I’m just another foreigner living in Japan. I live in South Tokyo just outside of the huge ex-pat community. I hope that what you find here in these pages will be useful, informative, entertaining, or some combination of the three. And, if you have anything you’d like to share, feel free. I, for one, enjoy learning new things and hope to learn something from everyone who has something they want to share here. So come on in, browse, and share.
Getting Around in Tokyo
A train station employee
does his best to cram commuters into an already overcrowded train
With train lines extending to almost every region of the greater Tokyo/Yokohama area, you won’t find too many places you can’t go. The Yamanote Line (山手線) is a loop line that circles downtown Tokyo and has stops at every major station here including Shinjuku (新宿), Shibuya (渋谷), Ikebukuro (池袋), Ueno (上野), and Tokyo (東京). The Tokyo Metro subway lines keep most places in Tokyo connected to others by train, but there’s still a nice bus system to take you to places that aren’t as near to a train station as you would like them to be. Also, Japan’s trains are world-famous for being on time. Occasionally, a suicide jumper will put trains behind schedule, but such is life in Tokyo.
Making sense out of the Tokyo Metro subway and local train map can be difficult for even the most seasoned commuters. People who’ve lived or have been living in Tokyo for awhile often recommend to newcomers buying an unlimited all-day pass and just getting lost for a morning and an afternoon. I’m no exception and wholeheartedly agree with such a recommendation.
Click here for the infamous Tokyo Metro subway map. It’s not always available in English.
These days more and more people are foregoing the train ticket vending machines and using either Suica or Pasmo cards. These cards have IC chips inside them and allow users to just scan the card at the station turnstiles for quick access to trains. Suica is mostly for the JR (Japan Railways) lines, but can be used on some of the other ones. Pasmo is newer (March 18th of this year was the first day of availability) and can be used on almost all lines and even buses, making commuting a practically ticketless experience. Those who’ve been late and have had to wait in ticket machine lines for each line transfer will understand just how convenient Pasmo is, especially if he or she has stood by helplessly while various old farts took up all the machines trying in vain to understand how to use them while making somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of Tokyo commuters late for work or other appointments. Unfortunately, as of this writing new Pasmo cards are unavailable for purchase. They proved to be more popular than anyone expected and sold out within a week. They’ll be available again in August. I’m glad I bought mine on the first day.
