9 hours in Tokyo, have always wanted to go. What should? Where should go? Should I hire a driver?

Question

A 12 hour layover on my way back to NY from BKK (6am to 6pm). Never been to Tokyo and have always wanted to get a feel for the energy of the city and of Japanese culture. Don't need museums per se. How should I get around as I have to get back onto my connecting flight?

Answer 1

I would suggest you do a tour from the airport . There are tours to temples and things out near the airport. It would be pushing it to go right into Tokyo probably. The first time we went we did a half day  tour - and really felt like we had seen a bit of the culture etc.

Otherwise if you just want to get the vibes of the city you can catch a bus into Shinjuku station, and that is the central sort of area you see in pictures with all the people rushing around etc. The bus takes 85 minutes so a return trip plus allowing 2 hour check in would eat into your time.

Answer 2

Nine hours isn't that much time as by the time you clear customs and immigration it will be about an hour after you land, and then you will want to be back for your connecting flight two hours ahead of time. However you could take a quick run into Tokyo on the Keisei Skyliner or NEX. The NEX stops at Shibuya so you could go there for lunch and just hang out and then get back on the NEX.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narita_Expr...

Otherwise you could visit Narita shrine and it's museum since it only takes about 20 minutes from the airport to Narita city. It is possible to hire a car and driver for the day in Japan for less money than you might expect, but you might just end up stuck in traffic.

Answer 3

Which airport are you landing in Japan? There is Narita and Haneda Airport.

I assume that the stop-over will be in Narita. However, Narita is not in Tokyo. Its in Chiba and its a good 1.5-2 hours drive to Tokyo.

You can still go around and maybe check out some temples in the area. You can check this site so you'll have an idea where to go in Narita.

http://chiba-tour.jp/narita/sight/sight_...

Hope this helps.