Shopping In Tokyo

You are about to enter the Ginza Line at Asakusa Station, G19

• signage on the station entrance



• signage inside the station

  

  Track 3 at T(Tozai Line)10 stop (Nihombashi) which will take you to stops T11 through T23

• train map stations are coloured & numbered



Track 4 at T(Tozai Line)10 stop (Nihombashi) which will take you to stops T01 through T09

• you will always know where you’re going (and where you are)



Apart from giving you a general idea, I’ve noticed some discrepencies in the use of these maps which are found on the train platforms

• signage on the platforms



These placards are often found along the train walls so when the train is stopped, you know where you are

• signage on the platform walls

These placards are found on posts in the train platforms near the trains themselves, again, so you know where you are from inside the train

Introduction

The most efficient means of getting around Tokyo is by train. The Tokyo train system is highly efficient and politically the most complex system in the world (I wager). How do the politics and economics of a train system affect you? You have three major players, and they all have different train lines, and some you can buy ticket upgrades for when transferring from one company line to another and sometimes not. And then there are the smaller, independently owned lines. Headache inducing? Can be. But you’ll likely be using the main JR lines and some of the Toei lines, so I wouldn’t worry too much.  As time marches on, they’ve integrated much better and are friendlier.

Important Note: Once you get off the major train lines, you will no longer have any Romaji or English to work from.  In other words, all the maps and stops in the stations and along the minor train lines are in Japanese characters only!  I do not say this to dissuade you from using these lines, because they are fun and often quicker (depending on where you want to go), but learning how to read the maps is vital.

Japan-Guide’s Taking the train in Japan is a great overview of the entire train system in Japan.

Here’s a nice big pdf of the Tokyo metro subway system.  This does not include a good map of the JR Line, however.

This is a great outline of the JR Yamanote Line, which is what you’ll likely be riding most often.

You may also wish to visit the Toei and Tokyo Metro Subway websites to get a sense of how it all works. This site is great as it has sections on how to ride the train and purchase tickets.

A day pass is the only thing I can suggest if you plan on travelling a lot in one day – but remember that a day pass is only good for that company’s lines, not all lines. So plan your trip accordingly and you may find it cheaper just to pay as you travel. Depending on the day, I usually use the train only twice in one day or four times (or more) when doing some major sight seeing. You will walk a lot and Tokyo is the greatest stair climber in the world. You will lose weight and you will be fitter than when you arrived.

JR train to Harajuku

Prices & Cards

Each trip on the train will cost you about ¥150 to ¥190, depending on the distance. The process is fairly simple. You go to the train station, look at a map and determine your price, pay the machine and receive a ticket. You head to your platform, using the ticket in the turn style to give you access – take your ticket with you! You do not relinquish your ticket until you leave on the other end. And yes, you’ll need your ticket to get out of the station. Don’t lose it.

In the map below you can see that you are in Ikebukuro.  And it’s in Western characters (again, this is not a luxury at all stations).  If I want to stay on the main JR Line (lime green circle) and go to Shibuya, it will cost me ¥160.  If, on the other hand, I want to go to Kita-Senju via the Chiyoda Line (dark green), transferring at Nippori station, this will cost me ¥210.  You buy a ticket for those amounts and that ticket will permit you passage to those distances.  If you overshoot and go too far, you’ll need to pay an add fare upon exit.  If you try and exit with your ticket and the doors or turnstyle will not let you pass, then you need an add fare — get out of the way fast, move to the side and look for a manned booth to pay what is necessary for your exit.

Fare calculation map at Ikebukuro station

The JR lines provide you with a Suica card which you top up at any JR line kiosk.  You will likely use the JR lines the most so Suica makes sense — and the penguin logo is cute.

The Tokyo Metro lines provide you with a Pasmo card which you top up at any Tokyo Metro line kiosk.

Now, you can use the Suica card on the Tokyo Metro lines and the Pasmo card on the JR lines (see, the big boys can play nice together).  However, you cannot top up your Suica card at a Tokyo Metro line kiosk nor can you top up your Pasmo card at a JR line kiosk.

I encourage everyone to learn how to use the trains via tickets.  Why?  If you end up far far away on the outskirts of Tokyo where either your Suica pass doesn’t work or it runs out of money, you will need to know how to purchase a regular ticket.  This was my only issue — I was off the beaten path so far with a Suica card I couldn’t top up anywhere, so it took me a few moments to remember how to buy a normal ticket without knowing any Japanese.

So… get a Suica card, but also learn how to buy tickets.

Hours & Rush Hour

Trains generally operate from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.  I always thought it so odd that they stopped running so early, but this is why you see so many salarymen sleeping inside the train stations in the wee hours of the morning (complete with shoes off and briefcases next to them).

The rush hour for the train is from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

If you have a disability where you need to be seated, do not ride the subway during these times. The seats are raised to accommodate more passengers during rush hour.

Station Identification

Train Line Legend from the Tokyo City Atlas

Each station has a letter (designating the line name) and a number (the station number along that line).  Scrolling up to the top of this page you will see that Asakusa Station has an orange circled G19 — Ginza Line, station number 19 along that line.  This helps if you are outside.

A Ginza Line Area (Ginza is the orange line in the book too)

However, if you are “lost” inside a station, look on the walls and you should see a similar placard.  Scroll back up and you will see an orange circled G16.  Ginza Line, station number 16 and according to The Bible (Tokyo City Atlas), G16 is Ueno. Alright, you know where you are.

Scroll back up and have a look at the red placard with 05 Kita-Senju, 04 Minami-Senju and 06 Aoi.  Does the colour red match anything?  Hell, no.  And where are the letters that tell me which line I am on?  Oh dear, I must be a little off the beaten path.  I’m actually one stop away from getting right out of Tokyo!  But no need to panic.  Some detective work with my Tokyo City Atlas tells me absolutely nothing!  LOL  In fact, I’m scratching my head right about now trying to suss this one out.  Okay, time to panic.  Not really — I’ll just wander around until I get on the Hibiya Line from Kita-Senju station and head back into Tokyo proper.  On the other hand, there could be an adventure ahead.  Clearly I was taking some independently owned trains at this point.  Moral of the story:  even if you don’t really know where you are, you still know where you are!

Tokyo City Atlas Kita-Senju Station

Which Way Do I Go?

Okay, so we know where we are.  Where do you want to go?  From a map on your person, preferably the Tokyo City Atlas, get yourself oriented for starting and ending points.  Do you have any transfers to make?  Take things one step at a time.  Know where you need to get off, where to transfer to, and so on.  But which direction you go in should be pretty simple to follow (unless, of course, there are no Romaji or English characters — then it’s time to play match the Kanji).

Tokyo City Atlas Tozai Line Region

Scroll up to the two large blueish placards with the big numbers 3 and 4.  That would be track 3 and 4 each taking you to a series of T stations where T is Tozai.  And from the numbers you are at T10, Nihombashi.  You want to go to Kasai station on the Tozai line, which, according to the Tokyo City Atlas, is T17.  You can thus deduce you need to get yourself to track 3.

Not so difficult, ne?

The only time I have issues is when I’m way out and nothing is recognizable.  At that point I need to match characters to my map.  It’s not impossible to deal with, but I just need to focus.

Exiting the Station

This is not as easy as it may seem. You disembark the train onto a platform and you will likely wish to immediately locate a huge yellow exit & transfer map (centre of platform) that I believe was outsourced to some other country because the exits do not necessarily match the exits found on the train stations in the Tokyo City Atlas or anywhere else.  Actually, I suspect that the yellow exit & transfer maps and the outdoor landmark maps are created by the tourist bureau who are clearly not connected in any way with the city map and planning departments (or the mail carriers).  This theory is supported by the fact that no sane resident of Tokyo actually uses a map to find anything, and leaves such things as addresses to the mail carriers.  However, having said that, the yellow landmark maps can be moderately helpful at times.

A repeat from the top of this page, but worth noting — this is Shibuya station (one of the busiest in the world and with not much intel on the exits)

Some stations only have a couple of exits, in which case, if you take the wrong exit, it’s not a travesty to have to walk around the station.  On the other hand, Ikebukuro station has over 40 exits, Shinjuku station has several connecting stations and likely over 50 exits.  These stations span many blocks.  You really want to ensure you take the right exit.

I prefer finding the exit I need to take on the Tokyo City Atlas and then comes the painful process of matching landmarks to exits on the yellow exit & transfer map.  The problem is that the tourist bureau will only point out half the available exists and those exit numbers will not match the map you have.  Be prepared to do some mental translating.

Mostly, however, take your time.  I have no qualms with disembarking a train and heading straight for the centre of the platform where I will stand and orient myself before moving towards an exit.  It’s best to get it right the first time.  One wrong turn in Ikebukuro station had me lost for 15 minutes and that wasn’t even during my first trip!  I was mortified.