Job Discussion Forums

[Bread]

I never knew that trains could be so confusing! I'm even a little confused now. For one thing, that website is vaguely confusing, I think Jorudan is easier to follow:

http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/

If you're transferring between JR, you don't exit the ticket gate. They're all together in the same area. If you're transferring between Tokyo Metro (or Toei subway? I've only taken it a couple times), you will have to exit a ticket gate, but probably not exit the station. Tokyo Metro has a colored circle logo with a letter inside, different color and letter for each line. Just follow the signs.

If you're transferring between any of those three things to one of the others, you're gonna have to get out of the ticket gate and look for signs to the proper station, because they're usually separate but attached to each other. The signs are almost always hitting you in the face as you exit the ticket gates.

Big stations (at least the big Yamanote stations) will have a special ticket machine in the middle of the others that is only for buying Suica cards. Suica is the thing with the penguin that you've seen everywhere. Just go ahead and get it so you don't confuse yourself even further with ticket prices. Stick it in ANY regular ticket machine with a card slot to put money on it. As far as I know, every station in Tokyo accepts it. Be careful going to the countryside, because some stations don't have it.

Prices are only based on distance for normal trains. You can ride around all day on local, rapid, whatever, you can cross half of Japan, but if you come back without exiting any ticket gates to one station away from your starting station, you're gonna pay 210 yen.

Trains that need a special ticket:
Limited express (they look all fancy with individual seats with food trays just like airplane seats)
Stupid airport train thing
Some long-distance regular trains will have a special "green car" that needs a special ticket. It's green. You won't miss it.
THAT'S IT

There's a million names for kinds of trains that sound like they're going to cost more, but they don't. Rapid rabbit? What the hell is that? Whatever, it's not a limited express so let's go! It's almost impossible to get on a ticketed train by accident.

Shinkansen has its own section of the station with hardcore ticket gates and ticket windows platforms and guards watching the ticket gate. You are NOT going to get on a shinkansen by accident. It's way, way different.

I hope that's all fairly clear. Did I miss anything?

[ShioriEigoKyoushi]

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[mspxlation]

Just don't panic.

I suggest buying the Tokyo City Atlas, which is slightly out of date, but the train and subway lines are basically the same, unless they've added a new one since 2007. (And maybe they have, for all I know, but it's probably a line you don't have to worry about yet.)

Inside the front cover is a schematic diagram of the entire metropolitan Tokyo-Chiba-Yokohama rail transit system.

Go to the next page, which has the subway system, each line a different color, with thinner black lines indicating the JR lines.

If you don't have a Suica or Pasmo card, buy one as soon as you can.

If you get lost, don't worry. Everyone in Tokyo gets lost, including long-time residents who find themselves in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

If you get lost, ask the nearest foreigner for help. These days, there are a lot of foreigners in Tokyo (as opposed to the first time I went there, 1977, when foreigners were so scarce that if I met another non-Japanese on the street, we'd stop and talk).

If there are no foreigners, ask a young person, who is more likely to remember his or her English. If you can't even find a young person, try writing your question in block letters. Everyone under the age of about 70 has had some English in school, and even if they never learned to speak, they can usually read a little bit.

You will find that Japanese, on the whole, are very kind to lost and confused foreigners.

Don't panic. Take one thing at a time. Learn each thing as you need to.

[lenoreelux]

When ever I was lost or needed directions, I stopped at a police box and almost all of them speak English. Police boxes are everywhere in Tokyo.

[wayne432]

I'll echo what was said above that pretty much all foreigners make a mistake with trains at some point.
But it's not only foreigners, I know Japanese people who have come from out-of-town that I have gotten lost using the Tokyo train system. They feel especially embarrassed when I end up giving them directions

[mushroomyakuza]

Right, in an attempt to reply to several of you at once...

Glenski:

Thanks for the links. Your explanation about the Tokyo Metro and the subway lines DID help quite a lot. If I've understood correctly, both the Metro and the Toei lines are all subways, but have two different and rather confusing names (to me anyway) because they're owned by two different companies. Is that right?

msplaxtion:

Any idea where I could find aforementioned book? Within Tokyo, obviously.

Bread:

Thank you for the info, and the link t Jordudan - I already find it easier to use than Hyperdia. Thanks for explaining that I can venture across all Japan but only pay when I actually exit. I kind of like and dislike this - reason being, if I want to go to Shinjuku for example from Nippori, this costs about 190 yen, but going from Shinjuku to Harajuku, which isn't much further, costs me an extra 130 yen. Is there anyway to buy a ticket for say Harajuku, but be able to get off and wonder for a bit at Shinjuku, without having to pay twice? Obviously there places are just examples.

For all:

Right, yesterday I was a little overwhelmed by it all, but just thought "Sod this, I'm going". So I did. I have no idea why hyperdia told me to go back to Ueno in order to get to Minamiurawa, and there was no need to. I took the Keihin-Tohoku (light blue) line to Minamiurawa with no problem, then got the Musashino line to Higashiurawa. I even managed to find my apartment after several "sumimasen, doku des ka?"'s. As someone else mentioned, the police were very helpful with directions, and even printed a map for me.

Now that some of the confusion is out of the way, two more questions, one specifically for Shiori, as I think you work (or did work at least) for Shane - is getting reimbursed for my travel expenses easy? At the moment I have a suica card - do I need to get receipts for each of my journeys? Obviously travel money is a fair chunk of my salary, so it's important I get this sorted ASAP. BTW if anyone else can answer this question, feel free, I just asked Shiori because I'm sure she's mentioned working for Shane before.

Second question is, on Tuesday I need to take the Musashino line east to Funabashi and then change there for the Metro Tozai line heading to Kasai - is the station well sign-posted etc for finding the Metro? I'm sure it is, but as a precaution, I thought I'd better ask. I don't want to be late or lost on my first day.

On a completely different note, does anyone know Shane's policy on beards? I'm rather fond of mine, you see, as I think it makes me look older and gives me more credibility, but I have a feeling they'll want me to chop it off.

Responses sooner rather than later would be really good if possible, as I'm moving tomorrow and as forewarned, my internet at my apartment may not be up for a few days.

Thanks again all.

[ShioriEigoKyoushi]

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[mushroomyakuza]

Shiori,

thanks, I think I'd better chop it just to be on the safe side and try to regrow it later, although my friend who works at GABA told me they're not against him having a beard, but they don't want him to grow one! Seems ludicrous, as basically they want a beard overnight or not at all. I wonder if Shane will be the same. When I met the TA staff at the airport, I asked her about it then and she said it should go, as it looks "clean". BTW which head office are you based at?

And thanks for the travel reimbursement info.

[Glenski]

[gaijinalways]

Glenski posted

[wayne432]

Bottom line is... I don't think there's much need to stress over the trains.