Narita...not just an airport, also a town

If you have ever flown to Japan, or booked someone a flight to Japan, you are familiar with Narita Airport, the major international airport in Tokyo. Well, did you know there is also a town of Narita?

After waking up and taking the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo, (and standing for the first 45 minutes....sometimes it's worth it to get a seat reservation), we took the Narita Express train to the airport. This is where K and I said oir goodbyes. She was flying back to the US and I was spending one more night in Japan.

I stayed at the Mercure in Narita town, about 15 min from the airport by car. The hotel location was perfect. It was right between the two train stations (JR and Keisei) and across the street from a large Family Mart (not that you ever need to go far to find a convenience store in Japan). It was also two blocks from the cute little touristy street that leads to Naritasan.

Here's the blurb from the temple's website

Main gate 

Administration building

Looking towards Niomon Gate

Niomon Gate. The lantern says "fish market"

Looking back to main gate 

Turtles!

They had to have stairs. I know there's flat ground, they built an airport nearby!

Main hall, where Fudo Myoo is enshrined. I was able to sit in on a service and saw a fire purification ceremony.  

Do you see the little statues?

Shakado hall

Shakado used to be the main hall 

Komyodo hall

Great peace pagoda

Looking down to the ground in front of the peace pagoda 

The five story pagoda symbolizes the teachings of Shingon Buddhism 

Fudo Myoo is enshrined here.

There is also a large park one can wander 

And a waterfall

Three story pagoda

The bright colors of the pagoda are reminiscent of Edo period buildings 

After my traipsing around Naritasan and the town, it was time to pack for Southeast Asia. I left a full suitcase in care of the hotel, I hope it is still here when I get back in a month.

One cool thing in Japan is their baggage services. Or any package, really. Before leaving Tokyo for my adventure with K, I packed the essentials into a duffel bag and left the rest in my suitcase.  I went to a Yamato Transport counter (the black cat company) areanged 1400 yen (about $12-13 USD), they arranged to have my suitcase delivered to the hotel about a week later. You can have bags sent ahead to the airport or pretty much anywhere. It's a great service!