel light around Tokyo.

5. What time should I head back or arrive at NRT for a 6:15pm flight?
From Shinagawa, you can take the Narita Express train to NRT. For your 1815 flight to TPE, you will probably want to take the train leaving Shinagawa at 14:50 (arrive NRT at 1557) or the one leaving at 1520 (arrive NRT at 1627).

Daytona

I would also recommend you to check out FlyerTalk's Japan forum for transfer options and what to do during the couple hours you have.

cundo

Take ricardobtg's advice. Stay near Tokyo Station over-night (though it's expensive in the area) and take the Narita Express to NRT by 2PM. That will get you to the airport by 3PM.

122554

Why? I'm flying LAX/TPE on Friday on CI nonstop. J class is a better product and less $$ than DL!