Tokyo City
 

I have a 12 hour lay-over in Tokyo (Narita) and would really like to at least leave the airport and get to down town Tokyo to see some sights. Is it worth it / affordable or should I just sit in the QANTAS Club?

It takes long enough to get into Tokyo that I'd recommend going into Narita town instead. It's a temple town and plenty to occupy you for your layover. No need to sit in the Qantas Lounge!

It takes only 36 mins to get from the QANTAS terminal to Nippori via the Keisei Skyliner, which is operating on a regular schedule as far as I know. Nippori and the adjacent neighborhoods are great for exploring: shopping streets, temples, etc.

The Keisei Skyliner is back running but on a Saturday/Holiday scheduling for the next few months. You can see the timetables at this site.

http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/

Aloha!

Thanks for that info, Rizz.

I've done the 8am to 8 pm layover a couple of times, both to Tokyo and to Narita town. Narita is easier to get to, and has all the shopping and eating you could want. Tokyo has more of the above, but requires a bit of advance planning to make the best use of your time.

In 2008, I was there with a group of friends. Half went into Tokyo, while I stuck to narita with one other woman. We all had a great day!

Here are the Tokyo details:

http://urbanmixplate.honadvblogs.com...over-in-tokyo/

This was the planning thread, with lots of ideas:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...n-a-sunday.cfm

I appreciate the advice and the guidance from all.

We spent the day in Narita town before leaving on the evening flight back to HI. It is a great day visit. You can get everything from a temple-Narita-san is interesting, the town is full of shops from bamboo to food.
In the middle of town is an old hotel with a great lunch eating on the front outside so you can watch the activity if any of the town. That day there was a car rally and the town was out waving flags at some celebrities driving in it.
Or if you want shopping the round the town shuttle will take you to the mall that has everything.
We loved it and wondered why we didn't do it sooner.