I am leaving from NRT at 16:30 so I thought I would check out of my Tokyo hotel early and head to Narita city early to explore a little - my wife and kids will be with me (11 and 9). We've never been to Narita city before, so it will be new to us.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice for the logistics of doing this? I assume we'll take the train directly to Narita city and leave our luggage in the station lockers? The only issue is that we don't travel light, we'll have at least 2 suitcases, a couple of backpacks and maybe a duffle bag. Will there be enough locker capacity for our stuff? Or does it make more sense to go right to NRT, find a baggage storage facility and then just go back to Narita city?

I assume we would probably have until about 13:30 until we have to head to the airport - I take it that it won't be tough to fill a few hours with some interesting things to see and a nice lunch?

One of usual tourist things to do at city of Narita is from Narita station (either Keisei or JR line):

Walk through Naritasan Omotesando Street

Which will take you to Naritasan Shinshoji Temple.

If you are flying on JAL, you can check in your luggage after 7AM at NRT.

Same for ANA

Narita is famous for grilled eel, unagi. You can see the shops along the main street. For example:
kawatoyohonten �b english-menu

Unfortunately I am on AC and the best I can tell, I can only check my bags up to 4 hours in advance.

I suggest leaving bags at Narita Airport
https://www.narita-airport.jp/en/ser...livery/locker/

It’s not the most efficient approach in terms of rail fares - but you will find it easier to get to NRT airport from Tokyo.

Thanks! I was already giving that some thought... I was going to buy a JR Tokyo-wide area pass so if I have it for my departure day, the train to the airport is cost neutral anyway. That might be the easiest way to deal with it.

I think the most frequent service between NRT airport and Narita city may be the Keisei line local train. It’s not an expensive journey so I would recommend taking whichever train is most convenient between the airport and the town rather than religiously sticking to JR just because you have a pass.

FWIW, Keisei Skyliner is also my preferred way to get from Tokyo to the airport - but that’s because it’s convenient for me to go to Ueno.

Yes, that's fair. I have not decided exactly where I will be staying yet so that will play into my decision into how to get to NRT.