Tokyo's Train System, EXPLAINED

Listen, Tokyo is giant and the second you start thinking about getting around the city

you're hit with this. Yeah, I know, it looks crazy. But I promise this is totally manageable, you can do it

especially if you have a smartphone connected to the internet. We're going to go over some of the key concepts that make this world-class transportation system flow

so that you can navigate the city while you're in Tokyo. Luckily, there's some amazing tools on your smartphone

that can help you do this. And at the end of the day, you won't really be looking at this really complicated map very much

Something to note here is that Tokyo is not a driving city. There's certainly a lot of cars on the road

but for the most part, people get around on the really smart

public transportation system. This public transportation system runs on mainly trains, which are some of the most efficient

and on-time trains in the world. You will rarely wait a couple of minutes

for a train wherever you're going at any time of the day, which makes transiting through Tokyo

a very pleasant experience if you know how to do it. So like I said, smartphone's going to be your

best friend when using transportation in Tokyo. You can use Google Maps, which is what we prefer

It has real-time updates on when trains are coming, and it's just a very easy interface

Another app that's really useful is called Tokyo Subway, and even if you're not connected to the

internet, you can see route options on your phone while you're in Tokyo

Okay, so I told you we weren't going to be looking at this map a lot, and we won't be

But let's just use it really quick to get familiar with a few major concepts and symbols that govern this mass transit system

Tokyo is made up of a bunch of train lines that run throughout the city

Some of these lines are above ground, and some of them are below ground

Each line has a name and a color. So like the Ginza line is this orange colored line

It's represented by the letter G. Each stop along these lines has a number that goes up or down depending on which direction you're going

So the Ginza line starts over here in Shibuya. You can see that this is number one

The next station is number two. And then number three and number four

This goes all the way until the very end of the Ginza line, which is number 19 out here in Asakuza

Some stations will have these really useful little signs as you go down the stairs to the platform

that tell you what the station number is, in this case 16, and what direction this platform is going

In this case, the numbers are going up to 17, 18, and 19. We're trying to get to 19 right now, so I know that this is the right platform

Some stations have multiple lines that go through them, So you'll see multiple numbers to indicate where along the line that station lies

So like this station called Jimbocho is the sixth stop on the green line

and it's the tenth stop on the blue Mita line, and it's the seventh stop on the purple Hanazonmo line

Okay, so don't get caught up on the fact that there are multiple numbers per station

That's not important. What's really important is to know that as you move along these lines

the numbers will either grow if you're going this direction or shrink if you're going the

other direction. The reason why this numbering thing is so important is because, I don't know

about you, but for me it's really hard to memorize names in Japanese or any other language where the

pronunciation is totally different than anything I'm used to. So instead of remembering that you

have to get off at the Shirokanadai Takanawa station, you can just remember that you have to

get off at stop 3 when you're on the blue line. Same goes with the names of the lines

themselves. Instead of trying to memorize the Fuku Toshin line, just think of it as the

brown line. I'm sure the locals will laugh at you if you tell them you're thinking of

it this way but seriously save the brain space for learning to say words in Japanese that actually help your experience like arigato gozaimasu and konnichiwa The names of the subways will only cause you stress if you trying to memorize them

while you're on the train, zipping under the city, and you're not sure where to get off

Okay, so we've come to the moment where we're done looking at this map. We only looked at it for one reason, and that's to know that each line has a color

And each station along that line has a number that goes up and down depending on what direction you're going

This is the only information you really need to glean from this map. So let's talk about what it actually looks like to ride this train system

Often Google will tell you how to get to the train station, where to walk

but you can always find them by looking at the symbols. M symbol represents the underground train, the metro

and this train symbol represents the above ground train. They function exactly the same, and the card that you use is the same for both

You don't need to get too caught up in the above and below ground. They just have different symbols to indicate the different stations

Every once in a while, you'll have to change trains by exiting the below ground station

and going to an above ground station. But again, your app is going to tell you all of this, and so you don't have to worry too much

Once you walk into a train station, you're going to see these. These kiosks are really helpful

It's where you get this one card that will make your life in Tokyo much easier

It's the card that we use for all types of transit in the city. There are two types of kiosks

There are the kiosks where you can buy the card, and there are the kiosks where you can charge the card up with more money once the balance runs out

If you didn't already buy one of these cards in the airport, the thing you're looking for is this

There are two cards that do the exact same thing. So they just happen to be from two different companies

So there's no difference. You can either get a Suica with this cute little penguin, or you can get a Pasmo with this cool pink and gray color scheme

Totally up to you. So I follow the instructions to buy the card, and it will ask me how much money I want to put on the card

Now this will be a balance that I can use to ride the train

Every time I ride the train, I will tap in and tap out, and it will take away a certain amount of money depending on how far I went

If you're going to be in Tokyo for a few days, I recommend putting at least 2,000 yen, which is approximately 20 US dollars, to get you started

But if you're going to be there for 4 or 5 days or more, you might consider putting 5,000 yen on, which is around 50 US dollars, so that you don't have to go back and constantly recharge

Speaking of recharging, there are kiosks everywhere to charge your card once it gets down to a zero balance, which you can check every time you go in and out of these gates

it'll tell you how much is left on your card. To recharge, you simply put your card in

it asks you how much you want to put on, and you put the cash in and you're good to go

These machines only take cash, so be prepared for that. Just to buy the card, you actually put down

a deposit of 500 yen or 5 US dollars, but you can get that refunded when you go to an in-person

ticket office on your way out of town and get that money back. So you've put your 1,000 or 2,000

or 3,000 yen, whatever you decide to put on it, the card comes out, and now you've got

a Pasmo card, or a Suica card. These things are so useful, not just

for riding the trains, which they're very useful for that, but for many other things

too. Check this out. Yes, that's right

You can use this card and the balance you put on it at most

convenient stores, and even at some vending machines. It's amazing. It's like instant

You put it onto the little sensor and you've instantly checked out and you take your milk tea or sushi

or whatever you bought and you walk away. Oh, and last bonus, the taxis in Tokyo now accept

Pasmo and Suica cards. So you can use this for taxis. This thing is seriously amazing

So make sure to pick up one of these, put enough money on it and use it wherever you can

and you'll be amazed at how efficient it is. All right at this point I sure it still feeling overwhelming when you look at this map Don worry we are actually going to go on and ride the train and show you each step of the way so you know all of the concepts for riding from point A to point B on Tokyo metro system

We've been spending the day here in Shinjuku walking around these quiet neighborhoods

and we want to go into the center of Tokyo to Tokyo Station, which is like the dead center of the entire city

We could take a taxi, but we shouldn't. Don't take a taxi

This is not a driving city. This is a train city. This is one of the most efficient train systems on earth

and you should really learn to take advantage of it so that you can get throughout the city

in a seamless manner. So we're gonna show you how to do that. Get from Shinjuku to Tokyo Station

using the wonderful train system. Before we jump on the train, let me talk about a few ground rules

that you should keep in mind when getting around Tokyo. Number one, avoid the train during rush hour

Tokyo is a very, very big city. It's the most populous city on earth

and there are a lot of people who commute in and out of central Tokyo. Because of that, during rush hour, during peak times like 10 a.m. or 5 p.m.

kind of at the beginning and the end of the workday, you are going to have really, really, really busy crowds

So if you can avoid rush hour, do it. It's not the worst thing in the world, and if you have to ride during rush hour, that's totally fine

But as a general rule of thumb, you probably want to avoid peak times if you don't want to be crammed with a bunch of other people

Next, it's kind of customary and good manners to take off your backpack and put it at your feet

so that you're not inadvertently crowding other people out when you're on the metro. The other rules are pretty ubiquitous among any mass transit system around the world

like don't bring food onto the train, or if you see a disabled person or a pregnant woman, give up your seat

Things like that that are pretty intuitive, but definitely keep those in mind when you're riding the train here in Tokyo

Finally, we don't think that you have to memorize a ton of Japanese language terms to get around

but there are a few that are just particularly useful. And one of those is the word sumimasen

Sumimasen means excuse me or sorry or pardon me So when you're squeezing off a busy train and trying to get to the door

If you just say a polite sumimasen People will know that you're trying to get by and they'll move aside

So sumimasen, it's an important one It's one of a handful of phrases that we recommend you learn to kind of get around the city

So with those rules of thumb out of the way, let's actually start taking the train

I'm going to pull up my phone If you have internet, I suggest you use Google Maps

If you don't have internet, you can use the Tokyo Subway app, which is available offline

Either way, what you're going to do is type in the destination that you want to get to

In our case, that's Tokyo Station. I'm going to open up Google Maps and I'm going to type in Tokyo Station, which is our destination

And then I'm going to hit directions. If it's on driving or walking, I'm going to make sure that this train icon is selected

I'm seeing here that if I take the green line, which is JY, and then I transfer to the Chuo line, which is JC, I can get to Tokyo Station in 27 minutes

I'll have to do one little transfer. My whole itinerary is here laid out before me, and it tells me some pretty important information

The first really important piece of information that you have to look at when you're looking at your itinerary is the line that you're traveling

In this case, we're on this green line, which happens to be called the Yamanote line

You don't have to know that. It's just the green line. The other really important information is the word for

For means which direction the train is going, meaning what destination it's going towards

So in this case, for Shinjuku and Shibuya is the direction that it's going to be going

And the signs at the station are going to reflect that. Whoa, whoa, whoa

Hold on a second. important caveat here, which is that sometimes in the app and even on the signage in the metro

station, they're not going to use that word for and then the final destination of the direction

you're going. So I'm looking at this route right here that tells me that I'm going on this blue

line from station 25 to 27, and I'm taking the blue line towards Omiya. It's not saying for Omiya

which would be really nice if it did. It's just saying Omiya. This even though it seems kind of hidden is really important It always to the right of the line that you taking This really matters because if you get on the right line but going in the wrong direction

you're not going to end up where you want to be. So you need to look to the right of the line to see what direction the train is going

Sometimes it's followed by four. Oftentimes it's not. All right, back to Tokyo so we can see what this looks like

So when I get there, I can get to the green line and it can take me two different ways

I want to get on the platform that says for Shinjuku and Shibuya

That's really important. If you get on the wrong platform, you'll go the wrong way

It's going to have me take it for just one stop. I'm going to get off at Shinjuku Station

So from there, I can see that I walk to the Chuo line. I want to make sure that I'm on the platform that's going towards Tokyo Station

In this case, it just says Tokyo. And then I'm going to ride it for four stops, which is 13 minutes

And then I will have arrived at Tokyo Station. That whole journey will take me 27 minutes

one simple transfer. Let's go see what this looks like in real life. All right, so we're at the metro. We get into the entrance. We use our Pasmo or Suica card

to tap in, and now we're inside of the train station. So I'm looking for signs that say

just like my app told me, the green line for Shinjuku slash Soboya. Here it is

following the signs and going to the platform that it indicates. We're now on the platform

And we wait. You can look up at these really nice signs that tell you when the next train is

The train comes, we get onto the train, and we ride it, as my app tells me, for one stop to get off at Shinjuku

If you're into the numbers thing, like we explained earlier, I'm going from station 16 to station 17

One stop. We're at Shinjuku. It's time to get off. We get off the train, and now, according to our app, we need to find this Chuo line

Luckily, the signs that point you where to go are everywhere. And there it is

We're going to the Chuo line for Tokyo Station. The other thing you can look out for on your app is the platform number

If that's easier than looking for the line and the destination. It just says platform 8

And so I'm just following the signs to platform 8, which is right here

And that might be an easier way to find the next train that you're supposed to transfer to

So let's head up to the platform right behind me. Okay, so I'm on the platform

I know I'm in the right place because the orange line or the Chuo line

the sign that I'm looking at for this platform is for Tokyo, which is exactly what it said on my app

And if you like to think of it as platforms, I'm on platform 8

which my app also told me to be on. I know I'm in the right place. You can use whichever of those indicators to navigate to the right platform

but it feels good to know that of all of the platforms I could be on, I'm in the right place

We wait for the train and get on. We ride it for four stops

always keeping in mind these customs and manners of taking off your backpack

We're riding from station 5 to station 1. And finally we're here at Tokyo Station, which is our final destination

We get off and we've done it. We've just ridden a fairly common journey on the Tokyo Metro system

That's a fairly common itinerary on the Tokyo Metro. One transfer that's usually very close to where you get off in the first place

and just looking out for what line you have to get to and which direction it's going

This may seem complicated and convoluted if you haven't done a subway or metro system before

but trust me, you do this one, two, three times, suddenly it's going to feel very natural

You'll start to get the system. It's very reliable and dependable, very few surprises

So if you just follow the app itinerary route and you keep some of these things in mind

you will become a pro at this very quickly. If you need to go back and watch that demo again, it might be helpful to see how it works

But honestly, doing it yourself is the best way to learn