A college buddy invites me to play golf at his club near the city of Mobara in Chiba. I will be flying home from TPE and plan to stop by for a day to play a round with him. My question is how difficult is it to get from NRT to Mobara? I have a 25" suitcase and a golf bag.

I suppose I can use the delivery service in NRT for the bags, but I'm not sure that they can deliver my clubs in time for the early morning round the next day (I arrive from TPE around 2:00 PM). Any suggestions?

I tried to get a quote for a limousine service and they wanted 60,000 yen round trip between Mobara and NRT, which I can not justify.

Train via Chiba city to Mobara (Narita line to Chiba - then change to the Sotobo line) will take about 90 mins and cost less than 2000 yen each way. Renting a car would probably be somewhat quicker and more expensive. I'd opt for the rental car and have the freedom to look around the area a little.

Thanks for the rental car suggestion. I checked it out, and it'd be around 17,000 yen for 3 days for a standard Mazda -- certainly a lot more bearable than the limo service.

However, I have never driven in Japan before. Aside from traveling on the wrong side, how tough is it? Anything to look out for? I do know that I need to get an international driving permit from AAA.

There are other threads where we have discussed the challenges of driving in Japan. I don't want to repeat all of that here. Suffice to say that there are a few differences.

(1) Differences in law that you should try to learn
(2) Differences in the habits / driving styles of Japanese drivers that require you to assume nothing and drive defensively
(3) Differences in language - Road signs in Japanese, sat nav only works in Japanese etc.

If you've driven abroad before, you have probably dealt with (1) and (2). You can get a bilingual atlas to help with (3).

I wouldn't expect a drive around minor roads in Chiba to be too stressful. The most difficult bit of the journey might be getting out of the airport and onto the right road.

Outside the cities, when I rented a car (admittedly not in Chiba prefecture), the road signs I saw were in western characters as well as Japanese.

True for most permanent road signs.

But look out for the temporary signs that road crews put up - Especially the ones that are covered with pictures of pretty flowers and positioned just before a blind curve.

The first time I came across this kind of sign, I assumed that someone was selling flowers up ahead. Although I could read Japanese at the time, I was a slow reader and a fast driver. I didn't have time to absorb the message "We apologize for the inconvenience. There are roadworks 50m ahead". I discovered my error very soon after I turned the corner...

Thanks, jib and richard. The rental car plan seems more and more promising. I just might do it.

I'm not too sure about car and private limousine service, but as mentioned, by train, you can go to Chiba (by hourly department JR Rapid trains|some morning Narita Express's also stop at Chiba depending on your arrival time), then at Chiba change to a local line to Mobara, 1280 yen one way in about 2 hours. Strait forward, no driving, no gas, no parking.

I agree it's easiest by train. My main concern is the luggage. With a 25" suitcase, a golf bag in a travel bag, and a laptop case, my hands are more than full. How doable is it?

It seems simpler to just check the 25" suitcase and laptop case at the airport, take enough clothes and such in the golf carry case or a small overnight bag and use the trains.

Some of our experienced Japan hands find driving to be simple albeit expensive. I have visited many times, speak some Japanese and would not even consider trying to drive. YMMV.

You can forward your heavy or larger stuff and hand carry the necessities for the first night using the luggage delivery services at Narita Airport. Though I'm not sure if you can get same day luggage forwarding (usually it arrives next day), I guess it depends on what time you get there?

As for hourly departing trains to Chiba, you'll have to take the JR Rapid (not the Narita Express (unless you're arriving sometime before 9am) and not the Keisei Line).

The timetable for the JR Rapid from NRT T1 is: 07:00, 07:57, 09:04, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00, 18:29, 19:01, 20:07, 21:14, 22:16

It takes about 42 minutes to reach Chiba Station, at Chiba Station change to the Sotobo Line to Mobara, and that's about another 40 minutes.

Totally the ticket is 1280 yen, you can purchase direct from the JR vending machine at Narita Airport. At the machine Press the button that says 1280 and insert cash, get any change, pretty strait forward you don't even need to hit the ENGLISH translation button.

I suppose it is manageable (though still cumbersome especially when negotiating the train stations) if I'm only taking the golf bag (and stuffing it with a couple of nights worth of clothes). However, I also kind of like to have the laptop with me so I can stay in contact with the office and family. Decision ...decision....

Thank you all for the suggestions and advices. RRtycoon, thanks for the detailed instructions on trains to Mobara. I need to weigh all factors and make a decision soon.

Narita Airport station is accessible by elevator.
Chiba station has escalators from platform to concourse level - http://www.jreast.co.jp/estation/stations/989.html
Mobara may require you to climb some steps.

These stations are not "monsters" like Tokyo (which can be challenging to navigate). So it should not be an uncomfortable journey - even with some luggage.

Still... I like driving around the Japanese boondocks....

Mobara city planned the elevators at the station in the budget on fiscal 2008.
Now that it is fiscal 2009, there should be elevators installed.

source in Japanese: http://www.city.mobara.chiba.jp/kika...H20hosei/3.pdf

I second the rent-a-car plan. Most rent-a-car companies don't charge extra for one-way rentals within the same prefecture. I think this helps to build more flexible itenerary.