visiting tokyo~~

[Kawaii Deshou]

Pugnacious Banana

not lucky, i've just been saving money for a while sweatdrop

actually i had been saving money for moving to japan because i've been looking for an english teaching job there
i started saving money december 2012 and i had saved enough (most places recommend having £1500-2000 for the first month of living without pay and flights, etc) by summer 2013. and since then i've been applying to jobs and going to interviews and getting rejected over and over again.
so since i've just kept saving up money since then i had enough to pay for a 3-week holiday and still have £1500 left over in case anyone ever gives me a job. emo
so really i'm unlucky..
or just really undesirable as an english teacher.
i'm convinced every employer hates my accent but i wish they'd just tell me that because i can do fake accents if that's what they really want.

I'm teaching in Japan right now. I live in yokohama. the train line isn't expensive. If you tell me where you want to go, I can tell you the prices. it's not too expensive. and you can do the card (like the oyster card -- i lived in london too) but the cards are very different. with an oyster card you can go anywhere.. but with the pasmo (japanese card) you have to pick the stations you want to go between.. soo its actually better to just buy as you go since you've only staying a few weeks. If you have any questions, let me know.

[Pugnacious Banana]

i was reading about suica card
is it going to be no good for travelling around in tokyo? sad i'd prefer to have one card that i can just use all the time instead of always having to buy new tickets every time i travel

is it easy to go to odaiba?
what's the best way to travel to/from haneda airport? sweatdrop

[Myung Wol]

Pugnacious Banana

i was reading about suica card
is it going to be no good for travelling around in tokyo? sad i'd prefer to have one card that i can just use all the time instead of always having to buy new tickets every time i travel

is it easy to go to odaiba?
what's the best way to travel to/from haneda airport? sweatdrop

Hello! I live here in Japan as well. I teach English and I have to use the train to travel to other schools a lot of times. If your wanting to travel anywhere in Tokyo or even in Japan Suica is very convenient. You have to pay like $15-$20 for the card, but afterwards you can keep putting money on it. Also you can keep the card, so say if you visit Tokyo another time you may use the same Suica card. And its really easy to you just use it and it scans the amount when you go to your destinations. You can also use Suica on buses, and you can even use it for vending machines or can use it to pay bills or pay for items at a convenient store. The best way to get to Tokyo from the Haneda airport is to take the Keikyu (local train line) or the JR (national line).

[PixieAlli]

Pugnacious Banana

is it easy to go to odaiba?

It's quite easy to get to Odaiba! The best route is by monorail because it offers a great view! Here's an English website that explains a lot of the fun stuff to do on Odaiba:
Odaiba Fun

And also I recommend stopping by the cool Ninja Akasaka restaurant that is in Akasaka (you can get there from Asakusa on the Ginza line, no need to change trains). Their website is partly in English - apparently they have ninjas that serve you by popping out of trap doors and stuff hahahaha! Sounds like a lotta fun - I'll probably take my little sisters there when we head to Japan later this year!

[Pugnacious Banana]

can i use the suica card to go to odaiba and haneda ? sweatdrop or i have to buy another different ticket for those ?

i need to go to odaiba for a concert at zepp divercity but maybe i'll go early and do other stuff there too 4laugh

[PixieAlli]

Pugnacious Banana

can i use the suica card to go to odaiba and haneda ? sweatdrop or i have to buy another different ticket for those ?

i need to go to odaiba for a concert at zepp divercity but maybe i'll go early and do other stuff there too 4laugh

Oh yes you can use the Suica for almost all transport in Tokyo except for a few buses and the Shinkansen (high-speed inter-city trains). I highly recommend getting one! And anyway you've got nothing to lose by getting one because it's just a 500 yen deposit, but you get the money back if you turn in your card at the end of your trip. (But I always keep my Suica since we return to Japan at least once or twice a year).

[Myung Wol]

Pugnacious Banana

can i use the suica card to go to odaiba and haneda ? sweatdrop or i have to buy another different ticket for those ?

i need to go to odaiba for a concert at zepp divercity but maybe i'll go early and do other stuff there too 4laugh

Plus Suica is much easier for you to use to get around then having to use all the tickets for transport. Especially when your in a rush. I know sometimes I am in a rush to get to work and sometimes I have to take the bus and its a lot easier to scan the Suica card on the bus then pulling out change and inserting it at the end. Like many have said before it will save a lot of time for you and its really easy to buy.

[Pugnacious Banana]

reviving this~

can i use suica card to go from tokyo to yokohama or do i need to buy another ticket for this?
what time at night do trains run until? sweatdrop

[HDMI]

HDMI

~~~
I envy you! I wish to visit there someday. Take lots of pictures. emotion_dowant
~~~

[PixieAlli]

Pugnacious Banana

reviving this~

can i use suica card to go from tokyo to yokohama or do i need to buy another ticket for this?
what time at night do trains run until? sweatdrop

YES you can use Suica to go between Tokyo and Yokohama (I just did it 2 months ago). I have a great tip for you: you can use Google maps to give you train routes and even schedules, including the last/first train times! Here's an example (I simply searched "Tokyo to Yokohama" in maps and clicked on the train option). Of course it would be even better if you entered your exact station or hotel address once you've got that figured out! 3nodding

[Pugnacious Banana]

PixieAlli

Pugnacious Banana

reviving this~

can i use suica card to go from tokyo to yokohama or do i need to buy another ticket for this?
what time at night do trains run until? sweatdrop

YES you can use Suica to go between Tokyo and Yokohama (I just did it 2 months ago). I have a great tip for you: you can use Google maps to give you train routes and even schedules, including the last/first train times! Here's an example (I simply searched "Tokyo to Yokohama" in maps and clicked on the train option). Of course it would be even better if you entered your exact station or hotel address once you've got that figured out! 3nodding

thanks~~
i found a site with train times 4laugh
i'm hoping to go to a concert in yokohama~

[Instien]

If you are attempting to travel outside of Tokyo and want to go on the Shinkansen, there is a JR Rail pass that you can buy for 7 days that is only available to foreigners and must be bought outside of Japan. I used that to go to Kyoto, Hiroshima, and other places. It was the best and quick way. I got a really early morning train from Shinjuku, went to Kyoto took the last train back. It gave me a lot of time to visit places farther away. I think it cost me around $300 US. Which was not bad as a typical round trip cost me about $150 US to Kyoto. Its been a few years since i've been there, so prices may vary.

[Pugnacious Banana]

i can't really afford to spend $300 on something like that just in case i decide to travel out of tokyo a few times.. i'm not sure i'd use it enough to be worth the money. sweatdrop

[PixieAlli]

Pugnacious Banana

i can't really afford to spend $300 on something like that just in case i decide to travel out of tokyo a few times.. i'm not sure i'd use it enough to be worth the money. sweatdrop

Yeah the JR pass is only worth it if you're sure you want to travel around a bit outside of Tokyo. You should make up your mind at least a month before you go if you'd like to visit cities outside of Tokyo or not for this trip (since it takes some time for the rail pass to be mailed to you).

I personally think it's a good idea to visit at least 2-3 other cities (like maybe Osaka, Kyoto and Nara), because Tokyo can get a bit overwhelming after a while and it's nice to have a change of pace and to see some of the different things Japan has to offer.

That being said, you don't necessarily stand to save a lot of money with the JR pass, if you only take the shinkansen to Osaka or Kyoto and then use local trains in the area (Osaka is quite close to Kyoto and Nara and you don't need to take a high-speed train to get between them).

JR passes are around 300 bucks, and a round-trip ticket between Tokyo and Osaka is a bit less than that (around 280 bucks). So if you're just taking 1 excursion out of Tokyo, it's not worth it to get a JR pass, HOWEVER if you think you might also like to go to, for example, Hiroshima and Miyajima (where you can see that famous torii standing in the water), or even make a stop by the beautiful Mt. Fuji, then the JR pass would probably be worth it.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the JR pass doesn't work on the fastest limited express shinkansen trains (Nozomi line for example). It's not a big deal, but when I'm on a trip, I want to keep my transport times to as much a minimum as possible so I can get the most out of being there. Even though I live outside of Japan and could purchase a JR pass if I wanted to, I usually don't when I return to Japan, since I mostly just end up going between Tokyo and Osaka once on the shinkansen (I don't do too much tourism there anymore). I'm willing to pay a little more so I can spend less time in transport, but that's just a personal preference. 3nodding