On the way to America – ten hour transit in Tokyo

After a ten hour flight from Perth we arrived at Narita international airport Japan, with a 10 hour transit before continuing to New York. After a bit of research the day before, we realised we had enough time to head into Tokyo for a few hours (I highly recommend reading the Narita Arrival and Transfer Guidebook). For around $36 AUD one way, you can take the Narita Express (NEX) one-way to Tokyo Station reaching within an hour.

On exiting the station we were greeted with a very cold and lethargic Tokyo, perhaps it was due to being an early Saturday morning. After a bit of mindless wandering around we found an information centre that suggested we try SkyBus Tokyo (Tokyo’s open-top double-decker tour bus). After a lunch of Ramen noodles (how could we not have eaten one of Japan’s cultural icons) we hopped onto the tour bus.

The tour provided a 45 minute view of all of Tokyo’s important buildings, shopping and business areas and beautiful parks. We were even provided with English audio headsets that provided information along the route. The tour was a good choice with our time constraints and gave us a taste of how large Tokyo is. It would be really good to get to know the city in the future.

After the tour and with our new bearings we walked towards the old Imperial Palace passing Wadakura Fountain Park on the way. After a few photos we headed back to Tokyo Station and back to Narita airport.

Tokyo StreetTokyo StationRamen noodles
SkyBus TokyoTokyo StreetBronze girl
Imperial Palace Wadakura gateImperial PalaceWadakura Fountain Park