What to do in Tokyo during layover in Narita Airport!

Hey guys! I would like to share about my recent experience with Narita Airport Transit & Stay Program 😄

It's always tiresome if you gotta squeeze your brain juice just trying to figure out how to spend your hours before catching your connecting flight to somewhere. Well, you are in luck if you drop by Tokyo's Narita Airport!

You can very well immerse yourself in the cultures of Japan with the Volunteer Guided Tours or Self Guided Tours. Go for the Volunteer Guided Tour if you would like to make a friend and understand more about the Japanese culture as the local guide will provide you with lots of information about the place you choose to visit. And the best thing is, the local guides speak in English so you don't have to worry about the language barrier.

There were 4 Volunteer Guided Tours being offered when I was there and I went for Tour 1: Get a Full Japanese Cultural Experience at Narita-san Shinsho-ji Temple. You can either sign up for the tours online 3 months before the date of tour (advised) or sign up on the spot at the Visitor Service Center of Terminal 1 Arrival Lobby at 9am if there are still spots available.

Meet up point is at the Narita Airport Transit & Stay counter inside Visitor Service Center. You have to fill up a particulars form over there before 9.15am even if you have booked online so that the officers can confirm your attendance and arrange for the tour guides.

By 9.30am, I have met Hiroshi-san, a kind elderly Japanese man who was most humble, attentive and informative. We took the Keisei line that costs 480yen (round trip) to Narita station which is just 2 stops away. From there, we walked a little more than 1km through Omotesando Street lined with traditional sweet shops, sake stores, delicious smelling unagi restaurants and more!

Our first stop was at a quaint little garden a little off the main street filled with beautiful hydrangeas.

After a brief stop at this little garden, we continued walking along Omotesando street stopping to check out souvenir and sweet shops. 

Finally arrived at Narita-san Shinsho-ji Temple after a long scorching hot walk. Hiroshi-san was very attentive and sweet to present me with a hand fan and a bottle of water. Fyi, it was 32 degrees celcius in Tokyo at that time so the weather was kind of unbearable. 

So sunny I can hardly open my eyes.

If you have visited Japan's shrines and temples before, you would know that it is a required custom to purify yourself at the chozuya, a small pavilion with basin filled with water before proceeding further.

A pic with Hiroshi-san

And of course we ended the tour with the yummiest unagi rice meal I've ever had. I can't recall which store this is from because we were too relieved to quench our thirst with ice cold tea and dig into the mouth-watering morsels laid in front of us. The unagi was very fresh and juicy and as you can see, way huge so although I would love to, I can't even finish half of it.

Priced at 2,500yen after a 500yen discount courtesy of Hiroshi-san who knows the boss :)

Oh by the way, did I mention that the whole tour is FREE OF CHARGE? Yes, it is. You just got to pay for your own transport, meal and any shopping you want to do.

I wanted to treat Hiroshi-san to the scrumptious unagi meal for being such a great guide but he turned me down and told me it is his pleasure to be able to share with me his joy and pride of Japan. 

See why I love Japan now? 

Great people, delicious food and beautiful scenery! What else can anyone ask for?