TOKYO RAIL PASSES
There are many one day open passes for riding trains in Tokyo.Sometimes buying a one day pass is economical if you plan to travel extensively, other times purchasing a pass can be a waste of money. In the end, it really depends on your travel itinerary of the day.
As a rule of thumb I use, If I plan on using the train more then 4 times in one day, then I usually try and get a day pass for one company. If you do not plan to use trains very much, or if you are traveling on many routes that are not covered by passes, you should be ok with regular ticketing or getting a Suica or Pasmo card. But again, it all depends on your itinerary for the day and how much traveling you plan to do.
All prices listed below are for full adult fare, child fares are usually 50% of the listed cost.
Japan Rail Pass (JR PASS) holders: The JR Pass is only valid on "JR" Japan Railway's trains, they are not valid on Tokyo Metro, Toei Subway or any other non "JR" train.
See the Railway Basics page for more information on which JR lines you can use.
List of Tokyo Rail Passes
- Tokyo Metro One Day Pass
- Toei Subway One Day Open Pass
- Tokyo Metro & Toei Subway Common One Day Pass
- Japan Railways - Tokunai Pass
- Tokyo Free Kippu
- Yurikamome Pass
- Rinkai Line One Day Open Ticket
- Odaiba-Ariake Excursion Pass
This pass can be used on all 9 Tokyo Metro subway lines in Tokyo for one day.
The cost is 710 yen and can be purchased at any train station ticketing machine or pass office.
The 9 Tokyo Metro lines are the:
For international
travelers
coming in from Narita Airport:A special discounted Tokyo Metro One Day Pass can be purchased at Narita Airport for only 600 yen! A two day version is also available for 980 yen.
These passes can be purchased at the Information Counters in the arrivals hall at Narita Airport. They are only sold to international travelers.
The Metro Pass is also combined as a package with other transportation options from Narita Airport. For more information, please refer to the Narita Airport Access page.
This pass can be used on all 4 Toei Subway lines.
In addition the pass
can be used on the Arakawa
Tram Line, Toei
City Buses in Central Tokyo, and the Nippori Toner Liner.The cost is 700 yen and can be purchased at any Toei Subway station ticketing machine or pass office.
The 4 Toei Subway Lines are the:
*While Toei Subway only covers 4 subway lines and some people disregard this pass, I have found this pass useful in the past, because not only does it cover 4 subway lines (that go to many places), it covers Toei City Buses in the Central Tokyo area and the Arakawa Tram Line (one of the last remaining tram lines in Tokyo). Again like all passes review your itinerary and railway map before deciding which pass you might need.
This pass allows you to ride all 13 subway lines of Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway.
The cost is 1000 yen and can be purchased at any Tokyo Metro or Toei Subway ticketing machine or pass office.
Click here for a PDF copy of the Tokyo Subway map.
*It is very difficult to justify the purchase of this pass for 1000yen. As in most cases you can get where you need to go with either just riding Tokyo Metro only or Toei Subway trains only. So please consult your map and itinerary for the day to see if this pass is worth it or not.
The Tokunai Pass covers all JR lines within a designated area in Central Tokyo.
The Yamanote Line is fully covered by this pass.
The cost is 730 yen and can be purchased at any JR station ticketing machine or pass office.
The Tokyo Free Kippu, is a combination pass that allows one to ride all 13 subway lines (both Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway) and all JR lines within the designated area in Central Tokyo.
This pass costs 1580 yen and can be purchased at any JR, Tokyo Metro, or Toei Subway pass office. The Tokyo Free Kippu cannot be used at automatic gates, so you must present it to a staff member at a manned gate.
*My assessment of this pass, like the Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway combination pass, is that it is not very worth it. It is very very difficult to cover 1580 yen worth of rail travel within one day for Central Tokyo, and for it to pay off you will need to ride all three different railway companies. Usually you can travel just fine with one company. But again, plan your trip accordingly to see if this pass is worth it or not.
YURIKAMOME
PASSThe Yurikamome is a driverless automatic train (not a monorail) that connects to Shimbashi Station to Odaiba Island.
The Yurikamome Pass costs 800 yen and can be purchased at station vending machines.
*The Yurikamome Pass is one of the more expensive passes available. A single one way fare from Shimbashi Station to Daiba Station is 310 yen and to Kokusai Tenjijo Seimon Station (Tokyo Big Sight) is 370 yen. Roundtrip would be 620 or 740 yen.
The Yurikamome Pass does pay off if you make an additional trip on the train while on Odaiba.
Alternately,
Odaiba is also accessed by the Tokyo Waterfront Railway, Rinkai
Line
from Osaki Station to Tokyo Teleport
Station for 320 yen one way (the trip from Shinjuku to Tokyo Teleport Station is 480yen). PDF Map of Odaiba (opens in a new tab/window)
Pink line is the Yurikamome and the Blue line is the Rinkai Line.
RINKAI LINE ONE DAY OPEN TICKET
This pass allows unlimited useage of the Rinkai Line for one calendar day.
The cost is 700 yen.
*This pass is sold at all Rinkai Stations except Osaki (which is a shared JR station with JR staff). If you wish to purchase the pass you can go to other Rinkai Line stations or to travel agencies such as KNT, NTA or JTB.
This is another good fast alternative to accessing Odaiba, as the Rinkai Line is also connected to the Saikyo Line at Osaki Station. The Saikyo Line goes strait to Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro.
Odaiba-Ariake Excursion Pass (ONE DAY COMMON TICKET)
This pass allows unlimited use of both the Rinkai Line and the Yurikamome plus unlimited use of the selected waterbus routes for Odaiba.
This pass costs 900 yen.
*This pass is sold at all Rinkai Stations except Osaki (which is a shared JR station with JR staff). If you wish to purchase the pass you can go to other Rinkai Line stations or to travel agencies such as KNT/JTB, also the pass is sold at Yurikamome Stations and Waterbus Stations.
*Again a bit expensive, but if you make an addition ride or two in Odaiba it is worth it, also this pass covers the waterbuses in the Odaiba area.
PDF Map of Odaiba (opens in a new tab/window)
Pink line is the Yurikamome and the Blue line is the Rinkai Line.