Originally Posted by
headinclouds
When is it reasonable to take the subway in the morning?
Tokyo has a comparatively short morning rush hour. In general, the worst crushes will be on trains that disgorge commuters in central Tokyo from 8:15am to 9:00-ish. Those trains may originate in suburbs that are an hour or more from the center, so depending on where you're starting, the peak hours will differ. Reverse rush hour is usually not as severe since its spread over more hours.