Originally Posted by
drop24
If you're going to need to use public transport perhaps it's better to live in Tokyo than a house in rural Chiba. How often are you doing min rest layovers in Narita? If you lived 90 minutes away by train in Tokyo would the 3 hours you lose to commuting be a factor in missing out on sleep?
Not sure what you mean by "Rural Chiba" If you want to move by a bamboo forest, that is up to you but most of us have apartments 5 to 20 minutes walk from Narita station and from there is a 12 minutes train ride to the airport.
The majority of folks have apartments in Narita, a few stay at the hotel here in Narita and a few others live in different parts of Tokyo. All have their pros & cons, living at an apartment in Narita seems to be the best overall option, the cost is fair (for Japan) close to the station and the airport, supermarkets, restaurants..., but it is a little boring since it is a small town. You do get a taxi to pick you up for the late night flights but outside of that you need to get to the airport, not that far nor difficult.
Living in Tokyo is definitely a lot more fun with many options as to what to do and where to eat but it comes at a price, everything from rent, electricity, gas, is more expensive in the city and it will take you from one to two hours to get to work depending on where you live, and the cheapest option will run you ¥3000 round trip. Also be mindful that your base is Narita, guys are having the taxis not picking them up at their apartments in Tokyo for late night flights and that means that you will have to leave your apartment early to head to the airport.
If you do a day trip with a 9am show that finish at 8 PM for example, you need to add at least 3 hours round trip to that for commute, but on a blank day, you are in Tokyo !