Passing time at NRT
 

I have an 8-hour connection at NRT in October. I will be flying in on SQ and out on NH, both in first class. SQ is an overnight flight from SIN, NH an early evening departure to SFO.

Given the time and cost issues, going in to Tokyo is not a viable proposition. I know there may be some interesting sites to see in the town of Narita, so is there a local bus service that would take me into the town centre and back to NRT?

Alternatively, NRT hosts a number of outstanding STAR lounges. I arrive at T1, which is where SQ and UA have their lounges, and both feature separate First Class facilities. As a STARGold, will I have access to either or both of these after deplaning and prior to clearing transit security, etc.? [I ask this because at LHR this is not possible.] I assume both the SQ and UA lounges have shower facilities and will be open at 7:30am.

NH, of course, departs from T2, so I will have to eventually transit to the other terminal where the NH First Class lounge will have showers, etc.

Is it worth my while to try to use some of the T1 loounges before going over the T2, or should I just plan to spend most of the day in one of the two NH First Class lounges?

I saw a post somewhere, probably the UA forum, that described a local excursion from NRT in detail during a long layover.

http://www.aircrewlayover.com/Cities/NRT/nrt.html

http://net.saipan.com/personal/mike_...ta/narita.html

http://www.globosapiens.net/travel-i...arita-272.html

I honestly cannot recall if there are showers in the SQ/NRT lounge. I don't think so? The FC section is just that, a tiny section off the back, not at all comparable to the SQ KF FC lounge in SIN. This lounge is open a couple of hours in the AM and a couple of hours in the PM

UA RCC has showers; I assume you can get in there? Not sure what time they open though; first departure is at 2:10 PM, first arrival is at 12:10 PM.

Probably best to check out the SQ lounge (assumes you can re-clear security within that same terminal?) then head to the NH lounge(s) or head to Narita City.

An excursion to Narita City is time well spent -- it is a wonderful japanese country town. Lots of interesting shops (local oriented -- my favourite is a japanese hardware store, with neat japanese woodworking tools and paintbrushes). Good restaurants, and some attractions. A famous temple (shrine that is visited by pilgrims from all over Japan) and a public bath next to the train station (useful if you need some relaxation, or even a place to nap). You can get to Narita City quite easily by train or bus. You won't get to sample the Narita City night life (truly remarkable, thanks to the Virgin flight attendants who make it a point to leave their mark there, especially on The Bus -- a bar, not the bus). While it isn't Tokyo, in some ways it is better. The NRT lounges are pretty poor, you can do better outside of the airport.
Whoops, just noticed that you state the SQ lounge at NRT is outstanding. In that case I withdraw all my suggestions, anyone who thinks the pit that SQ provides as an F lounge at NRT is "nice" much less "outstanding" cannot possibly appreciate the charms of Japan, best to stay at NRT and drink several bottles of Stoli to dull the pain.

[This message has been edited by number_6 (edited 08-06-2003).]

The SQ lounge has varying opening hours I was told by folks at UA so i've never checked there.

8 hrs, you could take the standard line to Tokyo station from NRT, i don't think it's that pricey - about US$10 or so each way. 1000JPY or so. It's not as quick as the NEX but u have enough time - thought of going to Asakusa and Akihabara in town... get some sightseeing and shopping done in one (est 2 hours in each) and then 1 1/2 hrs each way, so 7 hours all up....

Frankly, I would not get too excited by any of the Star lounges at NRT (C or F). NH is fairly plain, SQ is small with OK booze/snacks (but not anything like their lounge at SIN), UA is just plain boring.

If you don`t mind spending Y6,000 for a round trip and spending a couple of hours total on a train looking at the countryside, I`d recommend hopping the NEX train into Tokyo Station. For the timetable do a google search on JR Narita Express.

Agree about heading into town. None of the lounges at NRT are worth hanging around.

I did the same thing last month. Flew in from BKK on NH and then went into town for some shopping and lunch, then went back to NRT for my AC flight back to Canada. I took the regular train (1000 Yen) and took about 90 minutes each way.

Although I recall you are going to be spending 1 week in NRT before your trip down to SIN, so maybe you don't want to head into town again. In that case, take it easy and check out Narita City.

it has all it takes for me , food, drinks , showers and a suffiently high number of pc terminals .

what else do you expect , lapdance ?

What *A lounge provides this? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I guess wasn't clear when I said these lounges were "outstanding". I would have expected them to be, but have only experienced the two UA RCCs, neither of which knocked me back. So my tastes are a bit better and expectations higher than assumed.

The Narita City sidetrip is likely what I will do, then. I will have, as Empress noted, spent a full week in Tokyo [not NRT the airport as he writes, there is a major difference, but we have debated this point on other fora] so going back for a few hours is most unlikely.

I'll drop by the JTO office here in Toronto and see what brochures they have for Narita City. I've picked up some excellent brochures here to assist in planning my week in Tokyo, so I am sure they have something on the NRT prefecture.

Thanks for your tips, all. I am sure mjm will also have some suggestions when I see him there during my longer stay.

Shareholder, have a look at the Asia forum on the FT Travel board, some interesting comments on there about what to do in /around NRT including a nice temple nearby.

Just outside of baggage claim area and customs, you will find the brochure explaining Narita City. It takes only 10 minutes to get there by train.

You should go to the famous temple called Narita-san Shinsho-ji. On the way to go there, you will see very traditional Japanese Gift stores selling local food/sweet/souvenir for Japanese people visiting the temple.

From Narita station to temple, it takes about 20 minutes on foot if you don't visit any stores.

Thanks again. Just hope it will be a nice day without typhoons or other forms of precipitation...

Typhoon due to hit Yokohama sometime this afternoon (Saturday 9 Aug)....

Just caught the news stories about the typhoon which has passed over the main island. I did not mean to offend anyone with my off-handed comment about such storms, and hope fatalities are at a minimum. I witnessed first hand such storm impact two years ago arriving at TPE in between two waves of such downpours.

Did pick up some very useful guide brochures from the Japan Tourism Office yesterday afternoon which will help with my visit, in addition to the useful first hand posts you all have directed me to.

Thanks all.



[This message has been edited by Shareholder (edited 08-09-2003).]