ronjrich

We have one day in Tokyo. Can anyone advise if travelling into Tokyo makes sense, or should we just vist and enjoy Narita City. We arrive at 4:30pm and must fly out the next day at 5pm. Any suggestions would be helpful. Enough time to have dinner and one activity in the morning.

Florence

Bonjour Ronjrich,

You should definitely go downtown Tokyo. You could take a Skyliner train to Ueno station, or a JR train to Tokyo or Shinjuku (but Ueno station is far less intimidating than the two others for a first visit), spend the night in a hotel close to the station, have dinner, then visit parts of the city in the morning and leave around 2:30 (again, Skyliner is best IMO).

Have a look at www.jnto.go.jp or at http://www.infojapan.org/link/visit.html for ideas and informations. Here's a link to a mine of informations on layovers in Narita for other ideas: http://www.mgnewman.com/narita/index.html

ronjrich

Florence,

Thank you for your reply. I have taken your advice and will be staying at the Century Hyatt in Shinjuku. Do you have any recommendations for restaurants nearby? We love sushi, but will probably not have time to go to the Tsujiki Fish Market. Nothing formal, just great food! Also, if we take the Airport Limo Bus, do you know how long it takes to Shinjuku? Thanks!

mrwunrfl

At hilton.com, they say the bus would take 1.5 to 2 hours, more in bad traffic. I stayed at the Hilton which is in the same area (maybe right across the street) and took the bus from there to NRT. I thoroughly enjoyed it, riding across the city and out to Chiba. There were some very good views and you get a better sense of the scope of the city that you do riding underground. My travel time, mid-afternoon on a weekday, was within the expected time, no big delay.

mrwunrfl

Here is info about the hotel with a small map:
http://pdf.hyatt.com/tyoty.pdf

There are more details on the Hilton map of the area, here:
http://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/cont..._staticmap.jpg

orgy7

I don't know if you can really get too much out of it.. if your plane leaves at 5:30pm then you should leave Tokya earlier the 2. (im not sure how long the train takes. but the bussear are 2 hours.) pluss Narita is clampin down on security. it seems that at every corner you take inside the airport you have too go threw a security check. .

maybe check if thier is a half day ciry tour that ends at about noon.or 1pm.

it will be worth it though, Tokyo at night is pretty impresive.

TOKYO is not easy for the fist timmer. and FLORANCE is correct, shinjuku station is a monster.

mrwunrfl

I read that Shinjuku station is the busiest rail station in the world with over 2 million passengers daily. At the time that I arrived there on the N'Ex, I think that all 2 million of that day's pax were there. It was bewildering. Getting on a bus at NRT that will take you directly to the hotel is a good idea.

There are a lot of offices in the area and it will be quiet (a bit deserted, but safe) at night, so it is probably not the best choice for your purposes. The hotel will probably have a shuttle, or you could easily walk, to the Shinjuku station area. You could have dinner, shop at the depatos, etc.

yathy

Hi,ronjrich. Welcome to Tokyo!

I think it is worth visiting Tokyo downtown even if you have only one night.

I think it is better and easy to come to Shinjyuku to take JR Narita Exp. train or Airport Limousine Bus. Skyliner is cheaper, but it must be a litte bit difficult to come to Shinjuku for first time visitor.

As some people said, it will be good to take Narita Exp. train to get back to NRT ariport to avoid hussle because of traffic jam.

I have some recommendation for SUSHI.

One is in Tsukiji just about 3o min. from Shinjyuku by taking subway Oedo-line.

"SUSHI-ZANNMAI" opens 24/7, and you could have Sushi in a traditional atomosphere but reasonable price.
You can get info from http://www.kiyomura.net/map1.htm

Print this page and present to a hotel staff. He/she will easily understand and will tell you the direction.

Another plan is to try "KAITEN-SUSI".
That is a casual style to enjoy sushi.
You will find many SUSHI on a plate going round before you, and you can choose your favorite one as you like.
It will be the chepest way to eat sushi.

This KAITEN-SUSHI shop is near the Shinjyuku station and very near your hotel.
http://www.numazukou.com/shop_shinjyuku.htm

Enjoy your stay in Tokyo!
If you need any further info. about Tokyo, please post message here.

leniram

Shinjuku station has NUMEROUS exits. I exited on the wrong one and had to walk long way to my destination.

Anyway, if i have 24 hours to visit Tokyo, I will choose GINZA area to go for dinner and the following day , take a cruise on Sumida river and visit Odaiba island for sightseeing.

HKTraveler

If I were you, I would stay in the Ginza area since there is plenty to see there and also slightly more convenient. And here is the itinerary that I would do:

1) Take Narita Express into Tokyo station.
2) Check in at one of the Ginza hotels. There are plenty of choices from Seiyo Ginza, Four Seasons Marunochi to the Imperial Hotel.
3) Grab dinner at the top of the Maru Building (in front of Tokyo station) or head to Roppongi Hills to check out this amazing shopping complex
4) Head out to Roppongi, Azabu Juban or Nishi Azabu for a drink
5) Next morning, get up early to have sushi breakfast at Tsukiji. (it is only 10 mins away by cab)
6) Head to Asakusa to see the temple
7) Shop in Ginza
8) Head to airport on the 3:33 pm Narita Express (Get the hotel to buy you the tickets ahead of time and that will save up time)

ronjrich

Thank you all for your replies. We ended up staying at the Century Hyatt, which was fine, but probably would not have stayed there except we had a free certificate. We ended up wandering the streets, alleys and underground of Shijinku and really did not do much other than explore, but for a 24 hour stay it was perfect. We walked for a few hours and by accident stumbled upon an underground shopping mall which seemed to go on for miles.

Moral of the story... for first time visitors to Japan, you can do anything, as every little detail is fascinating. Thank you for all of your suggestions and I am thankful that we decided to push ourselves and make the trip into Tokyo.

leniram

Nice to hear that you've enjoyed Tokyo. Its an awesome city.