Tokyo Subway - Extended Info
 

I'm a big fan of public transportation systems and was engaged in a thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...er-square.html) about the system in London.

Having just gotten back from Tokyo, I was wondering the same thing. Are there maps out there that show the geography of Tokyo's system versus the one I always see that shows all the stations but doesn't really offer insight into their relative location?

Also, there's often very long walks to transit between stations - anything out there that gives guidance on that?

I'm interested from both a practical matter for navigation when in town, but also from a general interest perspective.

On this last trip, I visited the Metro Museum which was great fun but have yet to make it to the JR East museum.

Thanks!

I have seen a few mashups with Google maps that show stations in their locations on a street map. We had a discussion about one on this forum, when it was in Beta mode. I'm not sure if this is the one:
http://campo-salado.com/railway.html

As for ease of connection, there are some guidebooks that you can find in railway station book stores. They typically show the easiest connections, locations of restrooms, and whatnot for all the stations. Apps like navitime will allow you to select routes that minimize walking distance or stairs etc.

At the very least, I recommend that you get familiar with the train diagram posters that are posted on the pillars on subway station platforms. These plans will tell you which car to travel in for easy access to the exit at your destination. If there are multiple exits at your destination, it will detail which ones have elevators/escalators/stairs etc. and which ones are most suitable for the major sites around the station. Not bad.

BTW - You're lucky if there's "one" map that you're always seeing of the system in Tokyo. Sometimes it can be a challenge to reconcile the map in your hand with the spaghetti that you see on the wall.

Thanks for the link. That's awesome. Of course, I'll now spend hours poring over it.

I do have an app that I use to give me the best route when there are what would appear to be several choices in routing but I'm always suspicious of their algorithm and how it spits out the results.

Tokyo is too huge to fit on one map, but if you get one of the many city atlases (I own three in English, bought on various trips), you can see how the transit lines relate to one another within subsections of the city.

In addition, the Metro stations all have a map somewhere on their wall of the lines under Metro jurisdiction superimposed on a conventional map.

I'm a transit geek myself, and being able to go anywhere I want on public transit is one of my favorite things about Tokyo.

On Google maps turn on the transit layer and the train lines and stations become highlighted. If you zoom in enough, it will show maps of building interior where applicable.

Some operators like JR East and Tokyo Metro have station maps on their web sites, but in Japanese only. Some platforms have a yellow cross section view of the station indicating which stairway to take to go to certain exit or platform.

In the past the Tokyo Convention and Visitor bureau published a map that combined both rail and subway on a large A3 sheet, but they seem to have stopped. The visitor information centers in airports and maybe railway stations may still have something.

All on one map - but it's simply huge... Not something you'd be able to take with you when on the go, but great for the transit geek...

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/to...itan-area-map/

It's an 11 MB PDF.

jib71's link is excellent for helping plan routes as well as times as I really didn't have a good idea of how long some of the rides would be. Most helpful. ^

Impressive!
Intellectually I knew this, but it's still disappointing to see the Yamanote is not a perfect circle! :D

Well ... It wasn't conceived as a loop. The Western straight was constructed first. It was a line from somewhere up in Saitama down to Shinagawa, I think - The connection with lines going up towards Tokyo station and looping around the top came later.

At least that's what I read somewhere ... I'm pretty sure.

I was going to post a link to the handy little Tokyo Pocket Subway Guide I bought about 10 years ago and used several times since. I checked on Amazon and found it is now out of print and new copies are over $100.00! And that is for the old version that doesn't even show the Oedo Line which was built later. Wow! Best to find another option.

Sort of...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Co...te_Line_ja.svg

Kind of interesting that there were a few years in there when Chuo Line trains operated through to the Yamanote Line.

JR East station maps are available in English as well and I find them reasonably easy to follow.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/stations/

However, Tokyo Metro station maps are another matter. They are in Japanese only and interesting to look at but I don't find them easy to follow. Here's one for Nihonbashi station.

Taking a glance at the Tokyo Metro link, I deem it to be gratuitously detailed. Though I do like how exits are well numbered/marked, making it easy to tell a mate where to meet- so long as it's not in front of ハチ公.

There's nothing wrong in meeting in front of ハチ公 as long as all of you are taller than average Japanese male. It's fun watching people jumping and trying to see their mates over the crowd. I would count it as a part of Tokyo experience. :D

Or else frantically phoning or texting the other person. "I'm behind the smoking area. Where are you?" "I'm near the area map."