Source: Forbes
Problem: stuck at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. Solution: Narita city, a short ride away and a microcosm of a bygone Land of the Rising Sun.
Fly to Asia long enough, and eventually you’ll pass through Narita International Airport. It’s an international hub for Japanese carriers All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, plus US carriers Delta and United / Continental. The airport’s distance from the city, about 40 miles from central Tokyo, has been a gripe of travellers since it was built in the 1970s – depending on traffic, it can take up to two hours to reach Tokyo by road. High speed rail has cut that travel time to as little as 36 minutes, but after waiting, transferring and getting lost (easy to do in this city laid out to defend the shogun’s castle), it’s hard to justify heading into Tokyo during a layover.
Fortunately, the town of Narita is under 10 minutes away by train. Store luggage on the airport’s arrival floors (from JPY500, or about US$6.50 for a small bag) or in lockers at the train stations in Narita city. Be sure to keep your passport with you (it’s required to re-enter the airport), and since many businesses and rail lines don’t accept plastic and nobody accepts foreign currency, you’ll probably want to withdraw cash before leaving the airport. Tourist information counters at the airport or in Narita city have maps and other information in English, and in town, many shops have English signage.
Although taxis are available (about JPY3,250 – US$42.50 – each way), it’s so much more Japanese and so much less expensive to go by train. Local trains on the private Keisei (say KAY-say) line depart from the airport’s basement floor and cost JPY250 (about US$3.25) – purchase tickets from vending machines (also very Japanese).
Narita doesn’t boast sights so much as a chance to observe daily life largely unchanged from a generation or two ago, purchase some only-in-Japan souvenirs and taste some authentic food. Along its main street, Omote-Sando, a hardware store, sells items ranging from cast-iron teapots to high tech ceramic knives. Peruse produce, snack on sembei (rice crackers) and goodies made from peanuts (a local crop), see what a Japanese cemetery looks like and pick up inexpensive bamboo baskets and chopsticks.
Indulge in a steaming bowl of ramen (a Japanese obsession that will forever ruin the instant variety for you) at Ramen Bayashi (from JPY600, or US$7.80) or stop for a lunch of grilled eel over rice (JPY1,800, or US$23.10) at Kawatoyo, across from the Tourist Pavilion – you know it’s fresh because you can see it slaughtered before your eyes (admittedly not for the squeamish). Other restaurants have what-you-see-is-what-you-get plastic models of their wares and prices in the windows.
Really stuck at Narita Airport? Don’t despair. There’s some great shopping and restaurants outside security and very spiffy lounges inside security. Duty free shops leave out Japan’s typical 5-per cent consumption tax.
Nobody likes a layover, and people like long layovers least of all, but sometimes being stuck in a hub is inevitable. While waiting about six hours between flights, check or store your luggage, and you’re good to go with little more than your ID and wallet. Just be sure to enquire before setting out as to how much time you’ll need for security and to get to your gate once you return to the airport.
