Hello all,

Just curious if a little over 3 hours is long enough to at least exit customs at Tokyo Narita, if so what is there to see next to the airport? We won't have any checked bags so that won't be a problem (I guess it wouldn't be anyway since they'd be checked through to our destination).

If we miss our flight would United make us buy new tickets? I don't really want to pay more then I have to but still would gladly pay a $100 change fee to stay the night in Tokyo. Is there any chance I'd be able to do that on the day of the flight? I called UA reservations and they said they generally don't allow standby or $100 change fee travel on international legs.

thanks..

There is an active thread on this topic in the UA/MP forum - try:

www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=456238

In short, you won't have time to actually go into Tokyo, which is a 1 to 1 1/4 hour train ride one way. Coupled with the long C&I lines arriving and departing, you just wouldn't make it.

Three hours may not even be enough time to run into Narita City, but if you get lucky with a quick trip through Immigration, it might be worth a try. The train into Narita City runs every 20 minutes and takes less than 10 minutes. There are ATMs at the airport to buy a few yen and there is a very nice temple complex and shopping district near the train station in town.

Frankly, I'm not sure I'd recommend leaving the airport with only 3 hours, but it could be done. You might want to check out the Narita Layover page at http://www.mgnewman.com/narita/ .

JR

No not at all.Immigration line in and out are long and slow.Plus i think you will have to pay departure taxes as those are not included in your ticket being in transit only.Narita airport is huge some gates will take you at least 10 minutes to get to immigration.Play it safe stay in even if the airport is really boring.
Have a nice trip

you can change the tix for the $100 fee.. I mean, I love tokyo, but 3 hrs isn't even enough to get to Narita, the nearby town. The immigration and then train and then airport security/checkin eats up easily 2 hrs alone.

Cool - Thanks for the link I found a page on the other Narita layover thread:

http://www.mgnewman.com/narita/#do

I think I will chance it with 3 hours just so I can set foot in Japan and purchase some yen and gifts for people from Japan.

civicmon or anyone else, do you know if United does that $100 change fee on all fare classes? I called them and they said it would most likely be $150 for a change on the return- and even so they said I couldn't be on any flights unless they had L class capability. They also said any reissue of tickets would have to be a higher base fare (higher then $602.00, lol). I wonder if I did it on the day of the departure connecting through another USA city if that would be enough to bring it up, but I doubt they calculate the new fare on the original date of the ticket issue? (she did mention something about that). Damn this is tough to fix - I wish I got it right from the start but didn't have much time to plan it out because of being away from the internet from a week traveling.

Three hours will be tight. I hope immigration and security are in your favor. Better have a plan B to make it back fast to the airport. I did it in a five hour layover and didn't feel super rushed.

I'm with my friend here. I still don't know if it's a good idea.

For the sake of it, if you want the stamp.. walk out, get the stamp, explain you're on a layover and heading back soon and they'll let you through then just walk back in. Maybe see if NRT outside security has a decent giftshop? I don't know about T2, I fly NW and that's T1 (which SUCKS!!!). T2 and T1 are sufficiently far apart as well... it's such a poorly designed airport so don't think you can 'just walk to t1' since it won't happen that way which can also cause you to miss the connection....

http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airport_e/

As for UA changes - I got no idea.. I'd call'em and ask them frankly...

3 hours is not long enough to leave the airport, and if this is truly your touchdown to departure time, not really enough time to leave the secured area.

My advice would be to just hang out. If you're in a premium cabin or have >1P status, definitely take the long walk to the SQ lounge and enjoy some food, and take a shower in the RCC time permitting.

I'm so sure about this statement.

Several times I've had five or six hour transits at NRT and I've headed to Narita city for a walk to stretch my legs. No once have I been asked to pay departure tax. I don't see how the Japanese government could justify charging departure tax for a three hour layover. AFAIK, most countries give a 24-hour exemption to transiting passengers.