Immerse yourself in a lesser-known side of Japan, minutes away from the famous international airport. 

Narita City in Tokyo’s neighbouring Chiba Prefecture tends to be overlooked as a travel destination, with a lot of overseas visitors bypassing it on their way in and out of the country through Narita Airport. The area around the airport really is worth exploring, though, as it retains a traditional charm with historic shrines and temples, a famous Edo-style traditional shopping street, and lots of special workshops and experiences for tourists.

To help visitors explore these charms, Narita Airport is bringing back its special free guided tours, which were introduced in 2015 but suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Designed for transit passengers and foreign tourists staying around the airport, the “Narita Airport Transit & Stay Program” will officially restart on 1 October, after a six-year absence, with English-speaking volunteer guides providing free tours and an additional paid “Plus” series, for special experiences that reveal a deeper side of the area.

There are six free guided tours:

▼ Narita City (3-hour tour)

This tour takes you to Naritasan Shinshoji, a temple with 1,000 years of history, and the Omotesando shopping street, where you can pick up souvenirs and snacks at traditional stores.

▼ Naritasan Shinshoji is 25 minutes by train from Narita Airport.

▼ Katori City (5-hour tour)

Here you’ll find a riverside town with a beautiful traditional atmosphere, where you can take part in Sawara Hariko, a traditional paper-mache craft local to the area.

▼ Katori is 41 minutes by train from Narita Airport.

▼ Tako (4-hour tour)

Famous for its rice, this town boasts a beautiful green landscape and rural scenery, which you can easily explore by renting an electric-assist bicycle.

▼ Tako is 23 minutes by train from Narita Airport.

▼ Shibayama (4-hour tour)

Two of the highlights on this tour are a visit to the Museum of Aeronautical Sciences and a home-style buffet lunch, with a wide variety of local ingredients, on weekdays.

▼ Shibayama is 26 minutes by train from Narita Airport.

▼ Sakae (5-hour tour)

Slip into a yukata and step back in time at a beautiful open-air museum called Boso no Mura (“Boso Village”).

▼ Sakae is 27 minutes by train from Narita Airport

▼ Kozaki (6-hour tour)

Dubbed the “village of fermentation”, this part of Chiba prides itself on brewed and fermented products, with two sake breweries in the area, as well as miso stores and bakeries that use natural yeast made from sake lees (a byproduct of the sake-making process).

A visit to Kozaki Shrine is another highlight of the tour, and it’s said to be a good place for travelers to pray for safe journeys as it’s home to the guardian deity of aviation, transportation, and industry.

▼ Kozaki is roughly 31 minutes by train from Narita Airport.

Though the guided tours are free, participants need to cover their own expenses such as transportation, meals and admission fees. As for the paid Transit & Stay Program, there are currently nine to choose from, including a one-hour brewery tour and tasting for 1,000 yen (US$6.31)…

▼ … a knife-forging experience (4 hours, from 32,800 yen)…

…and entry to the World Boshuriken Tournament, where you can dress in a ninja costume and try out some ninja techniques for yourself (5.5 hours, 23,800 yen).

▼ What’s likely to really draw tourists, though, is the chance to participate in a local festival.

Pulling a festival float is usually only reserved for people who live in the neighbourhoods where the festival is being held, so this is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture and rub shoulders with the locals.

The first festival-focused tour to be offered is the Otaiyasai Festival on 5 September, which is being treated as a pre-official launch event. Taking around five hours and priced from 15,800 yen, this tour takes place at the Sogo Reido temple, which is half an hour by train from the airport.

Those pressed for time can enjoy a shorter two-hour float-pulling experience at the Narita Gion Festival on Omotesando Street from 8-11 July 2027…

… while those wanting maximum festival immersion can stay overnight during the Narita Gion Festival, with the float-pulling experience followed by time in a special viewing room at the Waqoo Naritasan Monzen hotel.

One night’s accommodation at Waqoo Naritasan Monzen with breakfast and dinner are also included in the deal, all for 84,000 yen.

These tours prove that the area around Narita Airport really is home to some great hidden gems. So if you’re passing through the region, or looking for something to do during a long layover, these Transit & Stay tours are a great way to explore outside the airport and experience a lesser-known side of Japan with the help of a local.

Reservations for the free tours open on 15 September and can be made here, while the paid tours are available to purchase now from this site.

Source: Press release, Narita Airport Transit & Stay, Narita Beyond
Featured image: Narita Beyond
Insert images: Press release, Narita Airport Transit & Stay (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), Narita Beyond (1, 2, 3, 4)
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