You don't pass immigration to change between international flights at Narita, but the transit area closes from midnight to 6am, so a night connection means entering Japan. To leave the airport, US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passports need no visa for up to 90 days; Indian passports need one, arranged before you fly.
No visa is needed to change planes at Narita if you stay airside between 6am and midnight. To leave the airport, US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passports need no visa for a stay of up to 90 days. Indian passports need a Japanese visa, applied for before you fly. A connection through the night means entering Japan, because the transit area closes from midnight to 6am.
If you stay airside
Changing between international flights at Narita International Airport (NRT), you don’t pass immigration or collect your bags, so you need no visa. Follow the “International Connecting Flights” signs.
- Security again. Connecting passengers are screened again at Narita, bags and body, even though you were screened before your first flight. Allow for it on a tight connection.
- Check with your airline. Narita asks connecting passengers to confirm with their airline that their connection can stay airside. Depending on the airline, you may have to pass immigration once to change terminals.
- The transit area closes at night. Planes fly only from 6am to midnight, and nobody can stay airside outside those hours. On a connection through the night you must pass immigration and customs and wait landside, so you need to be able to enter Japan: a passport that needs a visa needs one for this too. The nine hours capsule hotel in Terminal 2 and seating areas in every terminal stay open all night (at the airport).
- Domestic connections. Flying on within Japan, you clear immigration and customs at Narita, so the rules below apply.
- Changing terminals. Shuttle buses link the terminals: about 4 minutes from Terminal 2 to 3 and 8 to 12 minutes from Terminal 1 to 2, but up to 28 minutes from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1, and buses to Terminal 3 run only at certain times.
If you want to leave the airport
To leave the airport you pass Japanese immigration and customs. Whether you need a visa depends on your passport:
| Passport | What you need |
|---|---|
| United States | No visa, for up to 90 days |
| United Kingdom | No visa, for up to 90 days |
| EU countries, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland | No visa, for up to 90 days |
| Canada | No visa, for up to 90 days |
| Australia | No visa, for up to 90 days |
| India | A Japanese visa, applied for before you fly |
These are from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose list of visa-free countries also includes, among others, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and Mexico. If your passport isn’t on it, you need a visa.
Visa-free entry
Visa-free visitors are given 90 days on arrival, far more than any layover needs. Every EU country is on the list, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. You need no application and pay no fee. Your passport must be valid for your stay, and your airline may ask for more, so check with it before you fly.
A Japanese visa (India and others)
India isn’t on the visa-exemption list, so an Indian passport needs a short-stay visa to leave the airport. Japan’s eVISA, a single-entry visa for a stay of up to 90 days, takes applications from India through an accredited agency. Apply well before you fly.
Visit Japan Web
Visit Japan Web is a free government service for doing the immigration and customs forms online before you land. It isn’t a visa and doesn’t replace one, but it saves filling in forms in the queue.
If you’re on separate tickets
If your flights are on separate bookings, you can’t stay airside: you pass immigration, collect your bags, and check in again for your next flight. So you need to be able to enter Japan, by the table above.
Allow longer than on one ticket. Narita advises being at the airport at least 2 hours before departure to check in, and check-in starts at a time each airline sets. If you have time to go into town, leave your bags in a coin locker before you set off: ¥400 to ¥800 a day by size.
At the border
Narita publishes no queue times, so plan on about an hour from landing to sitting on a train, and more at busy times. A slow queue costs you time in town, not your flight: the time you must head back stays the same.
Fill in Visit Japan Web before you land, keep your passport and onward boarding pass to hand, and after customs follow the signs to the trains.
Before you go landside
- Bags. On one ticket, your checked bags go through to your next flight. On separate tickets, store them before heading out; the lockers and staffed counters are before security in every terminal.
- Boarding pass. Get your onward boarding pass before you leave, at your first check-in or in your airline’s app, so you can go straight to departure immigration when you’re back.
- When to be back. At Narita 90 minutes before departure, or 2 hours if you still need to check in.
- Getting there. The trains, fares and last rides back are on getting to the city.
The airport’s free Transit & Stay tours
The airport’s free guided tours are for passengers on a layover, but you take them landside: you pass immigration first, so you need a passport or visa that lets you into Japan. They’re for visitors who aren’t resident in Japan.
On the day, bring your passport, your boarding passes, your visa if you need one, your booking confirmation and some cash. Checked bags that aren’t going through to your next flight go into a coin locker or a storage counter first, at your own cost. How to book, and how long a layover you need: itineraries.
A transit tour you can book
If you're allowed to leave Narita International Airport, a tour that collects you at the airport takes care of the timing. Check that the tour's length fits your layover, leaving time to get out of the airport and to be back 90 minutes before your flight.