9 hour layover in Narita (Tokyo) August 2020

[Hillbilly64]

After some advice/ops on the above. Looking at reward flights to USA and going via Japan with a long layover looks like a good option

Are there any tours we could utilise to see a bit and get over to Haneda...or things to do around Narita

Date will be August 2020...so Olympics
.am I best to find a different route and avoid Japan altogether?
Thank you

 

[offshore171]

What time of day is the layover?

 

[zenyattamondatta]

After some advice/ops on the above. Looking at reward flights to USA and going via Japan with a long layover looks like a good option

Are there any tours we could utilise to see a bit and get over to Haneda...or things to do around Narita

Date will be August 2020...so Olympics
.am I best to find a different route and avoid Japan altogether?
Thank you

How is your tolerance for heat? It was 30 degrees at 6AM this morning.

 

[Hillbilly64]

Day time.. arrive at 9 am ish leave late afternoon

What time of day is the layover?

We live in Queensland and are heading to South Dakota. So can deal with the heat.

 

[WLGFlyer]

Just had 10h (on purpose) last weekend.

There are free tours for Narita you can do. Going to downtown Tokyo will take you around 70mins on the train.

I always enjoy streching my legs, eating excellent food and being tired for the next overnight flight but obviously up to you. Good news is that everything in Japan is well organized and very easy to get around.

 

[Himeno]

When in August? Early during sportsball fest, late during parasportsball fest or in between?
I'd consider a different routing. I don't even want to be within 5 timezones of JST during sportsball fest.

a 9 hour connection in NRT doesn't leave much time to do much in Tokyo, though you gain some time if things are checked through.
Depending on where in Tokyo you want to go during the connection, it could take anywhere from 36 to 90 minutes to get there from NRT. Once airport formalities are factored in, you'd have about 6-7 hours for time in Tokyo including return transport to the airport.

 

[offshore171]

Assuming you clear immigration by 10am, you’d be in downtown Tokyo by about 1130 if you use the Narita express.

You’d then need to be back on the NEX by say 3pm and that would get you back to the airport 2 hours ahead of departure.

 

[Hillbilly64]

When in August? Early during sportsball fest, late during parasportsball fest or in between?
I'd consider a different routing. I don't even want to be within 5 timezones of JST during sportsball fest.

a 9 hour connection in NRT doesn't leave much time to do much in Tokyo, though you gain some time if things are checked through.
Depending on where in Tokyo you want to go during the connection, it could take anywhere from 36 to 90 minutes to get there from NRT. Once airport formalities are factored in, you'd have about 6-7 hours for time in Tokyo including return transport to the airport.

August 6/7 - right in the middle of the Olympics too. It just looks like the best option - via Hong Kong means 10+ hour flights almost back to back.

We would fly into Narita and out of Haneda - so would need to factor that transit time into anything we do

Assuming you clear immigration by 10am, you’d be in downtown Tokyo by about 1130 if you use the Narita express.

You’d then need to be back on the NEX by say 3pm and that would get you back to the airport 2 hours ahead of departure.

We would fly out of Haneda - so that would cut transit time a little?? But mean we have to lug bags.

 

[offshore171]

We would fly out of Haneda - so that would cut transit time a little?? But mean we have to lug bags.

Yes. You could leave your bags in lockers downtown at Tokyo station, spend about 3 hours sightseeing and having lunch, then get the train to Haneda.

Easiest would be Yamanote line to Hamamatsucho. Then hop on the monorail straight to Haneda.

 

[Himeno]

August 6/7 - right in the middle of the Olympics too. It just looks like the best option - via Hong Kong means 10+ hour flights almost back to back.

We would fly into Narita and out of Haneda - so would need to factor that transit time into anything we do



We would fly out of Haneda - so that would cut transit time a little?? But mean we have to lug bags.

That's towards the end of the games
2020 Summer Olympics will begin on Friday, 24 July and ends on Sunday, 9 August

I would look at taking the bus from NRT to HND, storing bags at HND, then heading into the city. With the increase in tourists on those dates, bag storage at any of the stations in the city itself is going to be an issue (more so then normal). With your arrival time, all the baggage lockers are likely to be full by the time you get there.
Another option would be to get a baggage forwarder such as Yamato Transport, though a ~10am drop off may not be enough time for a late afternoon pick up at the other airport.

 

[offshore171]

Good suggestions in above post.

 

[Hillbilly64]

That's towards the end of the games
2020 Summer Olympics will begin on Friday, 24 July and ends on Sunday, 9 August

I would look at taking the bus from NRT to HND, storing bags at HND, then heading into the city. With the increase in tourists on those dates, bag storage at any of the stations in the city itself is going to be an issue (more so then normal). With your arrival time, all the baggage lockers are likely to be full by the time you get there.
Another option would be to get a baggage forwarder such as Yamato Transport, though a ~10am drop off may not be enough time for a late afternoon pick up at the other airport.

Thanks. That sounds like a great idea. Is the bus the quickest/easiest way to get from NRT to HND? Is it worth spending a bit of time around Narita...or are we likely to be too time poor

Thanks for everyone's help on this...very much appreciated
T

 

[Himeno]

Thanks. That sounds like a great idea. Is the bus the quickest/easiest way to get from NRT to HND? Is it worth spending a bit of time around Narita...or are we likely to be too time poor

Thanks for everyone's help on this...very much appreciated
T

There are 2 direct public transport options between the airports. The bus, which takes 50-100 mins depending on traffic (the bus will change the route depending on the traffic conditions.), and the train. The train is a commutator train (so no large baggage areas and not express) which is a joint service between Keikyū (HND-Shinagawa) and Keisei (NRT-Tokyo) and travels via the Asakusa subway line. The train stops at all stations it passes through on the subway, and is treated as a rapid (stopping at major stations) on the Keikyū and Keisei track sections. It takes over 2 hours to get between the airports.
There are other options to get between the airports, but they require connections.

You won't have time to do both something in Tokyo and anything in Narita City.
You'll have more time to do things around Tokyo, Shinagawa, Minato, Akiba, Odaiba or Ginza then you will have in Shinjuku, Shibuya or Ikebukuro.

Most of the Olympic stuff will be concentrated around Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba and around the palace area of Chiyoda.

 

[Hillbilly64]

There are 2 direct public transport options between the airports. The bus, which takes 50-100 mins depending on traffic (the bus will change the route depending on the traffic conditions.), and the train. The train is a commutator train (so no large baggage areas and not express) which is a joint service between Keikyū (HND-Shinagawa) and Keisei (NRT-Tokyo) and travels via the Asakusa subway line. The train stops at all stations it passes through on the subway, and is treated as a rapid (stopping at major stations) on the Keikyū and Keisei track sections. It takes over 2 hours to get between the airports.
There are other options to get between the airports, but they require connections.

You won't have time to do both something in Tokyo and anything in Narita City.
You'll have more time to do things around Tokyo, Shinagawa, Minato, Akiba, Odaiba or Ginza then you will have in Shinjuku, Shibuya or Ikebukuro.

Most of the Olympic stuff will be concentrated around Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba and around the palace area of Chiyoda.

Thanks. Are private transfers quicker or dependant on traffic (time poor so happy to pay premium to get most out of our time)