So I turns out that I will have a 4-hour layover at Tokyo Narita airport. I am considering going through immigration and technically “setting foot on Japanese soil” and exit the airport for maybe an hour or two before coming back in through security and continuing on with the rest of my flight itinerary. Partly is just for the fun of being able to say that I have technically “been” to Japan.
For any of you who may have done this sort of brief airport exit and reentry in the past, any glitches or things that can go wrong?
Not a bad idea, but 4 hours is not all that much time; if you land on time, about 20-30 minutes will be eaten up getting to your parking spot and unloading, then if you are leaving the in-transit area, you’ll have to clear customs again to re-enter the airport. And you’ll want to be at your boarding gate at least 45 minutes before departure. That doesn’t leave you much of a window.
And you can’t make downtown Tokyo, rail is the fastest and it takes 50 minutes minimum, even with the express. About all you could do is go outside the door, say “I’m in Japan!!”, and go right back in.
Now maybe someone who knows Japan/Narita better than I do will have better options (its been many years since my last transfer there) and I do congratulate you on wanting to get outside…I did the same in Amsterdam, but that was a 8-hour layover instead of 4 hours.
Hope somebody else has a close-in option you could manage.
I had a 10 hour layover at Heathrow but the experience was so long and unpleasant I just ended up staying and sleeping on the floor. I just went outside to say I did. If you think you want to do this, prepare to accept that it might not be feasible depending on crowds, but if you can swing it, have fun.
I’ve had similar layovers elsewhere - Doha most recently - and four hours is cutting it really fine to do anything, what with having to go through security, baggage checks, and whatnot. Too fine for my tastes. Looking at Google Maps, there’s what looks like a picturesque Buddhist temple very near the airport in Tako, so you might get an hour or so there.
Speaking of baggage checks, you may not be able to leave your baggage at the airport.
That’s not very long, and Narita isn’t the fastest airport to get back into. By the time you get out of immigration, into a taxi, into Narita city (maybe 10 minutes away or so), you’ll need to be checking in again. If you had 6 hours I’d say go for it. And there is nothing right there at the airport if you go outside beyond kissing the ground (and good luck trying to find some real dirt).
The town of Narita itself is kinda okay. It actually has a pretty nice, large Buddhist temple “narita-san” that I would recommend seeing. Nothing else in Narita really suggests itself as being worth checking out, unless you just find something like a local supermarket or department store fascinating.
I can think of nightmarish but unlikely things that could go wrong.
You try to take a train or bus just to go to somewhere, and then you screw up on boarding the right bus/train for the return trip and before you realize it you become hopelessly lost and miss your flight.
Or…
You get lost as above but manage to hail a cab. But you get caught in a traffic jam for long enough that you miss your flight.
Or…
You manage the return trip to the airport in time, but find that you left your bag holding your travel documents on the train/bus or in a coffee shop.
Or…
You take the train somewhere, and there is a moderate earthquake that doesn’t really damage anything but they do have to shut down the Narita Express for a couple of hours between stops while they make sure that the tracks are really OK. Or, instead of an earthquake, there is a suicide on the tracks, and they have to stop the train while they clean up and the police conduct their investigation. Either way, miss your flight.
Or…
That’s the day that customs officials at Narita have gotten word to be on the lookout for drug mules who are going through customs in and out on short layovers. Body cavity search.
Or…
You put your luggage in a coin locker before you leave the airport, and cannot find the key (or the location of the locker) when you return to the airport.
See, this is why I stay curled up in a ball on the floor of my bedroom instead of actually going anywhere or doing anything. It’s much safer that way.
But seriously, as someone mentioned above, Narita is far away from anything (other than the town of Narita). If you go through customs but stay in the airport, you can have a nice meal at one of the many restaurants. I hear that McDonalds in Japan has chocolate drizzled french fries; there is one in the airport if the oddity factor appeals to you. Lots of shopping, too.
Me: We have a 45 minute layover in Memphis.
Wife: We should go to Graceland!
I’ve been through a similar layover at Narita several times in my travels. China Guy is spot on. You can do it, but the greater amount of your time could easily be spent, first getting cleared to exit, then cleared to get back in.
If you’re cool with that, and you got nothing but time on your hands, go for it!
(My favourite thing in Narita is the smoking rooms, with big air extracting fans. Floor to ceiling glass walls, makes them look like aquariums filled with smoking fish to me!)
(Also, I’ve stayed overnight right by the airport, (JAL has a hotel there!) several times, yet still never say, “I’ve been to Japan!” Just can’t do it!)
Hint: anytime you feel the need to say “what can go wrong” it’s probably best to not do it.
You can easily spend four hours in Narita and enjoy yourself immensely. It’s a very cool airport.
Not a problem. I’ve done it, but not at Narita… Japanese immigration is fairly streamlined and easy. Fill out the landing card on the plane before you arrive. It might be pushing it, but there is a free shuttle bus that goes al l the way into the center of Narita town, but it is not always a direct route and could take an hour each way. That is a nice little trip, but it would be risky in four hours.
But to just go out in the street, it is not a problem at all. The Japanese in the airport are very nice and accommodating. Your airline should give you both boarding passes before you depart, so you won’t need to check back in with the airline to return.
Recently I had stopovers in Singapore of a few hours each way. The first time, the stamps in the passport were so faint, I couldn’t read them, so I did it again on the return trip. There is nowhere to go in Singapore, you can’t get more than about 20 paces from the terminal, out whee employees smoke.
In my recent experiences, checking in and clearing immigration at NRT is quite rapid and easy.
You can store luggage at three places on the ground (1st) floor: the luggage forwarding services next to South Exit S3, next to North Exit N3, and at a special window just for luggage storage where the South Wing and Central Building meet.
One floor down in the basement, put ¥1000 on a Suica or Pasmo card, and you can hop on the next train. I’d probably take the Keisei Main Line (not an express) one stop/about 7 minutes to Keisei Narita Station. There’s a JR line that runs pretty much parallel, if you prefer. Step outside the station, and you’ll be in an honest-to-goodness Japanese suburban town, that’s not in any way part of the airport. You can wander through a little neighborhood, get something to eat in a bakery or 7-Eleven (where you can pay with your Suica card), breath some actual air, and then take the train back to the airport terminal.
Followed this advice pretty much to the letter; got a Pasmo card, took the Keisei line to Narita, got off, took some photos, enjoyed some walking around town, then returned to the airport. Got to my flight just in time. Thanks!
Cool. Thanks for the update. Glad it all worked out and you got to “see” Japan. 
His checked baggage is checked through to his connection. He doesn’t have to claim his bags.
Really? I would have thought that they would automatically be unchecked if he were to leave the airport. Colour ignorance fought!
My wife and I did this with a 6 hour layover in Brussels. It was fun. We landed at 5am, got out of the airport and took the train into the city center, arriving a bit before 7. Walked around and saw some sights, had a bit of breakfast, bought some chocolate, and headed back to the airport around 9 for our outgoing flight.
I’d worry that a 4-hour layover is going to be too short. If you arrive at the airport an hour before your flight and it takes you 30-45 minutes to get off the plane and out of the airport, you’re down to a bit over 2 hours to do anything, and generally airports aren’t very close to anything you want to do, so it’s another hour or so round trip to get anywhere interesting.
Inchon Airport in Korea, has free city tours for people on layovers. Of different lengths, in a bus with an English speaking guide, returns back to the airport 1,2 or 3 hrs later! Brilliant idea to promote your city, I think!