Nine Hours In Narita

If you’ve ever had to sit through an extended layover at an airport, waiting for a connecting flight, you’ll soon learn that an airport can be a very boring place to pass the time. On a recent trip to Indonesia, I had to deal with a nine hour layover in Japan immediately following a seven hour flight from Denpassar in Bali. I wasn’t looking forward to the twelve hour flight I had ahead, to take me home from Japan to New York. Luckily, I was able to experience nine hours in Narita, an airport that I would highly recommend to any weary traveler.

Narita sits about an hour outside of Tokyo and is by far the largest and most lavish airport in Japan. Since it is far from the center of Tokyo, Narita tends to be the place where many travelers stay while in transit awaiting their connecting flight. From the minute you arrive you realize that, although this airport is almost thirty years old, Narita is still amongst the worlds most modern airports.

One of the first things you notice in Narita are the motorized walkways and very efficient computer controlled tram system which makes getting around this vast airport less difficult on the legs of a weary traveler. As you enter the main terminal, the thing that catches your eye is the elaborate duty free shopping area behind passport control. Brands like Burberry, Tiffany, Hermes and Cartier, line the aisles of the airport shopping area that is referred to as “Narita 5th Avenue” which is located in terminal 2. These luxury shops have much more to offer than the typical cigarettes, liquor, perfume and chocolates that you traditionally see for sale in airport duty free shops around the world. Even if you don’t have any intention of buying a pair of $1000.00 dollar Cartier sunglasses during your layover, the idea that you can pretend as you window shop through out Narita is not a bad way to kill some time.

If Luxury items are not your thing and you would rather explore some of the items that the Japanese are well known for you kind find some of the latest consumer electronics here. When in Tokyo, Akihabara or electric city in Chiyoda ward is the neighborhood to go to but in Narita, Audio Plaza in terminal 2 has an excellent duty free selection of the latest digital cameras, camcorders, translation devices, personal massage kits and other unique electronic surprises. One of the more surprising items that I saw for sale in the airport was a 10,000 yen portion of crab legs for export. I had no idea that you could purchase perishable food in an airport and they would freezer pack it for you to enjoy once home.

Even the bathrooms are modern and very neat in this airport. The men’s bathrooms are equipped with high tech self flushing toilets that even have a bidet built into the unit. This is a feature that exists in some women’s bathroom but to include it in the men’s room speaks to the Japanese culture and its attention to detail. The sinks and urinals are all very functional neat and although you rarely see an attendant around, the space is remarkably clean.

If you have to send a quick email when at the airport, you have a few options at Narita. They have a wifi network that you can log into and for a small fee, gain access to the internet on your own laptop. If you didn’t bring one along, they have kiosks set up around the airport where for 100 yen, about the equivalent of 1 us dollar, you can access the web for ten minutes. If you don’t like either of these two options, then you can go to the Yahoo Café on the third floor in terminal 2 where you can use the computer for free all courtesy of Yahoo.

Don’t expect to be able to use your American based cell phone in Japan because the network is not the same as the one used in the states. You can rent a local phone at the airport and for a small fee, you can freely make calls to your hearts content.

The food options are vast in Narita. You can get a McDonald’s burger or a Starbucks coffee if you are feeling a bit homesick and want something familiar to take you back. If you are still enjoying your Asian experience and want to continue in that direction, you can find all of the unique Japanese tastes at many of the cafe’s throughout Narita. Blue Sky Beer Pub also known as Kirin City was a personal favorite of mine. The food was good, the price was right and the service was even better. You can get a nice Japanese Kirin draft beer to go along with your meal.
If you get stuck or lost while moving around the airport, I found many of these information booths through out to help me get back on track. They speak perfect English so don’t worry if your Japanese is not quite up to par.

You can even find a staffed playroom in the airport if you’ve run out of ideas to entertain your children during your extended layover.

There was one item that really made my stay in Narita complete. When I arrived, I was not looking forward to a long day of watching the clock from an uncomfortable seat in the airport. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a sign for dayrooms and showers.

I immediately walked up to the attendant, roller bag in tow, and asked how much for a room. 1400 yen for the first hour and 700 yen for each additional hour was all it costs to have a room with a full shower and a bed to rest your body and to store your bags at the airport. My eyes lit up and I immediately jumped on the opportunity.

The room was small but very functional and the bed was comfortable. It allowed me to store my bags, take a shower and catch a few hours of horizontal shut eye before I embarked on the last leg of my odyssey to New York City. This was the best spent fifty dollars of my whole trip and made my experience in the airport a fun exploration as opposed to a miserable Nine hours in Narita. I highly recommend the dayroom to any traveler that passes through this airport. You won’t regret it!

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