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Is it just me or is Narita a great city?

AquaLung

先輩
13 Dec 2012
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I've stayed in Narita a number of times. Sometimes they were one-nighters, sometimes three. To me, it's the quintessential first ideal city to visit. I say this because I think the common method of travel is to jump right into the major cities/tourist destinations, skipping the common smaller city where major international airports are often located (Incheon, South Korea, Taoyuan, Taiwan, etc.). The first time I went to Japan, I was actually on a tour of major tourist destinations in Asia. So when arriving in Narita airport, we went straight into Tokyo. I didn't even know Narita was a city at the time.

The second time I visited Japan, I went solo without a tour guide. I did some research on the city of Narita, and decided to spend three nights there before taking the train into Tokyo. I actually thought it was a smaller town than what it turned out to be.

There doesn't seem to be any tours there that I know of. But I think it's a great town to just wander around. I always like the walk along the freeway from the Holiday Inn where I always stay, into the city. I get caught up in looking at the pictures on the sidewalk along the freeway of nations and Asian historical monuments (sort of reminds me of the walk of fame in Hollywood).

I think it's the ideal first city to visit in Japan, for one because it's extremely convenient if you fly into NRT (Narita airport). There are many airport hotels within a short distance of the airport, each having a shuttle bus. It's a good 20-30 minute plus walk into Narita city (depending on which hotel you stay in), or each airport hotel has regular shuttle buses that takes you to the city center, and a major mall.

And it's just a good build up for traveling into Japan. It's not as spectacular as the bigger cities, and the more historical cities/ancient sites. You get more of a sense of being in a suburban environment, with a little taste of big city modernization, and historical site-seeing. The old section of town is quite a sight with the narrow streets, temples, and pagodas.

In my opinion, the best way to see Japan is to start out in a smaller suburban type city like Narita, then move on to the spectacular glowing cities like Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka; and then visit historical sites like Kamakura, Kyoto , and Nara. But that's just me.
 
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