Getting Around Tokyo: Transport Guide

There are a number of alternatives when it comes to making your way around Tokyo.  Surprisingly enough, considering the sheer size of the city, it isn’t difficult to get around.

Renting a car is easy – there are many car rental companies and travel agents or your hotel can help you with this. You need an international driver's permit or the driving license issued by your country authorities, which must be valid in Japan. Taxis are easily available but frightfully expensive.

The locals and most visitors use the  subway- its fast, efficient and reliable, though it can get terrifyingly crowded in the mornings and evenings when the office crowd takes trains to and from work. All the trains are colour-coded, and nearly all stations have signs in English, so you won't be lost. If you are going to travel a lot you can buy a Tokyo Combination Ticket, which is a day pass that can be used on all subway lines, JR lines and bus lines.  Buses are very confusing for a non-native – be warned.

The other good way of moving around Tokyo is by the suijo-basu (river bus- double decker boats which travel on the Sumida-gawa river). At one time, the river was the main way of getting from one part of Tokyo to another; there’s less traffic on it now, but it’s still an interesting mode of transport.