tt7

In the post above, I was going to post a link to Mike Newman's Narita Layover Page which used to be (and probably still is) the definitive guide to a Narita layover. However, the link I had wasn't functioning properly (some code errors) so I emailed Mike, who very promptly replied. As he apparently doesn't transit Narita much these days, he hasn't updated it in quite a long time ... but he did subsequently send me the link above, which should get you to the page. Despite his protestations that he hasn't updated it in years, I suspect it's still 95% accurate and I'm sure you'll find it useful.

One issue that it does raise is whether you should stay at one of the airport hotels that have shuttle service (Crowne Plaza, if that's your preference) or one of the hotels in Narita itself. There are a few hotels in Narita and if it's only one night.... It's one stop to Narita on the Keisei line train from the basement of the airport terminals. The APA Hotel next to Narita Station would be the most obvious choice (APA is a chain of mid-market Japanese business hotels). The only problem may be finding a room(s) that suits you. The 'suite' at the Crowne Plaza sounds as if it would accomodate all four of you whereas somewhere like an APA hotel may require two rooms, which would be more expensive. Note that in Japan, room prices often depend on the number of people in the room - two people in a room will cost more than one person in a room, even though it's the same room. A 'twin' room (two beds) is fine but be careful of 'double' rooms that have a 'semi-double bed' .... which will be nice and roomy for one person but definitely a squeeze (probably unacceptably so) for two. The advantage of Narita-shi is that it's one stop on the train and you can easily explore the town without having to go to and fro on shuttles; however, finding accomodation that meets the required standard/price equation may be more difficult.

Edited to add: From a link on Mike's Narita Layover Page, there is Kirinoya in Narita-shi. It's about 1 km from the station or a ¥2,500 taxi ride from the airport. It'll be futons on the tatami mat floor and a shared bathroom, but if you want the Japanese experience ..... might be something your kids would enjoy (or not!)

jib71

I'd advise anyone to treat Mike's NRT layover page in the way you might treat magazines in the dentist's waiting room - something to assuage your anxiety, rather than a source of information. To the extent that Narita city is still basically a small town with a temple, restaurants, and bars, the page conveys the "mood" accurately. The. page was last updated in 2008, though, so it's inaccurate, in many ways. For example, details that have changed since then include the construction of the fast Keisei railway line and a new terminal.

NeilGoBlue

Thanks in advance for any advice.. Will I, at TYO, have to get my luggage, go through customs and then recheck to get to OKA? Or deal with customs at OKA?
Also, if I have a choice and am connecting through TYO to OKA, is HND or HRT better or no difference?

CPH-Flyer

You will always have to go through immigration,, collect your luggage and pass through customs at your entry point to Japan. So at Tokyo.

Haneda is far preferable, as the number of flights to Okinawa is much higher, and the options of finding a good connection much better. From a flow perspective, if you should find a good connection through Narita, same same.

NeilGoBlue

jib71

CPH is absolutely right. But since you're located near BWI, I think the option to fly IAD - NRT - OKA is worth considering. For example, in January, United Airlines flight A803 gives you a comfortable 1 hour 40 minute connection to ANA 2159. And for the return leg, ANA 2158 gives you a 2 hour 40 minute connection to UA804.

United and ANA share a terminal at Narita, so although you have to go through immigration, baggage reclaim, customs, re-check bags, and security, it's all within one building.

In any case, I would advise to avoid a connection that requires a change of airport between NRT and HND.

evergrn

All else (connection time, fare) being equal, I'd much prefer NRT to HND for international to domestic transit.
Flying on NH (connecting from another Star to NH), the transit can take 30-40min longer at HND as opposed to NRT.
At HND, after you clear immi/customs and you're landside in Int'l terminal, you will go to NH bag drop (which has 45min cutoff) then do a nearby security to catch the airside bus which only runs q~15min for a long ride (almost 20min) to T2-airside... or catch the monorail airside from Int'l terminal to T2 and then check bags and go through security at T2. The monorail option may save 5-10min over the bus option, but the latter may actually be faster if you get lucky and happen to not have to wait for the bus. Either way, HND transit is more cumbersome than NRT. And although NRT's domestic NH lounge is nothing to write home about, it is still better than HND's lounge which has no food other than the usual bag of NH rice crackers.

I agree with jib that you should avoid NRT-HND transit.

WAStraveller

Flying in on NH from SIN- we will just be coming with small carry-ons. What is the fastest way to satellite 4 from 5 , walking or the shuttle? Also- a completely tourist question here- are the prices ok in the airport for beauty products? We start off in TKY for only a few days while but then head off to Singapore and Vietnam.. so I'd prefer to buy any of these items on the way back home (which would be the SIN-NRT).

AlwaysAisle

Only way between Satellite 5 and Satellite 4 is walk. If you are thinking about a bus or a small train, there is no such thing.

sj22

Hi folks, I have a 14 hour layover (intended) this coming weekend. Land in NRT at 7am and take off from HND at 10pm (both intl flights). We have a 2 yr old in tow, are flying ANA biz on a single ticket and plan to take up a hotel for the day. We have been to Tokyo 3 yrs ago so are somewhat oriented to the city. Last time we stayed in Shinjuku and Shibuya and took public transit mostly.

Any parents here with recommendations on hotels and some quick what to dos (not like Disney)? We would prefer a hotel that is next to the airport limousine stop so we can take the shuttle directly from/to both airports and not have to drag luggage, preferably a Hilton/hyatt/spg so early check-in is possible, and has something closeby to do in the day and tons of eatiers (which I guess is all of Tokyo). We were thinking of Hilton Odaiba.

CPH-Flyer

The Hilton Odaiba has the last limousine bus you can use just after 5pm, the next one departs at 9:15pm. So the location may not be ideal from that perspective. But a taxi would not be that expensive, a guess is around 6,000 yen.

There is not too much to do in Odaiba, and it is a bit far from most of the city.

Maybe Prince Sakura Tower in Shinagawa (when you write SPG, I would assume to include Marriott as status benefits are the same), or The Grand Hyatt in Roppongi could give you better locations for doing something in Tokyo and a more optimal timetable to go to Haneda.

LapLap

I agree with CPH flyer about Shinagawa (generally) being better than Odaiba. Then again, Odaiba has some interesting places to take a 2 year old.
14 hours isn’t long and to combine this with somewhere nice for a toddler is tricky.
A hotel in Odaiba coupled with the TeamLab Borderless exhibition (book in advance) may actually be your bestoption after all.

Have been taking a kid to Tokyo since she was 2 and a half, but had much more time on our hands. My top recommendations of what to do with a two year old are the Nihon Minka En and Akebono Kodomo No Mori. Both would be very hard to visit in your situation (a two year old and “quick” never went together for us). So long as you can get tickets, the TeamLab Borderless exhibition and a nearby hotel stay might be your best bet. No reason why you can’t stay at the Marriott Sakura Tower as well though, and the gardens there are delightful.

evergrn

Those are not a very conventional time to use a hotel room.
I only have a legitimate elite status at Hilton, so I can't speak to Hyatt or SPG too much.
But don't expect early check-in at a Hilton. You will most likely not get it at Conrad or Hilton in Shinjuku, at least (I have less experience at Odaiba Hilton). At Conrad and Hilton Shinjuku, it's fairly common for the room to not be ready for check-in until the check-in time. I'm Hilton Diamond, but at Conrad I'd show up at 2pm and the room is often not ready until past the 3pm check-in time. Again, I can't tell you how it is at Hyatt or SPG as I don't have much of any status. But maybe it'll be similar situation with them.

Luckily, as far as I know, most Hiltons in Tokyo have day rates. I think your options will be dictated by the individual hotels' day rate hours and rates. One Hilton may have 10a-4p day use window whereas another could be 10a-6p. As a Diamond, I can often check out an hour past the day rate checkout time. I just looked up Hilton Shinjuku... it's 12p-6p there. Maybe that won't work. Okay I'm looking up Hilton Odaiba's hours and it's 10a-4p... that may work out better for you. If you're Gold/Diamond, they may be able to extend it to 5p for free (no guarantees). As Laplap says, Odaiba's not a bad place to be unless you hate malls and concrete. There's tons of shops and food (although things are a little too spaced apart, to my liking). Lots of things for kids, although your 2yo might be too small for a lot of things. We always have fun in Odaiba.

sj22

Thank you. I am pleasantly surprised how often a cranky toddler in the lobby can get a room ready - just kidding. I checked the day rates for Hilton and they are quite reasonable, will end up using them for the most part. Again the goal is to have a hotel for a 3-4 hour nap in the day for all of us, some food, and store luggage. Since we are going literally 12 hours across in time zone, if we can get our 2 yo tired enough, he can sleep well in both the flights to/from Japan (8-10 hrs each). So in some ways both Hilton Shinjuku and Odaiba will work.

Those are excellent suggestions. We will mostly do the teamlab exhibition during this trip and will have to come back for the other two. They look amazing. Thanks!

Thanks for your input again.

I will post some pictures when the trip is completed.

MikeNewman

Greetings All.

Mike Newman here, the author of the very outdated Narita Layover Page

The page was down for a while due to some software upgrade issues, but is back online now. I'm not allowed to post links here, so I'm counting on someone else to do that.

Before I retired to Thailand in 2005 I was living on Saipan and transiting through Narita many times per year. Since retirement, I have visited Japan only rarely and stopped trying to keep the Narita page updated some time ago.

However, as I am now a retired geek with time on his hands, I will try to incorporate suggestions and corrections. There are email links on the page.

I don't normally read this forum, so suggestions posted here won't due much good.

It was good fun keeping the page up for the decade that it was still relevant. I received and responded to a lot of email over the years and appreciate all the kind comments I received.

Cheers.