A first timers guide to Tokyo’s public transport
Getting around Tokyo can be an exhausting experience as the stations are vast, the lines never-ending, and if you have to think about tickets, it can be overwhelming. Like other cities, Tokyo offers an easy way how to travel around. Let’s look closer at the transportation in this fantastic city and how we got around.
How to Get Around Tokyo
First, know that Tokyo is covered by a dense network of train, subway, and bus lines, which are operated by about a dozen different companies.
The JR Yamanote Line is Tokyo’s most famous train line, which will get you everywhere.
You will find in Tokyo 13 subway lines operated by two companies and run primarily inside the Yamanote circle and the areas around Ginza.
Toei, with four lines, and Tokyo Metro, with nine lines, operate Tokyo’s subway network.
Besides JR East and the two subway companies, most other railway companies connect Tokyo with the metropolis’ outer regions and surrounding prefectures. Their lines typically start at one of the stations of the JR Yamanote Line.
What is the best way of getting around Tokyo?
From our experience, subways and trains are the best way to get around Tokyo. Taxis are excellent but rather expensive. A prepaid Suica or Pasmo card is the best way to pay for transport.
Passes and Tickets for Transportation in Tokyo
Prepaid cards (or stored-value cards, smart cards, or internal chip/IC cards) are huge in Japan. A variety of day passes are available. We expect you won’t be in Tokyo for one day only; a prepaid card is right for you.
And the one-day passes are usually overpriced and not very practical because they only cover some of Tokyo’s train and subway lines.
As said, we recommend getting a prepaid IC card which is incredibly convenient. Prepaid cards don’t give you any discounts over single tickets, but they provide convenience as you can ride virtually any train or bus in Tokyo. Buy one as soon as you can!
Where can you use the prepaid cards?
- You can use Pasmo/Suica for all Tokyo trains, subways, and buses.
- You can also use Pasmo/Suica at many shops, especially convenience stores.
- You can use Pasmo/Suica in other parts of Japan as well.
Where to buy the prepaid cards?
- Buy Pasmo at subway stations in Tokyo or at Narita/Haneda airport train stations.
- Buy Suica at JR stations in Tokyo or at Narita/Haneda train stations.
As you guessed, two types of IC cards are available for purchase in Tokyo:
- Suica cards at JR stations
- Pasmo cards at non-JR stations
Suica is issued by JR East (one of Japan’s main train companies), and Pasmo is issued by a consortium of private transport companies in east Japan.
Cost of an IC Card in Tokyo
You can buy one for as little as Y1,000 (adult/child). This includes a Y500 deposit. Before you leave Japan, you can bring the used card to a ticket office, and they will refund the deposit minus a small service charge. But of course, if you buy a Suica card as we did, you will want to keep it.
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Suica Card Experience
As you can guess, we bought the Suica Card for apparent reasons. You can buy a Suica card online for pickup at the airport.
Or download the app and buy a card directly there.
We bought our card at Ueno Station, and it was a straightforward process. You even have the option to engrave it with your name, which we did and kept as a souvenir or to be used on our next visit.
The Suica is a prepaid e-money card for moving around and shopping. You can use it to pay for things with e-money – buy soft drinks and coffee from vending machines and on the train. Even buy a newspaper at the station kiosk without fiddling for coins. For traveling in Japan, the Suica makes a more pleasant trip.
| Adults | Children |
| 1,000yen | 1,000yen |
| 2,000yen | 2,000yen |
| 3,000yen | 3,000yen |
| 4,000yen | 4,000yen |
| 5,000yen | 5,000yen |
| 10,000yen | 10,000yen |
Prices include a deposit of 500 yen. The difference between the adult’s and child’s cards is the amount deducted when using transportation.
The Suica can be loaded and used as many times as desired. You can load it up to a maximum of 20,000 yen. For the loading, you can use Automatic Ticket Vending Machines and Fare Adjustment Machines displaying the Suica mark. Only yen may be used to load a card, and you can not load your Suica Card with a credit card.
How does the card work?
- Touch the Suica card to the reader at the ticket gate when out and about. There is no need to purchase a ticket from a vending machine.
- The fare is automatically calculated at the station where you get off.
- However, if the balance is insufficient, you will need to add more money to your Suica.
