Narita layover
 

We have an 8 hour laover in Narita between Seoul and Honolulu. Does anybody have any idesa for passing the time there? Thanks!

Hi! Had a few hours lay-over at Narita last year on my way to the US. There are some great duty-free and gift stores there. They are surprisingly well priced too! Picked up some pretty groovy pen and pencil sets with holograms on them, a couple of small electronic items and fantastic candy sushi sets. They all made great (unusual) gifts. Enjoy yourself. I guess you could always have a sleep!?!?!?! See ya!

Hellish! I found that there is little to do at Narita. As with many airports, it was built for a small fraction of the people it serves, so it is very crowded (not unusually in Tokyo, I guess) and a little worn around the edges (not characteristically Japanese). Security is very tight due to ongoing disputes with the local farmers who still hate that the airport was even built.

Eight hours is tough, because on one hand it is a lot of time in any airport. But, on the other hand, Narita is SO FAR from Tokyo, that nothing very interesting is close. You are really risking a close call to try to go into Tokyo do anything and be back in time. Grabbing some sleep / shopping (such as it is) may not be a bad idea. I would strongly recommend travelers not take flights with a layover at Narita (even on a same-plane continuing flight, local regulations requires everyone get off the plane). Good luck.

Hello me again. It really depends on which airline you fly into Narita with. As with many airports certain airlines use certain terminals. The terminal I was lucky enough to stop at was very modern, clean and appeared to be be fairly new. There were great shops there and fast food outlets. All in all one of the average airports of the region, but still quite pleasant. Sean must have been unlucky and ended up at one of the older buildings. As our plane went past the terminals frquented by American airlines such as United, they appeared to be very crowded and much older buildings. As it was night and we passed slowly I got a good look inside at the number of people. The terminal we were in was almost empty. Hope you're lucky enough to stop where our flight stopped!! See ya!

Hi! Have just read your quiry regarding a long
stopover in Narita, do not know if you still need
this information.
I stopped over in Narita for about 8hrs as well in
OCT last year on my way to Honolulu.
My friends and I cleared immigration and took a train to a small town called NARITA-SAN. This small
town is only about 20mins away from the airport and
it's really quite worth the trouble of having to
clear the airport immigration.
You can visit the Japanese temples and park there and at the same time get a view of Japan if this is
your first time there.
My friends and I enjoyed ourselves very much as it is really something more refreshing then staying
cooped up at a airport for 8hrs.
You can buy some Japanese snacks and souvenirs
when you are in Narita-San.
You can also take some rather wonderful pictures
while you are there.
The train fare from the airport to NARITA-SAN is
fairly cheap but I can't really remember how much.
Would strongly recommend anyone who has got a long
transit time in NARITA to go there.
Have Fun!
Hope I'm not too late with my information.-Doreen.

Without question, go to Narita-san Temple. I also had a layover there for several hours. It will take about 15-20 minutes by taxi, or you can take the train. It is supposed to be one of Japan's most visited shrines (by the Japanese). There are several beautiful structures there. It is dedicated to the Fire god, if I remember correctly. The area around the temple is also very nice for walking around the narrow streets. If you haven't been to Japan before, it will be particularly interesting. Type in Narita on the web and see if you get anything. I believe that there is a site with info on the temple. Going into Tokyo is definitely a long way, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you know exactly where you are going and are staying overnight.