Tokyo Travel Tips

Tokyo, Japan
Author: Ichtrinken (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Tokyo Travel Tips is created to provide budget travelers with useful information for planning a visit to Tokyo. Although Tokyo is one of the most expensive destinations in Asia, it is still possible to explore it economically, if one exercise a bit of prudence in one's spending, and rely on public transportation.

In this travel guide, I am describing all the tourist attractions in Tokyo, and providing details on how to can visit them, preferably using public transport such as the subway or bus. Only if these seem impractical do I recommend taxi. At times I may also recommend taking a local tour if this is the most convenient (and cheap) way to visit.

About Tokyo

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is a metropolis of 8 million people. The term "metropolis" as I use here refers to the 23 special wards that form Tokyo. The 23 special wards are part of Tokyo prefecture, which has a population of 12 million people, and that in turn is within the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area, with a population of between 35 to 39 million people. It is the world's most populous metropolitan area as well as one with the largest metropolitan economy.

Tokyo began as a small fishing village named Edo. In 1457, the samurai Ota Dokan built Edo Castle. Then in 1590 Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo his base. When he became shogun, Edo became his military center. By the 18th century, Edo has become one of the biggest cities in the world, with a population reaching one million.

Tokyo became the de facto capital of Japan, even as the Emperor continued to reside in Kyoto. However in 1869, 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo, and with his presence, Edo became the de facto imperial capital. The city of Tokyo was established on 1 May 1889 until it was merged with Tokyo Prefecture on 1 July, 1943.

The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake followed by World War II bombings destroyed much of Tokyo, but it was swiftly rebuilt after the war, enabling it to host the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Budget Travel to Tokyo

By Plane
Narita Airport (NRT) is the main international gateway for Tokyo, is about 70 km from the city center. There are several options to leave the airport for Tokyo.

The most convenient is the limousine bus which goes to all major hotels in Tokyo. The fare is ¥3000 and the journey takes roughly 2 hours.
The cheapest option is to take the Keisei Limited Express train. It goes to Nippori/Ueno station, and costs only ¥1000 for the 80-minute ride.
The fastest option is to take the Narita Express. It reaches Tokyo Station in the heart of the metropolis, in 55 minutes, and costs ¥2940.
Without a doubt the most expensive option is to take a taxi. You can go airport-to-door anywhere in Tokyo, but the privilege will cost you ¥30,000.

By Train
The Shinkansen bullet train connects Tokyo Station in Chiyoda to other cities in Japan including Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka.

Budget Travel within Tokyo

The easiest way to explore Tokyo is by taking the subway. The lines converge on the Subway Map like a mass of spaghetti, but once you get used to it, it is certainly the easiest way to move about in Tokyo.

If you are going to use the subway frequently, I recommend you get the stored-value cards. There are in fact two types, Suico and PASMO, but they are functionally interchangeable. You pay a ¥500 deposit plus a stored value of up to ¥20,000.

In addition to the stored value cards, you can also buy special subway tickets that allow unlimited rides. However most of these are not worth getting unless you expect to spend much of your time on the train.