julies

Searching for fares to elsewhere in Asia. One option I have seen has an 8 hour layover in Tokyo. I know absolutely nothing about Tokyo. 1. Is there public transportaion into the cty fron the airport? 2. If so, could we go into to Tokyo just to walk around for several hours, or isn't this feasible? 3. I am assuming US passport holders don't need a visa for Japan, so someone in transit could just go through customs and enter the country for a brief visit. Am I correct? Thanks much.

KimJapan

You would be able to get a shore pass, but you wouldn't have enough time to walk around Tokyo...you actually can't do that as Tokyo is enormous. The airport is over an hour from Tokyo city areas. You would need to be back at the airport at least 2 hours before your next flight, it would take at least an hour. Count 1 hour to get out of the airport (customs etc), 1 hour to get to an area you want to see, 1 hour to get back at least 2 hours early...you've used 5 hours and seen nothing. Add onto to that 5 hours the time you will need to compensate for trains not running on your exact schedule so you'll likely have a wait of a bit. Maybe you'd get 2 hours.

Better to use your time in Narita city where the airport is. There is a temple that is nice, an Edo Village museum called Edo no Mura that is also nice, a shopping area. It's quite nice, and it is near the airport so you'll get more time to walk around.

mrwunrfl

You are correct that you do not need a visa to enter Japan.

julies

Thanks much, Is there pubic transportaion to Narita city so I could try that option?

emd

According to Mike Newman's Narita site, there is a Keisei train from the airport to Narita City.

Check this site for info on layovers and Narita:

http://www.mgnewman.com/narita/index.html#go