mistycheney

Hi, everyone,

My flight arrive at HND 7:40pm and departs from NRT 5pm the next day. What would be good places to see in 22 hours?

Also since I am a solo traveller, staying at a capsule hotel for the night would be an interesting experience for me. Any recommendations for a good capsule hotel?

Any input is appreciated!!

- Charlie

Kathie

I've always wanted to explore the temple town of Narita, but my layovers have never been long enough. A 22 hour layover would be perfect, IMO for exploring the town of Narita.

Sorry, I can't help with capsule hotels.

crosscheck

Kathie is my travel hero, but in this case I must disagree. Since you're arriving at HND, I would spend your layover in Tokyo, one of the world's greatest cities. In the evening head to Shibuya, where you can feast on a bowl of ramen and view the famous crossing from Starbucks. You can then have a drink at the iconic Park Hyatt or, if you're extroverted, have your hotel direct you to the nearest karaoke.

The next morning at 5:25 go to the fish market for the tuna auction and amazing sushi for breakfast. Then spend an couple of hours at Mehji shrine before checking out the Akihabara district for mindblowing electronics (and gaming, if that's your thing). Grab lunch - and a few awesome souvenirs - in the basement food court of the nearest department store. Then, at 2pm, catch the train to NRT.

If you have data, Google Maps works extremely well in Tokyo (I was just there a few weeks ago). Can't recommend a capsule hotel, but I would trust the Time Out website or guidebook. Enjoy!

Kathie

Oops - crosscheck is right. I totally missed that you are arriving at HND, not NRT.

mrwunrfl

When?

CaliforniaLady

I suggest staying in the Asakusa area, which is very nice. I would get up early, and see the nice temple there, which opens at sunrise. There are also some nice shops lining the temple path. One of my sons bought a beautiful hand painted "baseball" cap there, which he wears often.

Next, I would take the boat from Asakusa to Odaiba, where I would go to the top of the Fujii building, explore the Toyota museum (more of a showroom), and the nice shopping mall there. These are all within walking distance of one another. Odaiba is lots of fun for people watching, and the view from the boat is magnificent.

Then I would take the boat back, pick up my luggage at the Asakusa hotel, and head to the airport.

mrwunrfl

I was thinking Tsukiji - Hama Rikyu Garden (depending on when), boat to Asakusa.

Going to the Tsukiji fish auction would mean having to get there before the subway starts running.

So, no cheap way to get to the auction unless you stay in the area and walk. A sushi breakfast would not be cheap and there may be a long line. Hama Rikyu (300 yen), boat fare (740 yen), but Asakusa would be free. It might all be worth it, if affordable to a capuseru hotel guest.

Meiji Shrine (free) is a great idea any day of the week. On a weekend you might be more likely (I think) to see a Shinto wedding procession or other activity (shichi-go-san in November). Do make the detour off the path to the shrine to visit the lake house.

Seeing a wedding would be a bonus to a visit to Meiji Shrine and not the reason to go. But, as I understand it, there is a Shinto calendar that defines days that are more or less auspicious for wedding dates, and on those most auspicious days there are more/less auspicious times. So maybe you might get that bonus on a weekday.

LuisJp

There are many capsule hotels in Tokyo. Here are some examples that have dedicated English pages, based on this popularity ranking list:
http://www.clipit.jp/ranking/tokyo/capsule.html

Capsulevalue: looks traditional (Kanda)
http://capsuleinn.com/kanda/en/

Anshin Oyado: more or less traditional (Shinjuku)
http://www.anshin-oyado.jp/english/

Green Plaza: outstanding spa (Shinjuku)
http://www.hgpshinjuku.jp/en/

Siesta: 1 min walk from JR Ebisu
http://www.siesta-en.com/

Tsukuba: basically a hotel (Asakusa)
http://hotelink.co.jp/english/asakusa/

And one more famous, but not on the ranking above.

9h: It would be best to go around only Narita.
http://ninehours.co.jp/en/

The following is famous and on the ranking, but do not have dedicated English pages.

First Cabin: It is a bit away from the traditional capsule concept. It would be best if you are interested in Tsukiji fish market, Akihabara, or just Haneda.
http://first-cabin.jp/

lindygirl

I stayed at the Nine Hours capsule hotel (in Kyoto though). There's one in Narita which I guess you could stay in when you're done touring around Tokyo! Capsule hotels charge by the hour so our stay in Kyoto ended up being pretty expensive compared to a hotel because we stayed longer than their typical clientele. Also, keep in mind it takes about 1.5 hours to get from Tokyo to Narita Airport.

Tsukiji fish market is worth checking out but friends who went recently (in the last 2 weeks) said all the spots were filled by 3:45am. And you'd have to get there before the subway even starts running.

I wrote a trip blog for Tokyo and Kyoto with pictures, restaurants, itinerary, and recommendations. We went for 10 days but did/saw a lot of what other posters here are recommending:
http://fanofblank.blogspot.com/2014/...and-kyoto.html

Enjoy your trip!

LuisJp

> Capsule hotels charge by the hour
Most capsule hotels do the same as usual hotels. I used to stay capsule hotels a few decades ago especially in Tokyo. The average price is 2,500-3,000 yen for a capsule hotel, far less than 5,000 yen for a ryokan or 10,000 yen for a hotel in Tokyo at that time.