Title says it all. Arriving NRT around 9:30 am on a Sunday and leaving at 18:30 same day.

I've been to Tokyo before, so feel like 9 hours isn't really enough to head all the way into the city since it takes 2 hours each way by bus, and I'll need to be back 90-120 minutes before my flights.

Is the city of Narita closer, and worth exploring? Any other suggestions keeping in mind it's a Sunday in September? Thanks!

I think it is. Narita is the location of a major temple, and wandering around the temple to look at everything could take 90 minutes. The way you get there is to take either the Keisei or the JR East trains to Narita and walk up the road (sorry, you're going to have to ask for directions) to get to the temple; call it a 15 minute walk. BTW the road to the temple is filled with little shops that can take an hour or more to check out. (Narita city runs a tourist information center on that road that has got free internet, if that matters.) The other place I found interesting is the Aeon shopping center - there's a large second hand place that's part of the mall that sells lots of clothing, some hard goods and CD's/DVD's. The things they sell are clean and look reasonably new. I spent an hours walking the aisles here. BTW these two places are pretty far apart; the train station is sort of in the middle. You can make both in your nine hour timeframe, but if you were to choose one over the other I'd choose the temple for being local and also because you can walk to it from the train station (you need a bus or a cab to get to Aeon).

Check the Japan forum to see if there's any other comments, I'm sure there must be some.

In addition to the temple, there are several good places to get a meal while you are in Narita-shi. Definitely worth the visit. The train to/from NRT only takes a few minutes.

Don't forget to change some money at an ATM so you can purchase train tickets, meals and such. A few thousand yen ought to do it.

+1.

This question gets asked often with all of the long layovers at NRT. Narita City is the best bet. It is easy to get to from the airport, and it gives you a bit of old Japan and modern Japan, and you can enjoy it without feeling too rushed.

Narita City is a perfectly nice little town to look around.

However, it's worth noting that you can get to Tokyo's Ueno station in a little over 40 minutes by Skyliner train. And the Narita Express to Tokyo station is a one hour trip.

I highly recommend that you look for more ideas about the NRT stopover in the Sticky thread at the top of this forum. The only caveat is that trains are operating reduced schedules since the 3.11 earthquake that struck the North East of the country.

The advantage of going to Narita is that it makes for a relaxing interlude.

I love Tokyo, but it does have a certain underlying tension about it. Narita is small and laid back, and the wooded temple grounds are a great place to unwind.

Flying (especially in Y) is stressful enough that a more low-key stopover can be a blessing, especially since the OP has been to Tokyo before.

I'm kind of an Old Japan Hand, having lived there in the 1970s, but I never explored Narita until 2002, when I had a late incoming flight and decided to spend the night in a ryokan there.

My trips since then have been either very short or via KIX, so I haven't take the opportunity for another Narita stopover, but it's quite pleasant to wake up early in the morning and hear birds and cicadas instead of traffic and to sit out in the ryokan garden while waiting for breakfast.

For me, 9 hours is enough time to see the Narita City sights 4-times over. I'd at least go on to Sakura on the Keisei Limited Express (about 15-20 minutes from NRT) and walk to the National History museum (about a 10 minute walk, signposted in English). The low price of admission includes headset commentary in English, and it is definitely open on Sundays.

I just had a 7 hour layover in NRT and went into Narita for a while. The temple and gardens were very easy to find. Nice walk down and there are many little shops and noodle restaurants on the way. I picked a noodle restaurant that looked good and for 600 yen had a good meal.

If you are into the gardens and the temple you can easily spend 2 to 3 hours walking around. This gives you plenty of time to clear immigration both ways. I was there on a Saturday and I cleared immigration both ways in less than 5 mins but it has taken me as much as 1 hour to clear immigration while leaving.

You can get trains on both the JR and Keisei lines but there are more trains on the Keisei lines. Make sure you get on the local cityline not the skyliner if you go Keisei. Coming back make sure you take the train to the airport. The signs at the train station will be in english.

"Keisei," not "Kensi."

I know this has been covered in other threads, so was looking for something a little more specific.

I land at NRT at 9:45am on a Sunday from Guam, and fly out at 18:35 on UA to Bangkok.

I'm pretty sure there's luggage storage at NRT, so that won't be a problem.

Am I crazy with 9 hours on the ground (really 6 after getting out of airport, and back 90 minutes before flight) to head into Tokyo?

Being a Sunday, I really wanted to go to Harajuku and see the Meiji Shrine. Was thinking the NEX to Shibuya, walk a loop up to Harajuku and back, and then NEX to Nartia.

Doable? Thoughts?

You can also see what is available in Narita itself by checking Mike Newman's Narita Layover pages here.

Thanks - I should have already stated - I'm familiar with the options in Narita town, just wondering how crazy it is to head to Harajuku on this time schedule.

Quite do-able.

10:45 NEX -> Shibuya -> Harajuku 12:11
10:59 Keisei Skyliner -> Nippori -> Harajuku 12:08


15:09 Harajuku -> Shibuya ->15:16 NEX -> Narita Airport 16.29
15:15 Harajuku -> Nippori -> 15:45 Keisei Skyliner -> Narita Airport 16:24
15:35 Harajuku -> Nippori -> 16:05 Keisei Skyliner -> Narita Airport 16:44
15:41 Harajuku -> Shibuya ->15:46 NEX -> Narita Airport 16.57
16:10 Harajuku -> Shibuya ->16:16 NEX -> Narita Airport 17.29
16:14 Harajuku -> Nippori -> 16:45 Keisei Skyliner -> Narita Airport 17:24


www.hyperdia.com

So you decided not to go to Narita City?:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...hours-nrt.html

Tokyo in nine hours with a limited itinerary such as you proposed is doable.
See also these other threads for suggestions:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...hlight=layover
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...hlight=layover
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...hlight=layover
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...-kill-nrt.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...hours-nrt.html

How familiar are you with NRT? Can you read Japanese? Is this the first time in Japan?

Only asking because if you are not so familiar with the layout then you should add padding to the schedule.

Approximately three hours in Harajuku is not a lot of time but if you have specific things you want to do, it would be worth it. If it is to just look around, it would feel really really rushed. You would have to do a cost benefit comparision.