For first time and if u've never been to Narita itself, I would recommend going there instead of going to Tokyo.

The street to the temple in Narita is quite interesting, with traditional Japanese wares, food and you can even see live eel skinning in one of the stores. :)

Behind the temple is a nice big Japanese garden.

There is also a regular shopping mall(Aeon mall) within walking distance from the temple.
Lots of restaurants around the mall and there is a pretty good conveyor belt sushi place outside the mall. They dont speak English though.

Personally, with a short layover, it's much less stressful to just stay around Narita town than go into Tokyo.

Tried both before and I prefer having a more relaxing time eating walking around and actually seeing things than spend it on the train.

With some extra time, u can also check out NRT airport.
There is an origami museum inside, shops etc.

As the others also mentioned, sometimes, due to weather or mechanical, the trains might stop running. If that's the case, you might miss the flight back.

Well, everything worked out really well (I'm writing from the ANA Lounge waiting for AC 002 right now). It couldn't have been easier. After a shower in the Arrivals Lounge, I was able to change some money, drop off my bags andgo down to the train station with no problem at all. I had more than enough time to go to the temple, walk around the park behind, have a beer, and have some lunch, before heading back to NRT. Next time, I'd definitely consider Ueno.

I have to say, the advice from FTers is about as good as it gets. If I'd had to do this from scratch I would have been a lot more wary. But it was all very smooth.

Thanks guys.

Question: How do you manage to pass through Immigration? I thought the "address in Japan" part of the form was mandatory. Do you fill something in there, or do you show your onward ticket and they let you out?

Write "Transit to " followed by your destination, onward flight number and date. You might be asked to show evidence that you are taking that flight.


e.g. "Transit to LAX. Flight SQ11. October 26, 2011"