Enough time to go to Tokyo?

Hello,

I am staying in a Narita hotel upon arrival to Japan at 14:30 JST.

I must check into the hotel and drop off luggage, but would I have time to take a train or bus into Tokyo and have dinner or sightsee?

I read that the trains close around 23:00. Would I be able to take a bus back to the hotel? Is it safe for a single woman to do this?

Is it best to just stay in Narita?

Any help would be appreciated!

Arigatou!

Which hotel. What time do you expect to be there and checked in. How often does their airport shuttle service run and how quickly could you get back to the train station at the airport (remember to take your passport as you will need it to get in to the airport)
Or are you actually staying in Narita.
If you ar near the airport getting back out there late at night would require a bucketload of confidence just to make the train changes required. Getting to Narita town can be achieved a little later ( about 2357 out of Tokyo ) but again requires a number of service changes. It is relatively safe but for a first timer I would suggest a very daunting task late at night. And a particularly daunting task if you actually have to change carriers and walk to another station such as Funabashi to Keiseifunabashi.
Dinner and sightseeing in Narita town may prove to be far more relaxing.

I must check into the hotel and drop off luggage, but would I have time to take a train or bus into Tokyo and have dinner or sightsee?
-- Trains are more frequent than buses are. So, you may take the train. Dinner should be OK, assuming your dinner is at 18:00 somewhere in central Tokyo.

I read that the trains close around 23:00. Would I be able to take a bus back to the hotel? Is it safe for a single woman to do this?
-- That's right. You may not catch one after 23:00 (except central Tokyo trains, they run until around midnight). You wont be able to catch a bus back to hotel, coz bus service stops earlier than the train service. It is safe for a single woman to avail public transport (excluding taxi though) even late at night. But please be advised that if you are in a dangerous/wrong place at a dangerous/wrong time, you are to get into trouble anywhere in the world!

Is it best to just stay in Narita?
-- If I were in your shoes, I would have prefered staying at Narita and explore the locality a bit and acclimatizing to new environment.

FYI, a rough schedule of various transports from central Tokyo to Narita/Airport is as given below:

Keisei Line leaves Nippori Sation at 23:00 (Briefly stops at Narita enroute to Airport)
Narita Express leaves Tokyo Station at 20:00 (non stop to Airport, you need to take a bus or taxi or shuttle service provided by your hotel, if any, to get back to your hotel)
Skyliner leaves Ueno Station at 22:00 (same as above)
Limousine Bus leaves Shinjuku Station (West side) at 18:00 (same as above)