New Years in Tokyo

December 7, 2007 12:05 AM

One day layover in Tokyo, New Years Eve. Where to party?

I'm flying back from the states to China and I have to spend a one night layover in Narita. I'm a dumb ass and got my tickets way to late, so I have to fly on the 31st, which is earlier than I wanted to go. The silver lining is that I can potentially party in Tokyo on New Years eve.

There are two parts to my question. First is it logistically feasible to get to downtown from Narita and back again in the next morning? I'll arrive in the afternoon so getting there shouldn't be too hard. I am a little worried about getting back for my morning flight. I will be Jet Legged anyway so I plan on staying up all night. When do the last trains leave from Narita to Tokyo at night and when are the first ones going back in the morning?

The second part is what to do. I've got some vague acquaintances in Tokyo, but not sure if I could impose on them. I'm pretty much up for anything, Clubs, bars or whatever. Just somewhere fun and friendly. Is there a Tokyo equivalent of Times Square? I will out of necessity need to stay up all night, so any event that goes late would be a plus.

I've been to Tokyo before and loved it. Any suggestions or hints are welcome.

posted by afu to Travel & Transportation around Tokyo, Japan (9 answers total)

Unfortunately, the tradition in Japan is to spend New Year's Eve with your family at home eating noodles, and then getting up the next morning and go to the temple. Not that much fun. But a certain percentage of people go out to party. You can check the club listing here to see what's on clubwise.

I'm not sure about the trains though. The morning will be okay, but what time do you arrive at the airport?
posted by dydecker at 12:22 AM on December 7, 2007

Response by poster: Is that lunar new years or the Jan 1st New Years? In China people spend lunar new years with their family, but in the big cities people go out similar to the West.
posted by afu at 12:31 AM on December 7, 2007

Yes, December 31st. It's a bit like Christmas Eve in the West, a family night (and Xmas eve is for dating!).

But having said that, you can still go out and have plenty of fun - there's 40 million people in the vinicity so if only 1% go out, everywhere is still full.
posted by dydecker at 12:45 AM on December 7, 2007

Here's the timetables for the Narita Express from Tokyo to Narita :
Ofuna-Yokohama-Shinagawa-Tokyo-Narita Airport
Takao-Shinjuku-Shibuya-Tokyo-Narita Airport
And
The timetable for the keisei skyliner
posted by SageLeVoid at 2:07 AM on December 7, 2007

I was in a similar situation several years ago, and I spent one night in Tokyo. It can definitely be done. My layover was about 16 hours, if I recall correctly. To get from airport to 'downtown' took about two hours, but part of that was waiting for the airport train.

I remember taking one of the very early airport trains, right about dawn. My flight schedule was similar to yours, I think. Arrive 5-6pm, depart 9am-ish.

I had dinner with an ex-girlfriend and then walked around Shinjuku for several amusing hours and then found a high-end 24-hour internet bar. For about $10, I got an 8-hour block in a cozy little cubicle with a reclining chair, headphones and footstool. I was tempted by the pod hotels, but the cheapest I could find was about $40. Blech. The internet bar was quiet, cozy and comfortable for the 4-5 hours I was there.
posted by bluejayk at 5:10 AM on December 7, 2007

The tricky part as others have pointed out is getting from Narita to Tokyo, as they aren't really that close to each other. Once there, head to Shibuya or Ropongi, there are clubs in both places you could go party at. I think Shibuya is the cooler of the two. Shinjinku is also a pretty interesting part of town, lots of swanky shops and then random alleys with super shady shit going on.
posted by chunking express at 6:28 AM on December 7, 2007

I vote for Shibuya. For New Year's 2000, I was just outside the station for the countdown. They did it on the huge screens near that intersection and there were plenty of Japanese people and foreigners around to share the moment.

There are also a lot of clubs and bars within walking distance. If you don't read Japanese, you can pick up a Metropolis to find out what's going on, or visit their website ahead of time. And if you find that you're too tired to stay up all night, Shibuya also has a lot of love hotels, where you can buy a few hours, alone or with a partner.
posted by zerbinetta at 7:18 AM on December 7, 2007

I should also mention that Narita might have stuff going on, in case you're afraid to go all the way to Shibuya. Check out the Narita Layover Page and another one. You can party with flight attendants and pilots who will also be stuck for the evening. There's supposedly some famous karaoke place called The Truck, which operates a free shuttle to and from the area near the train station as well as all the major hotels.

It's also worth noting that Tokyo trains run all night between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (they usually stop around midnight on any other day of the year) because some people like to get to the shrines and temples right away. So transportation shouldn't be a problem for you.
posted by zerbinetta at 7:30 AM on December 7, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks for the advice everyone. It's very helpful. I'll be in Tokyo tomorrow!
posted by afu at 8:36 PM on December 29, 2007