ray1966

I know there are sightseeing tour bus companies like Hato. What does everyone think about hopping on the local buses to see more of the city besides walking around and talking the subway?

Pickles

My grandmother used to do that. Just hop on a bus or a surface train, take it to the end of the line and then take it back to her original location. She was not from the US, and rather progressive-minded. My mother tells me of the time she pulled a reverse Rosa Parks in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1955. She rode a bus in the rear all the way into a black neighborhood and back, with all the white people staring at her and wondering why a white woman with two little girls (my mother and aunt) were sitting in the back of the bus. She got yelled at by the people in the front of the bus, but she didn't budge.

You can do that in Tokyo, but nobody will stare at you. Also, although buses don't run that frequently, many of them terminate at or near a train station, so you can always find your way back. They don't get too crowded, either, so it could be a pleasant experience.

My suggestion (if it weren't so craptacularly humid this time of year) would be to pick a neighborhood of interest an just walk aimlessly checking things out.

KPT

It's also sometimes an easier transportation option. Google Transit will sometimes offer up the bus as an option if you're going between two places that are relatively close by but annoying by train, e.g. Roppongi Hills => Shibuya (and for 200 yen only, too ^)

ray1966

Thanks for the suggestions!

jib71

http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/bus/routes/eng/

hailstorm

My mother liked the Sky Bus. Just a quick sightseeing tour in a topless bus, with English language guidance available on a separate radio like device.

http://www.skybus.jp/?lang=en&no=&bno=

ksandness

Tokyo buses fill in the blanks not covered by the surface commuter trains or the subways. As such, they often travel through extremely ordinary neighborhoods. They can be helpful, especially if you have a map.

One year I noticed that a certain bus ran past my hotel. After seeing a play at the National Theater one day, I stepped outside to see a bus with that same number go past. On impulse, I boarded it and enjoyed a roundabout but relaxing trip back to the hotel.

BuildingMyBento

They can get crowded outside of rush hour, but that's more because they are quite small (no surprise there) and don't have much seating. I only really use them when there's no metro station nearby (because I've wandered so far from one in the first place).

The bus drivers are usually characters too, sometimes "hissing" the name of the next stop/arigatou gozaimasu.

ray1966

Yes, I did not see any buses in the ginza district. I assume they are smaller in size and serve the local neighborhoods not accessible by the subway stations.

BuildingMyBento

Close to Ginza, by the Yaesu exit of Tokyo station ("Yaesuguchi" 八重洲口), there are a bunch of buses, both city, metro area and long-distance. Otherwise, yep, buses don't ply that main Ginza drag.

Kallio

Toei even has a route map of bus routes they think are interesting to tourists. So no need to randomly hop into buses that go into residential areas.

http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/bus/routes/eng/

Edit: Oh, that was mentioned already

stockmanjr

I've never taken a bus in Tokyo but was able to figure out the community bus by our hotel near the TBS building last time. Sadly though the community bus ended at 2100. Do most of the routes end early or are there some odd night routes too?
Cheers
Howie

mjm

They do not run very late but they are not needed as there are taxis for the more varied times at which people leave evening gatherings. The more sensible time for buses is when people are moving en masse, i.e. prior to dinner hour, after work, during the day out shopping. Evenings are to hit and miss with full bus loads.