I agree. Narita is in the middle of nowhere. It’s a 1.5-hour trip to Tokyo.
As for rail tickets - the JR Pass (is that the $220 pass?) is a good deal if you’re travelling long distances. It’s a waste of money if you’re just staying in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It’s difficult to spend that much on public transport in the Tokyo area in a week. Also, I believe the JR pass just covers JR lines, and not the Tokyo Metro , Tokyu, or other commuter rail companies.
Instead, just get a Suica card and put several thousand yen on it. It’ll work for all subways and commuter rail (there are many companies besides JR and Tokyo Metro). It’ll also work for city buses. It’ll even work on vending machines at train stations.
Though, technically, this is no different from just buying tickets at full price for each train. It just gives you the advantage of not having to stand in line to buy the ticket (or figuring out the display.)
That’s what I did the first few days of my first visit to Tokyo. It really does work. Of course, it’s obvious from my appearance that I am not Japanese.
Point taken, I guess I should have emphasized that. Still, it’s a huge convenience and time saver. Without the Suica, each time you take a train, you’d have to figure out the cost of the trip and buy a ticket for that exact amount.
If you can manage it, get a hotel in Shinjuku–the station there is where pretty much every line transfers through. That’s where my mom stayed when she came to visit me, and it was very reasonably priced, IIRC.
As for the mechanics of actually buying tickets, you will look at a map at your current location, find where you’d like to go, and remember the amount listed by it. (IIRC, there will be both an alphabetized list of names and a map display.) You then purchase a ticket for that amount at a kiosk–and these **do **have the option of English instructions. You use the ticket to get in through the gate at your departure station (picking the ticket up after it’s been scanned), and then you use it again to exit at your destination (where you don’t get it back again, assuming it was just the full fare). If you’re really confused, you can just buy the cheapest ticket and then adjust it at a kiosk once you reach your destination.
The only confusing thing is that some maps at smaller stations do not have station names in English. But, again, if you’re really confused, just buy the cheapest ticket, and then if you’re not sure which track to go to, stand around looking confused until someone helps you (or politely ask likely-looking people).
Yup, the Yamanote line makes a big circle around the city–I think it actually follows the old moat-thing.
I spent a semester in Tokyo my junior year of college–I was there for a little over four months. I rode the JR constantly, and took the subway maybe once.
There are many touristy areas and shopping areas which are far from JR stations, but serviced by Metro stations. Asakusa, Ginza, Roppongi, etc.
The area inside the Yamanote line is basically the Tokyo downtown area. See the Metro map (PDF) here; the gray dashed line connecting Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo, Ueno, etc is the Yamanote line. Within this area, apart from the Yamanote line itself, JR only has one other line that goes straight across from Shinjuku to Tokyo.
Thanks Giles!
I chose this name because it’s an actual company name, and because, you know, it has the word kinki in thar. And I’m easily amused. ahem.
And to get us back on topic, Meeko, my offer of an icy-cold Asahi Super Dry/tea etc., still stands. See you in Shinjuku!
If you mean compared to the JR pass, the downside is that you’re still paying full price for the tickets, which may or may not be less than the cost of the JR pass. But as I said, it’ll probably be less, if you aren’t traveling to other cities.
Compared to buying tickets with cash every time? I guess the downside is that you miss out on the experience of figuring out ticket prices and buying tickets. And of course you have to put a certain amount of money on the card up front. And you have to go to the trouble of getting the refund at the end of the trip.
