A Day in Narita Town

I don't think many people visit Narita Town. I mean, why would they? Narita is close enough to Tokyo that the airport is pretty much just known as "Tokyo Airport". Most travelers take the Narita Express train directly to downtown Tokyo or to the bullet train station for the exciting start of their Japan holidays. That's what I did both times I visited before.

On my way back to Bangkok from my visit in the USA, I ended up with a 24-hour layover at Narita Airport. So after leaving immigration and finding my way to Terminal 2, I checked in at the "9-Hours Narita Hotel" for the night.

Despite its name, I stayed for the full night. They supplied me with a fluffy towel, pajamas, slippers, and a toothbrush. After a full day of wide-awake flying from DFW to Narita via Seattle, I was ready to sleep at 6pm, and after a nice shower and a Family Mart "sandoichi", that's what I did. I curled up in my comfy little capsule and quickly fell asleep to the white-noise sound ofcrashing waves that was playing softly from my pod.



Tokyo capsule hotel

The next morning, feeling refreshed but with nearly a full day until my flight, I decided to take the train into Narita Town to explore a bit. After breakfast at an airport café, I hopped on the JR train for the ten-minute ride into Narita.

shrine at Narita Mountain

I asked the tourist information office at the airport for suggestions. They told me that there was really only one thing to do in Narita, and that's to visit Narita-San (Narita Mountain), which is the site of Shinsho-ji, the New Victory Temple. It was just a short walk from the station.

Shinsho-Ji Temple

The temple was a brisk climb up a steep set of steps going up the small mountain, and I was a bit winded by the time I got to the top. Luckily the spring weather in Japan was still cool, and it was early in the day. After a good night's sleep and some morning exercise, I wouldn't really feel the effects of jetlag after returning to Thailand.

Peaceful morning at Narita Mountain

The temple complex was much bigger than I thought it would be! I didn't expect much from Narita, since it's just the airport town and nothing more than a footnote in a typical guidebook, but the temple was actually really cool! There were a number of shrines and pagodas, and the complex itself dates back to the year 940! Besides that though, I enjoyed the walks along the beautiful trails up the mountain. There were a handful of other tourists enjoying the morning as well.

A big pagoda

On my way back to the airport, I stopped in a McDonald's to use the WiFi. Looking to order the cheapest thing off the menu, I also got to use the one Japanese phrase that I'm confident I know: "Kohi-o onegai shimasu"... I would like a coffee! Before going to Japan last year, my friend Ryan and I tried to learn some Japanese. That's the only phrase we really got down.

Looking out from the observation deck

Back at the airport, it was getting on to late afternoon, so I headed to one of my favorite spots at Narita airport - the rooftop observation deck. I've sat here for at least a few minutes each time I've flown to or from Narita. It was cool and windy, and there were a number of tables and chairs set out, though not many other people were there that day. I ordered a box of takoyaki (octopus balls) to go, and took them up to the roof for a late lunch.

Takoyaki for lunch

And then it was time to go. There was nothing left to do but check my luggage, pass through security, and take some photos of myself looking silly at the "Free Cultural Experience" near my gate.



I'm back in Thailand now. It'll probably be a while before I pass back through Japan, so I'm glad I got this little mini-stopover to have some fun and rest between the two long legs of my flight. Sayonara, Tokyo!