I live in Japan and ride Tokyo’s trains most days of the week, so let me take some pressure off. Tokyo’s network looks terrifying on a map — that spaghetti diagram everyone screenshots before their trip — but it is one of the easiest big-city systems in the world to use. Everything is signed in English, trains arrive when the board says they will, and if you board the wrong one the next one back is four minutes away.
The one genuinely confusing thing is not the map. It is that Tokyo’s trains are run by several different companies, and your fare depends on which of them you are riding. Understand that, and the rest is following signs.
The quick answer
- Get one IC card and tap everything. Suica or PASMO covers JR, both subway systems, private railways, buses and convenience stores. iPhone users can skip the plastic entirely.
- The Yamanote Line is your spine. The JR loop links Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ueno and Akihabara, runs every two to four minutes, and takes about an hour to circle.
- Expect ¥155–330 a ride, and budget ¥800–1,200 a day if you are sightseeing hard.
- Skip the Japan Rail Pass for Tokyo itself. It is a long-distance product and covers no subway.
- The real skill is exits, not trains. Shinjuku has over 200 of them.
Who runs what, and why it matters
JR East runs the surface lines: the Yamanote loop, the Chuo Line across the middle, plus Sobu, Keihin-Tohoku and Saikyo. Tokyo Metro runs nine subway lines — Ginza, Marunouchi, Hibiya, Tozai, Chiyoda, Yurakucho, Hanzomon, Namboku, Fukutoshin. Toei Subway runs four more — Asakusa, Mita, Shinjuku, Oedo — plus the city buses and the Arakawa tram. Toei belongs to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and is entirely separate from Tokyo Metro, despite both being subways.
Why this matters: each company charges you separately. A trip that starts on JR and finishes on the Metro costs two base fares. Metro-to-Toei transfers get a ¥70 discount, the system’s small apology, but there is no equivalent between JR and the subways. So when Google Maps offers a route with one transfer and a route with none at the same duration, the no-transfer one is usually cheaper.
What a ride costs in 2026
Fares changed meaningfully this year, so anything written in 2024 will understate them. On 14 March 2026 JR East raised ordinary fares by an average of 7.8 percent and abolished the discounted fare zone that had always applied inside the Yamanote loop. Short JR hops in central Tokyo jumped around 20 percent overnight: Tokyo to Shinjuku, Shibuya or Ikebukuro went from ¥208 to ¥253 on an IC card. Tokyo to Akihabara is ¥155, the new minimum.
| Operator | Shortest ride (IC) | Typical central ride | Longest in-city |
|---|---|---|---|
| JR East | ¥155 | ¥155–253 | ¥300+ to the suburbs |
| Tokyo Metro | ¥178 (1–6 km) | ¥178–252 | ¥324 |
| Toei Subway | ¥178 (1–4 km) | ¥178–272 | ¥430 |
Two details. IC fares are calculated to the yen, paper tickets round up to ¥10 — hence ¥178 by card and ¥180 by ticket on the Metro. And Toei is the priciest of the three beyond a couple of stops, which is why the Oedo Line, useful as it is, quietly costs more than you expect. For how Japanese fares are built in general, see Japan Train Fares Explained.
Cards, phones and contactless
This is the part that changed most, and 2026 is the first year visitors have genuinely good options.
Mobile Suica or PASMO on an iPhone is what I use. No card, no deposit, and you top up on the platform. Visitors can set up Welcome Suica Mobile, the tourist version launched in March 2025: valid 180 days, no deposit, and topped up with an overseas credit card through Apple Pay. It is iPhone and Apple Watch only, so Android users need a physical card, which a station machine sells in two minutes.
TOURIST PASMO launched on 20 May 2026, replacing the old PASMO PASSPORT. It is sold at the Keikyu stations under Haneda Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and the Keisei stations at Narita Terminals 1 and 2 — ¥1,000 to ¥10,000 denominations at Haneda, ¥2,000 at Narita. No deposit, valid 28 days, and the kanji-covered design is clearly meant to go home in your luggage. The catch: stored value is not refundable.
Contactless credit cards now work too. Since 25 March 2026, eleven Kanto operators accept tap-to-ride with Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, Diners, Discover or UnionPay — Tokyo Metro, Toei, Tokyu, Keio, Keikyu, Odakyu, Seibu, Sotetsu and Tobu among them — and you can transfer between them on one card. Two caveats: JR East is not part of it, so the Yamanote still needs an IC card or ticket, and contactless charges the ¥10-rounded ticket fare, not the cheaper IC fare.
The honest summary: iPhone, three days, Welcome Suica Mobile. Android and no patience for the queue, tap a contactless card onto the subway now and buy an IC card later. Full comparison in Suica vs PASMO vs Welcome Suica.
Are the day passes worth it?
Usually not, and I would rather say so than sell you one. All of these rose on 14 March 2026.
| Pass | Adult | Covers | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Metro 24-hour ticket | ¥700 | Metro only | 4 rides |
| Metro + Toei common 1-day | ¥1,100 | Both subways | 6 rides |
| Tokyo Subway Ticket 24h | ¥1,000 | Both subways | 6 rides |
| Tokyo Subway Ticket 48h | ¥1,500 | Both subways | 8 rides / 2 days |
| Tokyo Subway Ticket 72h | ¥2,000 | Both subways | 11 rides / 3 days |
| JR Tokunai Pass | ¥870 | JR inside the 23 wards | 5 rides |
| Tokyo Free Kippu | ¥1,720 | JR + subways + buses + tram | 9 rides |
The Tokyo Subway Ticket is sold only to travellers on non-Japanese passports, so I have never bought one myself — but the arithmetic is the arithmetic. Most people take four to six trains on a sightseeing day, which puts the 24-hour version right on the line and the 48- and 72-hour versions comfortably ahead, since they run on hours from first tap rather than calendar days: activate at 10:00 Monday and a 72-hour ticket lasts until 10:00 Thursday. Since 25 March 2026 both it and the common 1-day ticket are also sold as QR codes. The JR Tokunai Pass at ¥870, meanwhile, got more attractive after March simply because JR fares rose so sharply — five Yamanote rides now cost more than the pass.
👉 Klook Tokyo Subway Ticket 24/48/72 hour
The real skill: exits, not trains
Nobody gets lost on a Tokyo train. People get lost in Tokyo stations.
Every line and station has a letter-and-number code — Ginza Line stops run G-01 to G-19, Shinjuku is JY17 on the Yamanote. Screenshot the code of where you are going and matching signs is foolproof even if you cannot read a single kanji.
Then note the exit number. Shinjuku has more than 200 exits and moves over three million people a day; Shibuya and Tokyo are not far behind, and coming out of the wrong side can mean a fifteen-minute walk around the outside of the building. Google Maps names the exit — B10, or “West Exit” — and that one line is the most useful thing on the screen.
Three habits that help: allow ten minutes for big transfers like Otemachi or Shinjuku, stand on the left of escalators in Tokyo (Osaka is the opposite), and remember that subways have no luggage racks — use coin lockers or forward your bags, both covered in What to Do With Your Luggage in Japan. All of which assumes your phone has data, best sorted before you land; I compare the options in Best eSIM for Japan.
Rush hour, last trains and taxis
The crush is real but narrower than its reputation: roughly 07:45–08:45 and 18:00–19:00 on weekdays, worst on the Chuo, Saikyo, Tozai and Denentoshi lines. Start sightseeing at 09:30 and you will barely meet it. Women-only cars run on many lines in the morning peak, marked in pink on the platform.
Tokyo’s trains stop overnight — last services between roughly 00:00 and 01:00, nothing again until about 05:00. There is no night subway. Which leaves taxis, and since 20 April 2026 the 23-ward fare is ¥500 for the first kilometre, then ¥100 per 232 metres, with a surcharge from 22:00 to 05:00. A hop across Roppongi is fine; Shibuya to Asakusa at 01:00 will be five figures. The GO app takes foreign cards.
FAQ
Do I need a Japan Rail Pass for Tokyo? No. The Japan Rail Pass (commonly called the JR Pass) covers JR lines only, not the subways, and is priced for long-distance travel. Whether it earns its keep on a wider trip is a separate question, worked through in Japan Rail Pass 2026: Is It Still Worth It?.
Can one card really do everything? Almost. Suica and PASMO are interchangeable and work on JR, both subways, private railways, buses and shops nationwide. They do not cover reserved seats or limited express surcharges, which need a separate ticket.
What if my balance runs out mid-journey? Nothing bad happens. The exit gate will not open, and you use the fare adjustment machine beside it — insert the card, pay the difference, walk through.
Is the Yamanote Line enough on its own? For a first trip, largely yes. Stay near a Yamanote station and you can reach most of what you came for without ever solving the subway. Where to Stay in Tokyo covers which stretches of the loop suit which traveller, and Things to Do in Tokyo what is near them.
How much should I budget a day? ¥800–1,200 for normal sightseeing. Add a day trip and it climbs; Day Trips from Tokyo has those fares.
The verdict
Get an IC card — Welcome Suica Mobile on an iPhone, a physical PASMO or Suica otherwise — and tap your way around without thinking about fares. That is the right answer for most visitors, at roughly ¥1,000 a day. Buy a Tokyo Subway Ticket only if your itinerary is genuinely subway-led: Asakusa, Ginza, Roppongi, Tsukiji, the museums. Take a JR Tokunai Pass instead if the day is Yamanote-shaped.
And do not over-prepare. Screenshot your station codes, note the exit number, avoid 08:00, and let the signs do the rest. Tokyo’s network is built to be used by people who cannot read it — which is exactly what makes it good.
Written from Japan by the Wayfarer Japan team. Prices and schedules are approximate for 2026 — always confirm with the operator before booking.
