Tokyo Travel Tips

With so many modes of transport to choose from, navigating your way through Tokyo can be a daunting task. We’ve put together our top travelling tips, to assist you with planning your trip.

By air

Tokyo has two major airports:

Narita Airport handles the majority of international flights and a small number of domestic flights. It is located 60 kilometres outside of central Tokyo.
Haneda Airport is more centrally located and handles a smaller number of international flights and the majority of domestic flights.

Access to central Tokyo from both airports

Public transport

To use public transport in Japan, tourists can purchase the Suica Card. This prepaid smartcard works through tapping the card against card readers when entering and exiting the station or bus`. The Suica Card can be used for all travels via the subway, busses, local trains and taxis. It cannot be used for travelling by express trains, long distance busses, airport shuttles and bullet trains.

Using a smartphone app makes navigating the train system that much easier. Please click the link to download the NAVITIME for JapanTravel app for Android or iOS.

Bullet train (Shinkansen)

Most Shinkansen lines lead to Tokyo. The trip to Osaka/Kyoto takes about three hours. There are also direct trains to and from Kyushu, Kanazawa, Niigata and various destinations in the Tohoku Region and Hokkaido.

Inner-city Public Transport

Tokyo is has a dense network of train, subway and bus lines, which are operated by about a dozen different companies. The train lines operated by JR East and the subway lines are most convenient for moving around central Tokyo.

	Yamanote Line (light green) – Circle line that connects all major city centres.
	Keihin-Tohoku Line (light blue) – Runs parallel to the Yamanote Line on the eastern half of the circle.
	Chuo/Sobu Line (Local) (yellow) – Runs across the Yamanote circle (local slow service).
	Chuo Line (Rapid) (orange) – Runs across the Yamanote circle (rapid service). It connects Tokyo Station with Shinjuku Station.
	Saikyo Line (dark green) – Runs parallel to the Yamanote Line on the western half of the circle. From Osaki Station, some trains continue running along the Rinkai Line in the direction of Odaiba.
	Shinkansen (Bullet Train) (red) – Tokaido Shinkansen trains stop at Tokyo and Shinagawa, while bullet trains to the north stop at Tokyo and Ueno.

Subways

Tokyo’s subway network is operated by two companies, the Toei Subways, which operates four lines, and Tokyo Metro, which operates nine lines. Together, they cover central Tokyo, especially the area inside the Yamanote circle and the areas around Ginza and Shitamachi.