Very short Tokyo layover-need Shibuya logistics advice!
 

I am taking a solo trip to SE Asia next month, and have an 8 1/2 layover at the Tokyo Narita airport on the way back. I know that many people would advise staying in Narita, but I have decided to sprint over to Tokyo-even it will be very short and chaotic. I think I will go to the Shibuya area, and need some advice on the logistics to make sure I have it right.

At this point, I'm just trying to determine if I have the logistics correct. I will go back and factor in the timing (customs/trains/transfers/walking) later to see if/what I need to cut out. Please let me know if I have this right, or if I am overlooking something:

-From the Narita airport, take the Keisei Skyliner to Nippori Station.
-Transfer to the JR Yamanote Line
-Get off at Shibuya Station
-See Hachiko statue and Shibuya Crossing
-Get back on subway and go one stop to Harajuku Station
-Get off and walk Takeshita Street (exiting station through the Takeshita-Dori exit).
-Walk to the Meiji Shrine
-Get back on subway at Harajuku Station
-Leave the Harajuku Station to go back to Narita airport (I assume I don't have to go back to Shibuya Station)
-From Harajuku Station, go to Nippori Station
-From Nippori Station take the Keisei Skyliner back to Narita airport

That is the route. I figure about 2.5 hr of actual travel time from/to Keisei Narita station. Add another 30 min of waiting for the two Keisei trains. You could add another 30 min for getting tix and entering/exiting/waiting at Shibuya and Harajuku stations. That's 3.5 hours not including any time on the street or at the airport.

Keisei Skyliner frequency is 20 min, so your worst case total wait would be 40 min, so the 30 min I gave above is not too conservative. Yamanote Line trains every 4 min in the afternoon.

Ok, that 3.5 hours does include some airport time - walking from I&C to the station plus from the station to passport control. Add another 45 min for each of those formalities. From the time you land to getting to I&C, figure 30 min. Add an hour, at least, from the time they check your pp to boarding and departure. So that would be a WAG of 6.5 hours from the time the seat belt light goes off on arrival to the time the doors close on your departure. That leaves 2 hours on the street in Tokyo.

>>Ok, that 3.5 hours
oops, that was 2.5 hours. So the seat-to-seat time is 5.5 hours and 3 hrs out and about in Tokyo.

Thanks! I was pretty close-I had calculated 3 hours 15 minutes of "free time". I really appreciate your info!

Have you factored in emergency time such as getting lost, an (unlikely) delay in the Tokyo Metro, etc? If this is your first time to Japan, don't underestimate the potential chaoticness of Tokyo, particularly on a day when you are already likely to be a bit wired for fear of missing your flight home. All to see a statue of a dog. Also, don't forget that you certainly want to be back at Narita at least 2 hours before your flight, so unless that's already included in your 8 1/2 hour layover, you are now down to a 6 1/2 hour layover.

The OP will also have the opportunity to cross the street with 1000 other people!

If Hachiko is your reason for going, then you could go to Ueno park and visit the real Hachiko (stuffed) in the National Museum of Nature & Science!

I've been on an 8am to 6pm layover in Tokyo many times. Just keep your eyes on the time, and don't get lost.

Depending on your two flights, going to a sent (public bath) can be very relaxing way to spend an hour. Combine it with lunch and a little souvenir shopping (or food shopping in the basement floors of a big department store) and you'll have a nice time!

http://www.sentoguide.info/bath/665-hachimanyu

In my post above, the word for a public bath is "sento". Auto correct does not like that word...I had to change it back from 'sent' 3 times just now!

Trust me, the reason for choosing this area is not a statue of a dog!

I arrive at Narita at 8:45 am and depart at 5:15 pm. My flight to Narita (7 hour flight) departs Singapore at 12:30 am. I then have a 12 hour flight to Chicago. So, I realize my body will be extremely out-of-whack and sleep-deprived. I just feel that I will probably never be this close to Tokyo again. So to me it is worth the chaos! It would be like being in Hoboken, but not going into NYC if you've never been!

I chose this area because when I think of Tokyo, I think of technology, neon lights, signs, and (conversely) shrines. After doing a little research, it seemed Shibuya had both. Between the Shibuya Crossing, lights of Takeshita Street, and the Meiji Shrine, it seemed I could see some of the things I envision of Tokyo in a couple of hours.

But, trust me, I am open to suggestions.

>>I just feel that I will probably never be this close to Tokyo again.

Why? Do you have to report to prison when you get back?

If you call a boring desk job prison, then yes! But I also have two young children, so it's not feasible to take these kind of trips very often. I do travel with them, but not usually to such exotic locations!

You could exchange your leftover INR or SGD for JPY at DPS or SIN.

The Narita Express goes to Shibuya. Pros: no change of trains, reserved seat for the trip. Cons: costs 700 JPY more and takes 7 min longer.

But the timing might work out better for the N'Ex such that it makes up the time difference and maybe more. It is worth the JPY to have a no-brainer trip in a reserved seat.

If you uncheck Private Railway at hyperdia then you will see the N'Ex options.

Here is the timetable:
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/inter...chday=20170915

Thank you mrwunrfl! That is great info.

I think it is definitely worth an extra 700 JPY to not have to make any transfers since I am unfamiliar with the subway system. My flight lands at 8:15, so hopefully I could make the 10:48 train and be at Shibuya at 12:04, correct?

If I am looking at the timetable correctly, there is an LTD EXP Narita Express 33 that leaves Shibuya at 2:16 and arrives back at Narita airport at 3:23 for 1,490 JPY. My flight departs at 5:15, so I think that would be ok since it gets me back to the airport just about 2 hours before the flight.

That only gives me two hours to walk around Shibuya/Harajuku, but to me, it is worth it.

You would pay Total:¥ 2,990 each way on the Narita Express. Fare:¥ 1,490 Seat Fee:¥ 1,500

That ¥1,500 is not optional because reserved seats are required and it is a limited express train.

You just have to remember that the N'Ex departures from NRT are at 18 and 48 minutes after the hour. The 10:18 train is not a connection, it just sits at Tokyo station for 4 minutes.

You are reading the timetable correctly. hyperdia also shows a 6 minute walk from the airport station to the terminal.

Are you certain that your luggage will be checked through to your NRT departure flight.

If you uncheck Private Railway at hyperdia then you will see the N'Ex options.

- and un-check "Ordinary Train"

> My flight lands at 8:15, so hopefully I could make the 10:48 train
> and be at Shibuya at 12:04, correct?

If your flight lands at 8:15, you'll almost certainly make the 9:15 NEx (arriving 10:41), or at the worst the 9:45 NEx.

Just be sure to get on the right car -- your NEx ticket will give you the car & seat numbers. The NEx splits after the first stop (Tokyo Station), and half the train goes to Shibuya & beyond, the other half goes somewhere else.