The IES Abroad Tokyo representatives and Japanese students from Kanda University (KUIS) and Meikai University are anxiously awaiting your arrival. If you completed your arrival questionnaire on-time, they should know about what time your plane arrives into Narita International Airport and will meet you there. Like any other major airport, arrival into Narita can be a bit confusing.
We ask that you follow these ten simple steps to ensure that your arrival is smooth and as stress free as possible.
If you plan to arrive in Japan before the official arrival date, you should contact the IES Abroad Center or IES Abroad Chicago to make arrangements to meet the group at the airport or at the orientation site. If you are arriving after 6:00pm on the arrival date, you will need to make your own way to the orientation hotel (see below).
Step One: Welcome in Narita International Airport! You must be tired from your long flight; take a few minutes to stretch and freshen up. Soon, you'll be meeting the IES ABROAD staff, some E-Pals volunteers!
Step Two: Passport Control Make sure you have properly filled out the disembarkation card and present it along with your passport. Notice that there are separate lines for Japanese and non-Japanese arrivals.
Step Three: Baggage Claim Check your flight number and proceed to the proper baggage turntable. Baggage carts are available for passengers who need them. There are restrooms nearby, too!
Step Four: Customs Inspection Students not exceeding the duty-free limit should proceed to a Green Channel Customs Table for customs inspection. Students exceeding the limit or who are unsure should proceed to the Red Channel Customs table for inspection. Because of increased security at the airport, you should be prepared to open your luggage.
Step Five: Proceed to the Arrival Lobby Here we go! Students will be met at the place called “Meeting Point” in the North Wing arrival lobby of Terminal 1 of the Narita Airport between 11:00a.m. and 6:00p.m. on the arrival day. There are several Meeting Points at Narita airport. Please come to the Meeting Point located in the North Wing, terminal 1. (Please refer to the map attached) Look for IES Abroad staff or students volunteers with “IES Abroad Tokyo” sign. If you arrive at Terminal 2, you must take a bus to Terminal 1. Phone a center staff person if you are having trouble! (See below)
Again, students arriving into Terminal 2 will have to take a Terminal Connection Bus to get to Terminal 1 where IES Abroad staff members and E-pal volunteers will be waiting to greet you. The bus will let you off at the entrance to the underground concourse from where you should proceed to the Meeting Point. Consult this site for information on Narita Intl. Airport, http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/access/terminal/index.html
Step Six: Money Exchange After you have met the IES Abroad staff and the other students, you will be given time to exchange money. Students in the past have exchanged about $300USD at the airport money exchange counters. There are also Plus and Cirrus ATM machines at the airport where you can withdraw Japanese money off your debit card.
Spring 2010 Program Arrival Instructions
Step Seven: Sending Luggage Ahead Keep one bag containing the clothing and personal effects you will need for the orientation (4 nights), and the remainder of your luggage should be sent from the airport to your housing to await your arrival. (You can carry this one bag easily by yourself, right?) You will not have access to the forwarded luggage until the end of the welcome orientation. You must pay in Yen cash for the charge of transporting your luggage from the airport (usually less than $20 equivalent per bag). Transporting luggage in this manner is almost universal for travelers in Japan. Sidewalks, subways and busses are simply too crowded to carry bulky luggage.
Step Eight: Departure for Orientation Hotel Once several students have arrived, an IES Abroad staff and student volunteers will escort the group to the orientation hotel located in Kaihin Makuhari. It takes about 40 minutes, by bus, from the Narita airport. Students will be responsible for the ¥1,100 bus fare. We will be using the OVTA (Overseas Vocational Training Association) complex this semester for our orientation lodging, morning meals and the various orientation sessions.
Step Nine: Dinner & Free Time! After you have checked into the orientation facility (Overseas Vocational Training Association), there is a welcome dimmer planned for that night from 7:00p.m to 9:00p.m. Also, Makuhari is a fabulous city! Enjoy your evening and remember your Japanese language learning starts now!
Step Ten: You have arrived! For the next few days, we have planned a welcome orientation so you can get to know one another, learn about the semester events and get ready for life in Japan. In order to make this a smooth and effective orientation, we ask that you follow the schedule as planned and attend punctually all sessions. Have a good night's sleep and see you first thing in the morning!
Arriving after 6:00pm? Don't panic! It is simple to go to the orientation hotel (OVTA) on your own. There is a money exchange counter at the airport in each terminal. Also, please give one of the Center Staff a call to let us know that you have arrived. After you enter the arrival lobby with your luggage, walk over to the Keisei Limousine Bus (京成バ ス) counter and purchase a ticket (¥1,100) bound for Kaihin Makuhari Station (海浜幕張駅). The sales clerk will give you a ticket and tell you the stand number from which the bus departs. (They can speak English!) The attendants will stow your luggage on the bus, so sit back and relax during the ride to Kaihin Makuhari (It takes about 40 minutes). Don’t forget to change money and send your excess luggage ahead!
After 6:00p.m. buses depart from Terminal 1 and 2 at the following times:
Once you arrive at Kaihin Makuhari Station, you will see OVTA from the bus stop. It is a tall white building located to the right side of Carrefour supermarket. This is not a typical hotel, but a study/training center. Simply, walk around the Makuhari Amuse Mall (a cinema/ restaurant complex) and you’ll see OVTA directly in front of you. Just go in and announce your arrival at the desk as a student with the IES Abroad Tokyo Program. The walk from the bus stop should take less than five minutes.
Arriving Early?
If you are planning to arrive early into Japan you should have already made arrangements to meet the Center Staff at either the Narita airport or the OVTA facility on the arrival date. Unfortunately, the IES Abroad Tokyo Center cannot arrange for you to check into OVTA earlier than the scheduled arrival date but if you let us know ahead of time, we can arrange a room for you at a nearby hotel.
Arriving into Tokyo’s Haneda Airport? (羽田空港??)
If your airline is flying into Haneda Airport, please be sure to let IES Abroad know right away if you haven’t already indicated this on your arrival form. Getting to Kaihin Makuhari and eventually to the OVTA is very easy. The Keisei Limousine Bus Service also operates direct bus shuttles to Kaihin Makuhari station each hour for ¥1,120 yen.
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