I'll be arriving into Narita Terminal 2 from Nagoya. I'll have a 6 hour layover before flying home to LAX. What's the quickest path to the train over to Narita Town. And how early do I need to leave Narita town to get back to the airport and clear customs/immigration.

This may not be too much help but I'll try. There are two train lines to Narita City. The JR Line and the Keisei Line and they both depart underground, below the airport. After exiting customs you'll see signs for JR and Keisei. Head down the escalators and you will get to the ticketing area and the trains. I don't know schedules but I would suspect 3-4 per hour. It's about a 10 minute ride.

If I recall correctly, I think the Keisei Station in Narita City is more convenient to stores/shopping restuarants than the JR Station. Maybe somebody can fill in on this.

Finally, be sure to check with somebody to see if the train stops at Narita City because not all trains do.

Good luck and I hope you can see something worthwhile. The Narita Temple may be interesting if you've never been to Japan before. The information counters at the airport have pamphlets on nearby attractions. Also, the people at those counters can advise you as to how early you need to be back. I've never gone to Narita City and then returned to the airport to re-checkin for a flight.

see Mike Newman's Narita layover page:
www.mgnewman.com/narita/

Anyone know which train deposits you closer to shopping/restaurants? Keisei or JR???

i arrived on ua at terminal one at 1155, was out the door at 1205, and out of immigration at 1212. down to the keisie platform at 1215 for the 1224 into narita town. it cost 250y, it stops at term. 2, then into narita, about 8 min.

on the return, leave about 2 1/2 hours before your flt. so, if your flt is at 1900, lv narita around 1630. that should give you enough time to train back, go through security, then immigration, then into the departure area.

i did this last sat. left keisei station at 1554, and was in the departure area at 1625(a little over half an hour).

if you are going into narita, be sure to ask the fa for a shore pass(debarkation/embarkation form). this will allow you to depart narita airport without paying the 2000y departure tax after you return from narita town. if you forget to ask for this form, you can fill it out at the immigration site, but you will be wasting time. do it on the plane.


the keisei and jr stations are next to each other in narita, so no advantage over either line. i prefer to use the keisei, very easy.

we found the lines to be long and slow leaving narita for a few hours....