May I just add that the Excel Tokyu is right next door to the Narita Hilton, and to avoid confusion, the "downtown" shuttle is to downtown Narita and not downtown Tokyo :)

Thanks, but that link does not work for me! (I would also not I was using very similar words and varitions in my searches).

NRT to Tokyo Hilton(Downtown)
 

The Limo bus departs Terminal 2 NRT Airport at 4:45pm,5:15pm,6pm,6:30pm, 7:20pm and 7:55pm........
If you go to the NRT airport web site and search "Limo Bus" you will find the timetable.

NRT - Tokyo Airport Hilton Comments
 

Hi all - I know there have been many threads on this hotel (NRT Hilton), yet cannot seem to find any.

I am a Diamond and am looking for advice on what room type to ask for, airport shuttle (frequency and where to get it - I will be arriving on AA 169 from LAX).

Many thanks.

I am a G member. I always stay there with the cheapest rate. NRT Hilton gives me the room upgrade on high floor, breakfast ticket and free fitness ticket. There is no exe floor, so if possible, request the airport side room. A fantastic spectacle can be seen from your room at night.
NRT Hilton treats G members as well as D members, so you would have the almost same treatment there. Have a nice stay.

shuttle bus : http://www.ishinhotels.com/hilton-na...ess/index.html

I agree with yasuki's comments. Stayed there two weeks ago as a gold on an overnight award stay. The place is buzzing with airline crews on layovers. Public areas and my room were in excellent condition. I was placed on the second highest floor. The buffet breakfast spread was pretty good and included as a gold amenity (thank goodness otherwise would have to pay about $22). Aside from the breakfast buffet, never ate in any of the other restaurants. Went to Jusco's at the Aeon shopping mall, purchased tempura, yakitori, sashimi, musubi, nori senbei and a couple of Asahis to satisfy my hunger.

In addition to the airport, the hotel shuttle will take you to JR Narita station and that's about it. I used the circle bus (150 yen) to/from Aeon and Shinshoji otera. Neither run frequently, so plan accordingly. As with all forms of transportation in Japan, however, they are prompt to the minute. If at all possible, avoid the taxis even for short hops into town.

'continental breafast' is written on the breakfast ticket. But it means 'full American buffet' in this hotel. :cool:

Diamonds usually get a higher floor and a later checkout-important to us from downunder.If looking for an evening meal it is worthwhile getting the free shuttle into Narita-a greater selection and better priced.Most restaurants are on the other side of the station from shuttle stop.

If it helps the OP, the Hilton is roughly 1700 Yen from T2. I got there early one day and the shuttle was 35 minutes away and I was tired.

I'm staying there one evening in August. As a meager Silver, can I expect anything other than the room I booked? ;)

15% base points bonus. ;)

But seriously, I've never stayed as a Silver. Blue got me nothing, Gold got me (as pointed out by others) the top floor and the full breakfast.

Semi-dumb but important Hilton Narita question
 

This might seem like a dumb question to some, but does the Hilton Narita have soaps and shampoos and wash cloths in their rooms?

Reason I ask is that on my last trip to Germany, I stayed at a Comfort Inn and they didn't have shampoo ... only some shower gel type thing and no wash cloths to use the gel. Being an American chain, I figured that those basics would have been provided, but I was wrong.

I just want to be prepared should this not be provided.

Thanks,

Super

Yes they do plus a hairbrush and razor.

Thanks!

Hilton Narita: which room/rate?
 

Which rate plan and room would be the best for the money at the Hilton Narita?

I'm seeing the Fully Flexibles, and the Bouncebacks with breakfast.

I guess the question is: for a gold, is paying extra for the buffet breakfast worth it?

What's the difference between queen, plus queen, deluxe queen, and deluxe plus queen?

Thanks,

Super

No its not worth paying extra for breakfast. As gold, at Hilton Narita they will give you voucher for continental brekkie. But, no one ever checks whether you had buffet brekkie or continental brekkie.

Not sure the difference between the various rooms. The couple times I stayed here the rooms were quite small and nothing wonderful.

As a gold I would book the cheapest room and as we always had a definite date would go the prepaid option and save another 2000 yen.
The basic room is on the lower floors,the deluxe room is slightly larger and on a higher floor-as gold this is what we got.A deluxe plus is slightly larger again-had this as a diamond.But they just mean a little more room to get around the bed.
Narita is honors friendly-you will get breakfast coupons which are labelled continental but it is understood that you will have the complete buffet choice-on 2 occasions we were told this before we sat down.So no need to pay for breakfast.
If you dont mind twin beds the basic twin room on the advance purchase rate is only 9500 yen which is extremely cheap for Japan.Mrs drron insists on a queen bed however.

As a G member, just book the cheapest rate and request a room on the airport side. That would be fine. Very friendly hotel for HH members.
Hilton room is 25m2, Hiton plus room is 25m2 on the high floor and DX room is 35m2. Hilton NRT is operated by Ishin hotel group and you may find the cheaper rate on the web of Ishin group.
http://www.ishinhotels.com/hilton-narita/en/

Thanks all for the tips. Very helpful.

Is the breakfast American style or Japanese? If it's Japanese style, what does a Japanese breakfast consist of?

Its very good value at Category 1 (10,000points) if you have some spare HHonors points.

I am Gold and used points; and was given a deluxe room on the top floor with 2 breakfast coupons :)

Breakfast was a full American with an egg station, inaddition to a Japanese spread. We had to rush through breakfast to catch the shuttle back to the terminal, hence did not sample the full offerings.

Buffet breakfast includes American, Japanese and Chinese food. No worries ;)

What's in a Japanese and Chinese breakfast?

Glad they have American breakfast. I love bacon and eggs in the morning.

Does this Hilton also have some sort of internet access (either wired or wireless)? Doesn't have to be free, but I'm going to need to turn in some assignments online, and even with the time difference, won't be to my friend's until after the deadline.

I figure even if I have to pay, it can't be any worse than the exboritant rates I paid in Germany for wireless. 18 euros a day. :td: Still cheaper to use that and Skype to call home than roaming though.

While you are there, try and take a walk thru the town of Narita, up to the temples. It's a very charming little town, and is a nice walk from where the shuttle bus drops you off.

M8

How long of a walk is it? I arrive the day before my friends do for a tour of Japan, so I'm staying at the NRT Hilton that "early" night. My flight arrives at 3:20pm. Their flight arrives at 2:00pm the next day, so my plan was to go to the hotel for the night, then meet them the next day at the NRT Express before we head into Tokyo. That leaves me with the morning, and possibly part of the afternoon, and I was DEFINITELY interested in seeing the temples...

I planned on doing that.

How expensive are things in Narita (like food, any tours, etc)?

I took the "tour" bus last year. (Okay, it was the public bus, I saw a lot of stuff) You can find normal priced food, but normal restaurants seemed pretty expensive. I was going to see a movie, but at $17.00 or so I just couldn't justify to see a 5 month old movie.

They have some inexpensive rice bowl places (Yoshinoya, I think). $3-$5 for a bowl. Pretty decent.

Get the free shuttle from the hilton to narita town.Go up through the train station and straight out to the main road.Turn right and walk down the hill to the temple.It is a little over a mile I guess but could easily be done in a morning.
Food is expensive in Japan but the restaurants in Narita town are about the cheapest you will find-2 or 3 have suikiyaki for about $US12.
There are tours of surrounding areas but have not done these.Visit www.naritasan.or.jp to get some ideas.

Do these rice bowl places have the option to put stuff on it (say like teriyaki chicken or something), or is it just a bowl of white rice?

Thanks. I'll check those out.

I can validate all of the above, except you walk DOWN the hill and then UP another hill. The temple complex is on the top of the hill. The road is winding and picturesque. Take your time and your digicam. You can do this in a morning or afternoon, or split the day over both. The food is cheaper that what you will get at the hotel. The concierge staff at the Hilton is very helpful and very polite. They will answer your questions. No tipping.

M8

Ok ... you bring up a question. Is it proper to tip at all in Japan, or is everything all-inclusive in the price?

No tipping at all.

BTW, the train stuff is pretty cool. They are on time to the second. The onboard monitors on the trains and subways are now in English, which makes the travel easier.

I would suggest you get a phrase book also. Japan is still very monolingual, however the Japanese are so very polite, and very willing to help.

If you get a chance, visit one of the English speaking bars. Here Japanese go to meet other Japanese so that they can practice their English. It's a special treat when a Gringo walks in. However, these are not pick up joints.

Enjoy your trip.

M8

Except when staying at a ryokan.

Don't give the Narita area short shrift - it has lots to offer.
 

The Hilton Narita is best done as a 10,000 point stay - then it's a bargain! As Gold or Diamond, you wil get vouchers for breakfast - they admit you to the restaurant with buffet, and though it states Continental brkeafast, every time I have been told to take anything. And they practically do have anything, Japanese, extended American, egg station, you name it you can get it. As to rooms, they are very similar, in spite of all the different designations.

When you arrive at Narita airport, stop at the kiosk on your way out and load up on brochures and maps for the sights I describe below...

As to the area, enjoy it - take the shuttle to Narita-shi, walk up Ometesando to the Narita-san Shinshoji Temple and gardens. You'll see a ceremony if you wait a bit - colorful procession with big gongs, bunring of the "goma-fuda" etc. Wander the parklike gardens - on weekends there are usually traditional concerts held in the gazebo by the lovely reflecting pond, nice samisen and shakuhachi music, or you might catch an outdoor celebration of "chanoyu", the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. In spring and fall, the sakura (cherry blossoms) and koyo displays (autumn leaf displays) can be very colorful. The website includes a map.

Afterward, walk back on Ometesando, stop in for a Japanese meal or go to the Barge Inn, a pub owned, iirc, by some Virgin Atlantic people.

Or, take a day and visit Sakura and the ancient castle grounds, home to Rekihaku, the National Museum of Japanese History. Or Boso-no-Mura village, with its living interactive showplace of ancient Japanese culture. These are easily accessible to Narita-shi, and inexpensive short day trips.

Mike Newman's Narita Layover page has some good information.

BTW, avoid the Hilton Narita's total ripoff, poor quality Matsukaze Japanese restaurant on the second floor. :p In my 40 years of visiting Japan, this was the nadir of my eating experience, for the value.

Great tips. Thanks!

And to think I spent so much of my time (mostly from the Radisson) jogging in the countryside! :o

Show your thanks by posting a trip report, and any new information you have. Also, if you have a digicam, link some pix to your trip report.

Cheers,

M8

A tip for traveling in Japan - works in Germany and other places as well. If you are stuck and need someone who speaks English to help out, look around for a high school student or younger person. You'll find they often are taking English in school and are happy to help out. Older adults may not speak one word... but when a phrase bok fails, a young person often makes the difference. Hai!

Will do. I'm staying currently at the NRT Hilton right now ... just overnighting to my layover to HND this afternoon. I'm staying here on the way back (2 nights), so I'll check post more on that later this week.

I did the bath thing last night down in the health club. That was interesting.

Yoshinoya is beef bowl chain. http://www.yoshinoya.com/en/index.html
Due to the ban on the US beef import, they are offering pork bowls instead. They say they cannot offer good taste with JP, OZ etc.. beef. I think they have an English menu available. Gyu-Tetsunabe-zen is only beef menu they are selling now. It is a sukiyaki dish and a white rice bowl.