TOKYO RAILWAY TICKETS
There is no one set price for travel, fares are based on distance traveled.They can range as low as 130 yen (for JR trains) , and 160 yen (for Subways). See online timetables link below for fare calculations.
Trains do not run 24 hours.
Trains in Central Tokyo operate from roughly 5:00 AM (some a little earlier at 4:30 AM) in the morning to around 12 Midnight/1AM in the evening (depending on train line and station are you getting on/off at).
There are are three types of fares.
Regular tickets, IC Cards, and Passes.
If you are buying regular tickets, each railway company requires it's own ticket.
For example, if you want to use Japan Railways trains you need a JR ticket, if you want to ride Tokyo Metro you need a Tokyo Metro ticket (and so on)...
You can avoid the trouble of having to purchase a new ticket each time by purchasing a Suica or Pasmo IC card (see section below on IC cards).
Regular tickets can be purchased at each individual railway company's station. The touch screen automatic ticket vending machine take cash only.
For foreign visitors the best thing is, they all have a ENGLISH translation button.
BUYING A REGULAR TICKET
To use the ticket machine to buy single fare tickets:
1. Look at the *map located above the machines.
2. Locate the station name you want to go to, next to the station name will be the cost of the trip.
3. Insert your money into the machine.
4. Press the cost that you need.
5. Get your ticket and any change.
*Some places have English maps, other places have a list of stations translated into English instead of map. If you cannot find either, ask the station staff how much you will need to pay, or you can buy the lowest price ticket, and pay the difference at your destination.
Tokyo Metro ticket machine screen, the screens for JR trains and Toei Subway look a little different, however all of them work on the same principal.
You can also research the costs and schedules beforehand by using online timetables (linked at the end of this page).
Tickets are small so please don't lose them! You need them to exit the station at your final stop.
If you don't want to be bothered with all of these steps, I highly suggest getting one of the IC cards (see below).
CHILD FARES
In most railways, a child fare applies to anyone aged from 6-11, tickets are usually half priced. There are special buttons on the ticketing machine to select child fares. When a child ticket is inserted and used at the ticketing machines a special alarm rings notifying the staff that a child is passing through the gates. Don't try to beat the system!
Children under the age of 6 are generally allowed to ride for free on regular trains.
Anyone aged 12 or over is charged full adult fares.
TOKYO IC CARDS / SUICA & PASMO STORED VALUE CARDS
If you don't want to be bothered with buying a new ticket each time you ride the train, the Tokyo area offers 2 types of prepaid / stored value IC cards that you can use.
The two IC Cards for the Tokyo area are named PASMO and SUICA.
Despite their different names, both
cards for the Tokyo area, work exactly the same. In that, you
can use Suica cards where Pasmo cards are accepted, and you can use
Pasmo Cards where Suica cards are accepted in the Tokyo Metropolitan
area. So all you need is one card and you don't need to
bother with buying individual tickets each time.Suica and Pasmo are credit card sized cards, that have a Integrated Chip (IC chip) inside, essentially they are like debit cards, you can load funds onto the cards from any ticket vending machine, and each time you go through the ticket gates, you just tap the card over the sensor and your money is automatically debited.
Getting a Suica or Pasmo card is very convenient for traveling to the Tokyo area because all JR and Subway companies in Tokyo and *virtually every private railway company and bus company accepts the cards.
In addition, many stores and vending
machines accept the cards as a form of payment. Just look for the Suica
or Pasmo logo near the cash out register.
To purchase a Suica or Pasmo card,
go to the train station and
find the designated vending
machine that sells the cards. Again, the machines have an ENGLISH
translation function that will help you purchase the
card.
Suica
& Pasmo cards have a 500yen deposit on them. For example, if
you
insert 2000yen to buy a new Suica or Pasmo card, you will get a card
with 1500yen worth of credit, the other 500yen is kept as a charge for
the IC card.Child Suica and Pasmo cards cannot be purchased at the machines, they have to be specifically purchased at Pass offices inside stations, the cards will be specifically registered to each child. Use of child fare IC cards/ tickets by adults is unlawful.
You can refund your 500yen by returning the card to any Japan Railways office (for Suica) or any other railroad office (for Pasmo) cards when you are finished with your trip. Or you can keep the card a souvenir.
For more information on refunds, and child fare cards see the :
ONLINE TIMETABLES AND FARES
The following is a list of online timetables that can assist you with finding fares and routes.
Remember that these are online computer timetables, and like any computer, if you enter incorrect information, you will get incorrect answers.
The online timetables, while very very useful, and most times they give good accurate recommendations, online time tables can also be very confusing sometimes, and they can also give you some really bad routing information (depending on where you want to go).
So it is always good to double check with a actual train map, your hotel map or any thing else you might have to check the information is the station where you want to travel to.
(Links open in a new window/tab)
Hyperdia Time Table
Japanese Train Route Finder