Transport and the shape of the city in Tokyo

Suica, Pasmo and the commuter pass

Suica and Pasmo are interchangeable stored-value cards accepted on every rail operator, on buses and in a very large number of shops and vending machines, and both work in Apple Wallet and on Android. The more important product is the teikiken commuter pass: a season ticket for a specific route between two stations, valid for one, three or six months, which most employers reimburse as a standard benefit. It also lets you travel free between any two stations on the covered stretch.

• Suica and Pasmo work on all operators and in most convenience stores.
• Teikiken is route-specific — buy it for the route you commute, not the area.
• Employers commonly pay commuting costs; confirm the policy before choosing where to live.
• Charge the card at any station machine, or set up auto-charge with a Japanese credit card.

The network and its operators

JR East runs the Yamanote loop and the radial lines; Tokyo Metro and Toei run the subways; and a series of private railways run out from the loop into the suburbs, each with its own department store at the terminus. Trains are punctual to the minute and staggeringly crowded at peak, with women-only carriages on many lines during the morning rush. Services stop around midnight and there is no night operation, which reorganises Tokyo social life around the last train.

• No free transfers between operators — check whether a route stays on one.
• Last trains run around midnight; taxis afterwards are expensive.
• Peak crowding is real; a commute from a private line into the loop is the worst of it.
• Navitime and Jorudan give operator and fare detail that general mapping apps gloss over.

Bicycles, cars and parking

Cycling is common, flat in much of the eastern city and hilly in the west, and bicycles must be registered for crime prevention at the point of sale — a sticker and a record in your name. Parking a bicycle outside a designated bay near a station gets it removed to a pound and charged for. Cars are rarely worth it: you must prove you have an off-street parking space before you can register a vehicle at all, tolls are heavy, and the rail network makes the whole exercise redundant.

• Bicycle crime-prevention registration (bohan toroku) is required and done when you buy.
• Station bicycle parking is paid and enforced; impounded bikes cost time and money.
• Car registration requires proof of an off-street parking space, which is expensive in central wards.

Airports and getting out

Haneda is close to the city and increasingly serves long-haul as well as domestic routes; Narita is well out in Chiba and takes an hour or more by train. Check which one your flight uses, because the difference in journey time and cost is substantial. For domestic travel, the shinkansen from Tokyo and Shinagawa stations beats flying for anything within a few hours, and the reserved-seat system is worth using at peak holiday periods.