I am a Chinese citizen and I have a US visa. When going back to China, I have a long layover (about 20 hours) in Narita and I have to stay overnight there. Do I need a transit visa? I am now in San Jose, California.
Also, could I go to Narita terminal 2 from terminal 1 as my flight will be arriving to the terminal 1? However, there is only a capsule hotel in terminal 2.
Many thanks!
It is possible to move between terminals airside at Narita, provided that you have a connecting flight at another terminal. That said, I don't think the said hotel (Nine Hours Narita) is located airside, so you will need to enter Japan anyways. There are no airside hotels in Narita.
It is possible for you to get a shore pass, which will allow you to enter Japan for at most 72 hours before carrying on with your travel. However, since this is not guaranteed and the denial of shore pass requests is not unheard of, there is a chance of you not being boarded without a transit visa. So, yes, you'd have to either get a visa, or change your itinerary such that it does not include such a long layover.
However, I assume that you are a resident of the United States. If that is the case, you are eligible to apply for a e-visa for tourism (*) online, which may be more convenient than applying for a transit visa. The documentation required are roughly the same.
(*) Yes, you are mainly just transiting through Japan. But since you have a layover of 20 hours, I assume you'd be doing something so that will constitute tourism.
