I was in Tokyo myself in December last year. Love the transport network there - probably the single best system I've been on in all my travels. Punctual, frequent, clean, nice stations (overall) even if they can be utilitarian. How did you find the system?
I agree with your statements - to issues with the system: not 24 hours a day which maybe I should not expect (however in NY it is!) and 2nd 2 different subway companies makes it inconvenient when having to travel on both lines - (2 different cards!) and the day pass for both is expensive 1000 yen!. Other than that I like the different train models!
timosha21 What I tend to do when I am there is simply use my Suica card as a stored value. Suica covers a huge amount of Japan now, so I can even use it down in Osaka these days, which is very handy (though I also own an ICOCA card). It's funny, though, this last time I ended up using the private railways and JR more than the two subway systems - my favourite of which is Tokyu, fantastic company overall. I generally pay less than 1000 yen a day overall unless I am off to distant attractions (such as Mt Takao or on the Chichibu railway, or down to Yokohama). The nice thing in Japan is that a lot of employees get their transport either party or mostly paid for - generally up to 40,000 yen a month. That covers a lot of commuting, and therefore one tends to only pay for leisure travel. So what is expensive for us visitors, isn't quite as expensive for the locals as salaries are not too bad there overall. (PS: Don't go to Auckland, New Zealand, the price of a day pass will make your head explode there... It's $12.50 US for one of the single worst public transport systems in the world. Lived there for 7 years myself, not good). You should come to Stockholm in Sweden if you haven't already. Quite a lot of different transit for you to see here as well! =)
Svartmetall Sverige! Hi -its been 9 months but I am just letting you know that I recently visited Stockholm - loved the city and was impressed with the cave like stations!
timosha21 Glad you enjoyed it! The cave stations are... Interesting. They're very arty, but to have to use them every day is not so nice because they tend to be damp and dark. The nicest stations are stations like Östermalmstorget on the Red Line. Still arty, but bright and more utility focused rather than just overdecorative art pieces that no one likes to be down in for too long. I envy you being able to travel so much! Hope you had better weather here than we're having at the moment...
I was in Tokyo myself in December last year. Love the transport network there - probably the single best system I've been on in all my travels. Punctual, frequent, clean, nice stations (overall) even if they can be utilitarian. How did you find the system?
I agree with your statements - to issues with the system: not 24 hours a day which maybe I should not expect (however in NY it is!) and 2nd 2 different subway companies makes it inconvenient when having to travel on both lines - (2 different cards!) and the day pass for both is expensive 1000 yen!. Other than that I like the different train models!
what do you think?
timosha21 What I tend to do when I am there is simply use my Suica card as a stored value. Suica covers a huge amount of Japan now, so I can even use it down in Osaka these days, which is very handy (though I also own an ICOCA card). It's funny, though, this last time I ended up using the private railways and JR more than the two subway systems - my favourite of which is Tokyu, fantastic company overall. I generally pay less than 1000 yen a day overall unless I am off to distant attractions (such as Mt Takao or on the Chichibu railway, or down to Yokohama).
The nice thing in Japan is that a lot of employees get their transport either party or mostly paid for - generally up to 40,000 yen a month. That covers a lot of commuting, and therefore one tends to only pay for leisure travel. So what is expensive for us visitors, isn't quite as expensive for the locals as salaries are not too bad there overall.
(PS: Don't go to Auckland, New Zealand, the price of a day pass will make your head explode there... It's $12.50 US for one of the single worst public transport systems in the world. Lived there for 7 years myself, not good). You should come to Stockholm in Sweden if you haven't already. Quite a lot of different transit for you to see here as well! =)
Svartmetall Sverige!
Hi -its been 9 months but I am just letting you know that I recently visited Stockholm - loved the city and was impressed with the cave like stations!
timosha21 Glad you enjoyed it! The cave stations are... Interesting. They're very arty, but to have to use them every day is not so nice because they tend to be damp and dark. The nicest stations are stations like Östermalmstorget on the Red Line. Still arty, but bright and more utility focused rather than just overdecorative art pieces that no one likes to be down in for too long.
I envy you being able to travel so much! Hope you had better weather here than we're having at the moment...
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