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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 12:15 pm
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Transportation after midnight

Hello all, I will be tokyo the end of this month for the first time. I see that the subway trains usually end around midnight, just wondering are there many busses that run during the over night hours, or am I stuck with using taxi's. I would rather avoid using taxis as it seems they are quite expensive compared to taxis in other major cities.
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 12:37 pm
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Nope. If you miss the last train or subway, you are stuck with taxis - if you can even find one.
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 12:41 pm
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Originally Posted by millsdale
just wondering are there many busses that run during the over night hours
Not in any form that would be useful to a typical tourist. There are a few late night express buses that run from major stations to the outlying suburbs. However, there's no network of buses for routes within central Tokyo.

Your best bet, if you're planning late nights, is to stay close to the entertainment district of your choice. Or suck up the cost of a taxi. Or party on until the first trains (but that can be a more expensive proposition than taking a taxi).

Originally Posted by millsdale
I would rather avoid using taxis as it seems they are quite expensive compared to taxis in other major cities.
But they're so much more convenient than taxis in other cities (if you're in Tokyo).

Last edited by jib71; Mar 3, 2010 at 12:48 pm
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 12:44 pm
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It's taxis or stay out all night till around 5AM. (That's when the trains started running back in the days when I actually stayed out past midnight, so my information may be out of date.)
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 12:49 pm
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Originally Posted by abmj-jr
if you can even find one.
That isn't a problem that I've encountered recently.
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 4:54 pm
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Where are you staying in Tokyo and where do you plan to be out late at night?

Central Tokyo is walkable, before I got by bicycle I walked Central Tokyo countless times if you had energy.

Then again just depends whereyou plan to go. If you are a nightlife person maybe plan your hotels near the nightlife hotspots.
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 5:31 pm
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Originally Posted by railroadtycoon
Where are you staying in Tokyo and where do you plan to be out late at night?

Central Tokyo is walkable, before I got by bicycle I walked Central Tokyo countless times if you had energy.

Then again just depends whereyou plan to go. If you are a nightlife person maybe plan your hotels near the nightlife hotspots.
Would absolutely agree with this. Anywhere to anywhere in the main 5 wards is a piece of cake to walk. It really gives a great perspective of the city also. And it is very safe.

Tokyo is truly 24 hour city unlike any major cities in the west where it is hard to even find a decent meal at 3 or 4 am. Walk, stop and have a knosh, walk some more, enjoy.

Taxis are everywhere and are not crazy expensive. You can get one at anytime of day or night easily.
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 11:03 pm
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Originally Posted by mjm
Would absolutely agree with this. Anywhere to anywhere in the main 5 wards is a piece of cake to walk. It really gives a great perspective of the city also. And it is very safe.
I'm not entirely sure I'd go with that. From Womb Lounge in Shibuya to the Mandarin Oriental Toyko is a longer walk than from Washington Heights to the Mandarin Oriental New York; and a much less obvious one.

I'd be impressed if anyone in a state of inebriation managed it in less than about three hours!
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 11:16 pm
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Originally Posted by mjm
Taxis are everywhere and are not crazy expensive.
They really, really are. At current exchange rates, it costs 8 USD to sit down in a cab. At night, that basic fare will only cover a mile, there after an extra dollar for each eighth of a mile or thereabouts.

I can't be bothered to figure out the comparison but my gut tells me they're at least two to three times as expensive as NYC cabs. They are much nicer to be in though.
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 12:28 am
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This is why I don't suggest getting a hotel in Ginza if you plan to spend your nights out in Shibuya or Roppongi. If you plan to do that more often then night, I would suggest getting a hotel near Shibuya or Roppongi instead.

Thus at night when you are out past transportation times, walking or a short taxi cab ride will not be so crazy expensive.
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 1:57 am
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Or use a capsule hotel near most major stations.
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 2:18 am
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Or a manga kissa/internet cafe, they tend to be cheaper and offer some pretty good packaged deals, you can probably get a 3 or 6 hour package, many have free unlimited (nonalcoholic) drinks. I stayed in a few before, they're not too bad.
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 2:19 am
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Originally Posted by railroadtycoon
This is why I don't suggest getting a hotel in Ginza if you plan to spend your nights out in Shibuya or Roppongi. If you plan to do that more often then night, I would suggest getting a hotel near Shibuya or Roppongi instead.

Thus at night when you are out past transportation times, walking or a short taxi cab ride will not be so crazy expensive.
I guess Roppongi to Ginza is not that bad, my previous trip says cost me 1400 or 1600 yen from Roppongi to Tokyo station (to drop off someone for shikansen) and then I connect back to Nihonbashi (my hotel) for approx 2800 yen all-in

The previous one is more deadly as it is from Ginza to Ikebukuro at 3800 yen, luckily they take my AE
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 4:38 am
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Originally Posted by NickW
I'm not entirely sure I'd go with that. From Womb Lounge in Shibuya to the Mandarin Oriental Toyko is a longer walk than from Washington Heights to the Mandarin Oriental New York; and a much less obvious one.

I'd be impressed if anyone in a state of inebriation managed it in less than about three hours!
Its about an hour drunk.

Did Roppongi-Daimon untold times before I had the sense to move closer to the action, and that was usually in a state of mentally needing to will each foot forward. Of course Coco's was at the end of the walk and ain't nothing like a breakfast curry kicked up to a 5 and with 3 or 4 toppings to motivate a man.

In the pi$$ing down rain a taxi at 1100 yen for the same route is, at the same price as a mixed drink, not expensive at all. Comparing the prices in Tokyo to those in the US is hardly a reasonable comparison. Heck, try finding a city with as much to do after 3am in the US anyway.
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 5:56 am
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Originally Posted by mjm
Heck, try finding a city with as much to do after 3am in the US anyway.
Originally Posted by NickW
It has to be said, though, that New York has some of the cheapest cabs of any major city. When I compare Tokyo taxi fares with London black cabs, the difference is not so great. (And if I pay by credit card, then Tokyo is cheaper).
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