Diane Olsen reports:
Narita View Hotel now has its own indoor/outdoor onsen, which is in the hotel. You can get there by taking the free shuttle bus to the hotel and then asking at the front desk.
The shuttle take 10-20 minutes to get you from the bus stop in front of the terminal to the front door of the hotel. Or you can take the short (under ten minute) taxi over there for 1520 yen. (I taxied over there and took the shuttle back to NRT Terminal 1.)
Sadly, there’s no information about the onsen itself in English. And the hotel staff only speak limited English (though they’re quite friendly and helpful). But it’s open from noon to midnight and is open to anyone who’s old enough to be out of diapers. (Many onsen don’t allow children, so this is great for parents!)
Admission is nominally 1500 yen for adults, 750 yen for young children. Add another 200 yen to rent a bath towel. But if you click the “プリントアウトする” button on the facilities page, you’ll get a coupon that reduces that to 1000 yen (800 yen between 2pm and 5pm).
I think this is a real find. While I’ve heard of the existence of at least 2 onsen in Narita City, I think this place easily beats either of them for convenience. I only had 4 hours to kill at NRT, and I managed to soak for an entire hour and grab a quick chirashi-zushi (a great dish to order if you’re in a hurry) lunch at the hotel.
The Yamato no Yu Hot Spring is a short train ride plus a short walk from downtown Narita. Take the JR Narita line from the JR Narita station to Shimousa Manzaki station (5 minutes). From there it's a fifteen minute walk to the hot spring. Yamato no Yu Hot Spring has an excellent web site with detailed maps.
According to contributor Dena Roberts:
"I would note that once you get to the train station the map on the website was not very easy to follow. I ended up asking 2 people directions. If someone is less adventurous, I would suggest that they take a cab from the airport.
"But, the hot spring was very nice. There was a sauna and the hot springs were located in outside and inside areas. It was separated from men and women and had a steady flow of people on Monday morning.
"After hot-spring-ing, one can east sushi or other traditional Japanese dishes on the property.
"The staff did not speak English and there were not menus in English, but I was able to navigate the area very well because everyone was very friendly and accommodating."
