12-Hour Layover in Tokyo: What to Do
12-Hour Layover in Tokyo: What to Do
 |
| Clockwise from top left: Sensoji Temple, Tokyo Skytree, Ueno Park, samurai in Asakusa, Japanese cuisine, lotus blossom. |
You just landed at Narita International Airport and it’s 9:00AM local time. Your next flight is not until 9:00PM. What are your options? You can stay put in the airport and browse the duty-free shops over and over for the next 12 hours. Or you can skip out of the airport and go for an impromptu excursion. Thanks to Tokyo’s modern, fast and super convenient metro systems, you can easily explore the city on your own. In this itinerary, from Narita International Airport you will hop on the train to go visit Asakusa and Ueno—two of the most popular attractions in central Tokyo—then return to the airport, also by train, and still have plenty of time to catch your connecting flight.
 |
| Tokyo Metro Guide subway map |
Narita International Airport
Fresh off the plane, you go directly to a Visitors Information booth where you are greeted by a cadre of Japanese hostesses who speak multiple languages and are eager to assist you. The helpful young ladies give you all the information you need for your excursion, including the Tokyo Metro Guide map, along with train/subway fares, schedules and directions. They also suggest you store your carryon luggage in an airport locker and you gladly agree. “Good idea! I don’t need to lug my stuff all over Tokyo!” Next, you head over to the Currency Exchange office to get some Japanese yen. You exchange $100US and get about 10,000 yen in return in both paper and coin currency.
The coin-operated lockers are easy to use. A good size locker costs 300 yen (about $3US) for the whole day. You deposit the coins and get a voucher with a pin code to open your locker. You put your computer bag, backpack, jacket inside, and take only your wallet, passport, and camera with you. And of course the locker voucher. “Oh yeah, I need the pin code to open the locker later!”
Then you head downstairs to the subway level to catch the train. “Tokyo here I come!”
 |
| Five-story high pagoda of Sensoji Temple |
Asakusa
The Keisei Sky Access train from Narita International Airport takes you directly to Asakusa. Travel time is approximately 1 hour, costs 1280 yen (about $13US) per passenger. You get off at Asakusa Station.
Asakusa is a famous historic district in central Tokyo where the Sensoji Temple is located. Built in the 7th century, it is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. As you come up the subway station, you immediately spot the iconic grand entrance to the temple across the street: the massive Kaminarimon Gate (Thunder Gate). Passing the gate, you slowly push your way through the throng of visitors on Nakamise Street, which leads you to the main temple. This street is lined with shops selling traditional Japanese arts & crafts, toys, clothes, souvenirs, foods and snacks. You enter through a second gate, called Hozomon Gate, then suddenly you find yourself inside a huge courtyard and at its center stands the majestic Sensoji Temple.
The air is filled with smoke from burning incense inside several large urns in front of the temple. You take your time exploring the temple’s grand hall and the 5-story pagoda, other nearby shrines and gardens, and enjoy the serene beauty surrounding you.
 |
| Kaminarimon Gate or "Thunder Gate" with its giant paper lantern |
It’s almost lunch time and you feel a little hungry. Leaving the temple behind, you walk back toward Thunder Gate. Following your nose, you discover a number of restaurants in the narrow alleys crisscrossing Nakamise Street. Most of them offer Japanese cuisine which you’re quite fond of. After looking at the colorful plastic food displays in the windows “Yum!” and the prices on the menu “Yikes!” you decide to wait. You walk back to Asakusa Station and head down to the subway to catch the next train to Ueno.
 |
| Wired Café in Ueno subway |
 |
| Chicken salad with fried egg |
 |
| A busy waitress at Wired Café |
 |
| Verdant heaven at Ueno Park |
Ueno
From Asakusa, you take the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line subway train to Ueno. Travel time 5 minutes, costs 160 yen (about $1.50US) per passenger. You get off at Ueno JR Station (G16). Exiting the subway station, you turn right on the sidewalk and cross the street to enter Ueno Park.
You’re at the MOST popular public park in Japan—yes, with ten million visitors a year! Established in 1873, this 135-acre urban oasis is famous for its cherry trees (over 1000 of them!), along with a network of walking path and trails, lake and pond. It’s also home to Japan’s first zoological garden—Ueno Zoo—and a number of museums, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the National Museum of Western Art. There are several beautiful temples located inside the park, most breathtaking is the Bentendo Shrine built on an island in the middle of a lotus pond. Every year, in early April, the cherry trees burst into blooms and Ueno Park becomes the host for many lively cherry blossom picnic parties (with plenty of sake!)—a local tradition that has been carried on for decades.
It’s easy to lose yourself among the lush landscape and tranquil scenery. You pause to listen to the birds, take a deep breath of the fresh cool air, meditate by the lotus pond, and relax on a park bench under the shade of an old cherry tree. “I’m having a perfect zen time!” You wish you have more time to spend in this wonderful park.
 |
| Lotus blossoms in Shinobazu Pond |
Reluctantly, you leave Ueno Park, dash across the busy street and enter Ameyoko Market. This open-air market is one of the oldest flea markets in Tokyo. It’s crammed with hundreds of shops selling everything from fresh seafood “Is that a giant squid?!?” to sweet mochi, from silk kimonos to fake Rolexes. This place is not for the fainthearted: aggressive vendors, competing with one another, shouting and hawking their goods at you left and right! “Is this guy trying to sell me a golf club!?!” You do your best by smiling politely and keep walking. Next, you decide to do some window shopping along the upscale Chuo-Dori Street and check out the multi-level department stores. Feeling adventurous, you go inside an 8-story building that sells all sort of electronic gadgets. By the time you get to the 5th floor you start to feel dizzy and claustrophobic because of all the high-tech stuff (plus the shopping-frenzy crowd everywhere you go!), so you beeline for the nearest elevator and escape down into the street below. “Phew!”
 |
| Chuo-Dori Street across from Ueno subway station |
It’s time to head back to the airport. Walking back to the Keisei Ueno Station (adjacent to Ueno Park), you take the Skyliner Express train to return to Narita International Airport. Travel time is 36 minutes, costs 2500 yen (about $25US). The ticket is a little pricey, but you hear the Skyliner is Tokyo Metro’s newest train so you want to give it a try. And you’re glad you did! Ultra-modern, sleek cabin interior, luxurious seats (your seat automatically turns 180o around in unison with all other seats in the cabin when the train changes direction for departure), extremely quiet and steady at 100mph, so comfortable that you couldn’t help but doze off almost immediately!
The train arrives at Narita International Airport exactly at 4:45PM. Leaving the subway, you ride up the escalator into the main airport check-in area, breeze through the passport/security formalities, and find yourself back inside Terminal 1. You locate your airport locker, use the pin code to open it and grab all your belongings. Desperately in need of a freshen up after running around all day, you head upstairs to the 3rd level and rent a shower cubicle for 1030 yen (about $10US). You take a long shower then change into fresh clothes. After that, you realize you still have another 2 hours or so before your next flight. So off you go in search of a fine Japanese restaurant in the airport—with a leisurely dinner in mind. Sushi of course. And maybe a sake or two!
 |
| Subway map and train tickets |
Comments
Post a Comment