My Daytime Layover In Japan
As you know, travel can involve connections at different airports to get to your destinations and we often try to keep connection times as short as possible so we don’t have to wait for long periods at airports for the next flights. Sometimes I purposely schedule connections to have long layovers so I can leave the airport and see different places nearby especially if it’s in a country I’ve never visited before. In my most recent month long trip to southeast Asia, I had to connect in Singapore and Japan when I departed Chiang Mai in Thailand for my homebound journey back to Canada. Although Singapore was a quick stop of about an hour, I chose a longer connection in Japan. In this case, I had nine hours during the daytime in Japan before my final flight to Toronto.
After my research, I decided that nine hours was still a bit too short to get into Tokyo from Narita airport and back in time for my next flight but exploring just the local Narita area was definitely feasible. So after I landed in Narita and went through immigration, I took a train from the Narita airport to the first stop which was the city of Narita.
Given my available time, I prioritized a Japanese temple called Naritasan Shinsho-ji as the main attraction I wanted to see and then have a local meal to experience some authentic Japanese food. When I exited the Narita train station, I was kind of lost but I wasn’t worried at all. For many folks, being lost in a foreign country alone where very little English is spoken is a frightening situation which is why most people do not like to travel solo. For me, I really didn’t care since it was an opportunity to explore a new country on my own terms as I would just wander and see what there is to see. This is my personal attitude during solo travels. Of course thanks to Google Maps and GPS systems, finding my way around a new destination is actually not too complicated.
I soon found a main street where there were quite a lot of retail vendors and this turned out to be a good route to the temple I wanted to see. I saw many interesting food on this street and decided this is where I would have a lunch after seeing the temple. The temple itself was free admission and turned out to be a very peaceful place. Perhaps the buildings at Naritasan Shinsho-ji were not as colourful as the temples I saw in Thailand but the Japanese temple site had a very close connection with nature. There was a nice pond with turtles as well as a big park right behind the temple site.
Within the temple site, there is a nice Japanese pagoda which really stood out.
After visiting Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple, I went back to the market street and went to one restaurant specializing in the local delicacy which is grilled eel. This meal was quite good although the eel was one of the more fatty fishes I’ve ever eaten and it wasn’t cheap at about $30 Cad – definitely by far the most expensive meal during my entire month long Asia tour.
Japan is an expensive country to visit especially when compared to southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Vietnam but there are enough interesting things to see here that I do plan to travel back here again for an extended visit covering Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. I would like to see more Japanese temples, try more local cuisine and visit a few of the cute animals cafes which is one of the unique and interesting attractions found in Japan. I would also like to snow ski in Japan as well although I found out that average accommodations in ski areas like Niseko run $300 to $500 Cad per night which is beyond what I’m willing to spend on a ski trip at the moment.
Here’s my video on my Narita layover.
A final objective I might have regarding Japan is that I would love to buy a Japanese electronic toilet!
After coming home to Canada, I originally thought that this would be it for anymore travel in 2025 but if I would be lucky enough to get a spot for an African safari this fall season especially to see the Great Migration, I’ll go. Otherwise I’ll have to wait an entire year before this opportunity comes again – fortunately, I was lucky so there is one more big trip this year — Africa here I come!
