visiting tokyo~~

[Pugnacious Banana]

can someone help me figure out what's the best way to travel around in tokyo ? i've been looking at train tickets and stuff online a bit but a lot of options seem pretty expensive (i'm probably looking at the wrong thing emo )

also share any tips you have for visiting tokyo or japan in general~~

i'm visiting for 18 days in june and have some stuff planned to do so far but recommendations would also be awesome
i'm staying at a hotel around asakusa somewhere but i don't know what kind of things are close there

(my japanese is pretty terrible beginner level so it'd be good too if people can tell me anything i'll really need to learn or practise before i go sweatdrop )

i'm super excited because i haven't been to japan before
4laugh

[badtzmaru]

Puggy, I'm excited for you!! Wow, you're staying for a long time! What shows are you going to? ouo

I went to Tokyo for a few days in 2010, and visited Asakusa, too! We also shopped/toured around Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Roppongi, and then spent a day each at Odaiba and a hot springs spa in Hakone. We mostly traveled by JR and foot, but we took a local bus in Hakone. I remember the train fares being expensive too, but it's probably the best way to get around districts. We always bought the fare tickets before riding which was really confusing, so you might wanna buy a prepaid card since you'll be staying for a few weeks and it'll be easier. Are you planning on traveling to other prefectures?

[Pugnacious Banana]

badtzmaru

Puggy, I'm excited for you!! Wow, you're staying for a long time! What shows are you going to? ouo

I went to Tokyo for a few days in 2010, and visited Asakusa, too! We also shopped/toured around Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Roppongi, and then spent a day each at Odaiba and a hot springs spa in Hakone. We mostly traveled by JR and foot, but we took a local bus in Hakone. I remember the train fares being expensive too, but it's probably the best way to get around districts. We always bought the fare tickets before riding which was really confusing, so you might wanna buy a prepaid card since you'll be staying for a few weeks and it'll be easier. Are you planning on traveling to other prefectures?

i wanted to stay for a longer long time but 3 weeks is about the most time i can take off work at once. sweatdrop

i want to just stay mostly in tokyo but maybe i'll go on some organised trips or something to other places~ i don't really know what the options are yet. i want people to tell me cool things to do.

how much do you think it'll cost to travel around tokyo for that long? emotion_8c do you think maybe i should get the train sometimes and bus sometimes ? i'll try to look at everything on the site you linked

i bought tickets for four visual kei shows so far. >__> but i'll probably buy more. maybe i can buy more while i'm in tokyo so i can stop spending so much money on shopping service commission and EMS shipping.

your picture is cool~~

[badtzmaru]

I don't remember how much it was to travel on the JR every day. >n<;; I just remember that everything including food and shopping being really expensive compared to here or Korea. I assume buses are cheaper, but for me they're more complicated to take than the train. sweatdrop

I've always wanted to go to those hot springs in Hokkaido with the monkeys. ouo It seems fun+scary. And I also wanna go to that deer park in Tokyo somewhere, I think. I like going to parks and visiting nature. I don't listen to v-kei, but do you like THE BACK HORN? I know they're touring now. Ahh, I'm soo jealous! I wanna go to shows in Japan!! >u<

[[NPC] Easter Bunny]

badtzmaru

I don't remember how much it was to travel on the JR every day. >n<;; I just remember that everything including food and shopping being really expensive compared to here or Korea. I assume buses are cheaper, but for me they're more complicated to take than the train. sweatdrop

I've always wanted to go to those hot springs in Hokkaido with the monkeys. ouo It seems fun+scary. And I also wanna go to that deer park in Tokyo somewhere, I think. I like going to parks and visiting nature. I don't listen to v-kei, but do you like THE BACK HORN? I know they're touring now. Ahh, I'm soo jealous! I wanna go to shows in Japan!! >u<

With my cuteness restored I am truly the greatest holiday mascot ever.

[pay me in tea]

If you're looking for interesting things to do, Time Out Tokyo usually has daily event information, and a lot of sight seeing recommendations.

If you have enough money you could buy a Japan Rail Pass, which allows you ride most train systems without a ticket (except the metro lines, some different types of trains, and some shinkansen lines). But if you're not likely to use the shinkansen it's really not worth it, just be aware that you're going to have to set aside money for travel.

The second time I went to Tokyo I was going to like six places a day, and ended up spending over $200 in travel expenses really quickly. So, maybe figure out where you can spend days or half days and not spend like two hours in one place before moving onto another like I did（;´▽｀A`` lol

Also, you have to consider the different types of trains, but Tokyo has a lot of the announcements in English and it also has train line maps in English next to the Japanese ones in most places so you should be okay with that.

[GiiGiiii]

I've only been to Tokyo a few times, but I agree that JR might be the best and cheapest way to travel around the city. It is connected to the city subway stations as well, but I think the tickets are different so keep that in mind when transferring. I recommend buying a pass if you're staying there for a month and will be going around a lot! If not, I'm not sure if it's worth buying a monthly pass. There are also daily passes available. Also, I lived in Nagoya Japan, and the bus & subway train passes are usually cheaper on weekends. Probably the same in Tokyo smile

For JR, Yamanote line is the most commonly used one, I think.
And metro, I'd say Marunouchi and Ginza.

Good luck and enjoy!!

Subway map in English:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/subwaymap/

[Pugnacious Banana]

is it easier then to travel by train or subway? sweatdrop

i don't think i'll need to use shinkansen. i looked at the japan rail pass before and it looks like it's like $500? @__@

badtzmaru

I don't remember how much it was to travel on the JR every day. >n<;; I just remember that everything including food and shopping being really expensive compared to here or Korea. I assume buses are cheaper, but for me they're more complicated to take than the train. sweatdrop

I've always wanted to go to those hot springs in Hokkaido with the monkeys. ouo It seems fun+scary. And I also wanna go to that deer park in Tokyo somewhere, I think. I like going to parks and visiting nature. I don't listen to v-kei, but do you like THE BACK HORN? I know they're touring now. Ahh, I'm soo jealous! I wanna go to shows in Japan!! >u<

i'm not sure if i'd want to visit hot springs. sweatdrop might be kind of weird on my own ??

i don't know THE BACK HORN. sad

[badtzmaru]

Hrm, it says that the JR Pass isn't useful for just urban transportation unless it's Tokyo?

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html

Is it useful for urban transportation?

Urban transportation alone will not justify the purchase of a Japan Rail Pass. A pass will only pay off if some long distance travel is involved. However, in cities that are well served by JR train lines, the Japan Rail Pass can also be useful for urban transportation.

Tokyo and Osaka are two of the few cities where the pass is quite useful, particularly thanks to Tokyo's Yamanote Line and Osaka's Loop Line. In many other cities, however, for example in Kyoto, non-JR trains, subways and buses are more convenient but not covered by the Japan Rail Pass.

Maybe you can estimate how much traveling you'll do per day, and calculate it to see if it'll be worth the pass. But I think you should take the bullet train and travel outside of Tokyo, in which case the pass will pay off! 3nodding

[NPC] Easter Bunny

With my cuteness restored I am truly the greatest holiday mascot ever.

talk2hand

[Pugnacious Banana]

i was thinking maybe i could just use one of those prepaid cards that works like how london's oyster card works sweatdrop but maybe it'll end up being expensive. i'm probably not going to do a huge amount of travelling on every day though..

i was hoping to maybe do some organised tour trips outside of tokyo where they include bus travel or something in the cost of the trip sweatdrop

[badtzmaru]

Ooh, that's a good idea to do packaged tours! It sounds like you won't need the pass if you're not gonna travel that much. I prefer walking around too, if I have the time. 3nodding You'll probably have the map of Tokyo down by the time you leave! 4laugh

[My Royal Majesty]

Lucky you! (: I will have to travel there one day! They have such cute stuff there! <3 Wish you a safe journey there and back : D

[GiiGiiii]

Pugnacious Banana

i was thinking maybe i could just use one of those prepaid cards that works like how london's oyster card works sweatdrop but maybe it'll end up being expensive. i'm probably not going to do a huge amount of travelling on every day though..

i was hoping to maybe do some organised tour trips outside of tokyo where they include bus travel or something in the cost of the trip sweatdrop

Oh yeah they have stuff like oysters there.. I think they're called Toica? or Suica? not sure which one. In Nagoya we had Manaca. You pay 500 yen for the card itself then you can charge it, 1000 yen minimum if I remember correctly.

[Pugnacious Banana]

yeah i was looking at suica card and it didn't look too expensive sweatdrop

[Flariett]

You're so lucky. You make me wanna cry crying emo