An Overview of Rail Travel In Greater Toyko
You might look at the picture above and think that a small child just grabbed a bunch of coloured pens and attacked a map, however dear traveller this spaghetti like mess is in fact all of the rail lines that run through Tokyo. You could not be blamed for finding it a little intimidating, I know I certainly did when I first came here.
But once you get to know the system its really not so bad and since the city itself is so large its really unlikely you will use most of the lines on your first visit.
There are around thirty railway companies that operate in Greater Tokyo sharing 121 lines between them. The Japan Rail company or JR as its usually known operates twenty-three lines in central Tokyo and the outlying areas. What most surely be considered JR’s crowning achievement is the Yamanote line. This railway line encircles all the major stations in the centre of Tokyo, its entirely possible to spend your first vacation in Tokyo only travelling on the Yamanote. Another JR line thats quite important to first time visitors is the Chuo line, which cuts across the middle of the Yamanote line, connecting Shinjuku and Tokyo stations, before heading to Chiba in the east and Mitaka in the west.
The subway system in Tokyo is very extensive, there are 282 stations on 14 lines, shared between two companies, Tokyo Metro and Toei.
Now despite the large number of lines and stations getting around is fairly easy, as all of the stations have their names written in English letters and a number of the lines announce the next stop in English so its really not so bad if you get yourself a rail map you can carry with you. Also if you stand around holding a map looking a little bit lost its almost guaranteed someone will come up and help you out, the Japanese are very friendly in this way. So there is nothing to stop you for just getting out and about trying out some of the lines for yourself and seeing what treasures you can find in this awe inspiring city.
Picture Sources: Greater Tokyo Rail Map Tokyo Subway Map Subway Line List