http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/faq.html
Most tourist-friendly competing phone rental services have this option, as well. If you plan to use apps besides maps, make sure you are familiar with how iPhone or Android phones work before you go.

i have dealt with Global Advanced 2 times. they will either have the phone for pick up at the post office or they can deliver to your hotel and then when you leave, as i recall, you put it in a pre-paid envelope to return to them. this was for a WIFI device.

either way, they are a reputable company to use and very good.

REMEMBER...drop the phone into the main BEFORE security at the airport.

I just looked at the rates for a portable wifi. If I understand correctly I can rent on for about 80 dollars for 7 days? If that is the case this would be great. Is it possible to use Skype on this?

Yes. I have streamed us Netflix in Japan with a vpn so Skype is easy.

Actually, the hardest part of navigating Tokyo is going to be when I exit a metro station, and there is no point of reference to know where I am because the streets have no name.
Usually, when I'm in a strange city and exit a metro station, I am very disoriented. So, the first thing I do is look at the street sign and find it on my map. After I identify the street on the map, the rest is easy.
Without the ability to do this, I will be basically castrated. I will be like a clueless wanderer in the desert. 'Landmarks', 'subway stations', etc are no substitute for proper street signage. I understand that this goes back centuries, to confuse enemies, but in 2015, you would think the Japanese would have remedied this by now.

Subway station exits are labeled as exit 1, exit 2, exit A1, A2, D1, etc. Stations have signs indicating which way which exits are. The station concourse will also have a map of the vicinity of the station showing where the different exits are and the nearby landmarks/buildings/streets. If you get a detailed Tokyo map or have access to googlemaps, they will have all the subway exits labeled also. That's how you would orient yourself.

Travel the world and deal with a whole bunch of things that are done differently than you might at home. That does not make them worthy of rectifying.

In Tokyo, when you arrive at the metro station of your destination there are maps on the walls in many locations in every station showing in Japanese and in English where you are vis a vis each exit. These maps are compete with building names and many other common icons. You decide where you want to and you go out the exit having realized from looking at the map that you need to go X streets up and turn right and then y streets and turn left. Were there street names it would be no different.

Either embrace the adventure of new and different ways of doing things, or get a smartphone and adhere to your plan to not interact with the people f Tokyo, or go somewhere that meets your apparently very critical standards.

Too much good advice has been offered upthread, too much reassurance has been offered. It may be time to just suggest you deal with it as a curious world trekking adult living in the age of smartphones or go elsewhere.

If you had the Kodansha City Atlas and could find your destination you would also be able to pick out the number of the exit required from the map and head for that, there is clear wayfinding in all the stations to help you identify the numbered exits. So no, that is not necessarily the hardest part.

If you were forced to use an elevator route because of a wheelchair or a child's buggy, that would be tricky, but you aren't.

Granted, it can get a bit difficult in some of the "super" stations, such as Tokyo station itself, Shinjuku or, as is recently the case since its expansion, Shibuya, but these problems are not severe or insurmountable and the major stations also have major landmarks around. The map shows many of the shop names and other stand out details which can be identified quickly once you emerge disorientated from the Nether's portals.

I consider myself to be a serial tourist to Japan, particularly to Tokyo. When I am alone or alone with my child I have been consistently offered over the past 10 years unsolicited help and assistance any time I have stopped to pour over my paperback atlas or have looked quizzically at a large map. I interacted with many people in Tokyo during my last visit in late Spring 2014, but one of the most gracious was an elegant lady at Shinjuku station who went out of her way to accompany me through to my destination. I was transferring from a rail line and needed to get to a particular exit so that I could continue my journey to Azabu Juban by bus, the child with me was asleep so I was hoisting her which made referring to any kind of map impossible for me. It is a genuine surprise to me that there are posters here who find the people in Tokyo to be too aloof or shy to be helpful, this is completely outside of my own experience. I can only surmise that it will depend to some extent on you and how "approachable" others find you.

I think being female helps a lot, especially if you have a kid with you.

If that's your assumption then it will almost certainly become your experience.
Never found that people were any more helpful when I had a kid with me than before I had one, having a child just took me back to where I was a few years ago. Before getting pregnant I'd been accumulating experience in Tokyo and thus needed less assistance, visiting with a child cancels out some of that experience meaning that you are back to doing things for the first time and using routes you are unfamiliar with (like taking a bus despite the route taking longer because the stop is much closer than the nearest subway station, vital when your companion has become a deadweight)
I've met this FTer, not female, and fits my idea of "approachable" (definitely not vulnerable).

Not my experience at all. I get approached by kids a lot, not the other way around. At 6'5" and well over 200 lbs, I can be intimidating to some but little kids see me as some kind of jii-chan (grandpop) and often talk to me. It is probably the white hair. Many conversations have gotten started with parents or grandparents after the kid started it. Those are treasured interactions and have led to recommendations for interesting sites or restaurants I would have otherwise missed as well as some nice photos.

Of course, it helps to speak a little Japanese as the little ones often have NO English but the adults usually do, even if they say not.

The Tokyo City Atlas: Bilingual Guide (by Kodansha) mentioned earlier is a definite must. With it being bilingual you can always ask a local to point out things and both of you will understand.

Also highly recommended is a subway guide. Back in 2008 I used this one http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tokyo-S...o+subway+guide but it's not available anymore.

You will want a small printed reference you can study ahead of time vs relying only on the wall maps inside the stations. My guide had the intersecting stations for each line marked, as well as station locations for all major landmarks, hotels, parks, museums, temples, etc. Travel time in minutes between each station is also noted to allow calculation of travel time.

Another important note: There are 2 subway companies in Tokyo. The lines are integrated but you need different tickets for each. You can buy a day pass for each individual company or a combined pass for travel on either set of lines.

Many places that deal with foreigners (such as the hotel I stayed at) have detailed walking directions in English from the nearest subway station, with walking time listed in minutes. The system was designed to have most locations within a 10-15 minute of the nearest station.

Another tip would be to carry a small compass to help orient you when exiting a station. Very handy to get back to a station too when you know you are in the right neighbourhood but find yourself walking around in a circle.

These are some good tips.
I was actually looking for a compass, though I'm having trouble finding a place that sells them without having to trek to a remote part of the city.
I already have 2 small subway maps at my disposal, and I am aware of the different Tokyo subway companies.
I have a couple of questions, though:

Does a combined ticket also cover the JR Yamanote line, or do I need a separate ticket for that?

How would I know which direction a train will be traveling? Are there signs that say, for example, 'to Meguro' or 'to Nishi takashimadaira'?
In New York, the subway has signs that specifically tell you what the last stop on that line is.
In Moscow, there are signs on the walls of the stations.

One more thing. I just googled the atlas you recommend, and apparently not one seller has this book in stock, including Barnes & Noble, and it's too late to order it by mail.
Also, isn't this atlas a bit old? It was originally written in 1998, and the last time it was updated was in 2004.

As mentioned, the map was last updated in 2012.
http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-City-Atl.../dp/1568364458

(FWIW, I still have the 2004 edition which I still use, this could partly explain why Shibuya has become a puzzle)

The Tokyo subway and rail system is clearly documented in the atlas, it makes journeys by rail very simple to plan and follow.
When you are at a station the way finding is excellent, far better than that used at New York. As well as telling you major stations and end stations to help indicate direction of travel, each platform clearly displays the name of the station you are at in English, the name of the station the train came from and the next station it is going to.
The only ticket you would need is a SUICA or PASMO card which is topped up before you travel. The correct fare will be deducted no matter which route you travel, even if two companies are involved.

Hopefully, you will take in the information from a map more efficiently than the information from this one thread. ;)

Various subway passes with different coverage are described on this site
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2017.html

On a typical day, I don't travel enough to make any of the day passes worthwhile. YMMV. I don't even bother thinking about them - I just use a prepaid IC card (SUICA) which gives me flexibility to use virtually all modes of public transit by paying the fare each time.

OP appears to have convinced himself that Tokyo is going to be a huge challenge, but as many point out, the multilingual signage and wayfinding systems are abundant. While they don't work in exactly the same way as the ones in your home country, it won't take you long to work out.

I too don't bother with these Tokyo passes. These passes may or may not save me money, but I just go for the simplest thing which is to use Suica or Passmo card. With that, you don't have to worry about purchasing single tickets each time, you don't have to worry about whether you're getting on JR, shitetsu (private above-ground train companies), Toei, Metro, bus or trolley. You don't have to futz around with cash at convenience stores.

There will be signs indicating where each train is headed. Both English and Jpnese. It'll be on the signboard at the station concourse, each platform and on the train itself. But beware that different trains in Tokyo going same direction on a particular track will often have different destinations. For example, if you catch the Fukutoshin line in Shibuya going northbound, then the trains' final destinations could be Kotesashi or Wako-shi or Hanno, etc, even though they're all headed up north on the same track for a while.

I think all these details are making it sound more complicated than it actually is, and increase your anxiety further. Honestly, just have a map/guidebook (eg, Timeout), arrive in Tokyo, get a Suica/Passmo card, and you'll manage. Every American person that I know (some of them fairly absent-minded) who's visited Jpn recently managed to get around and enjoy Tokyo.

On my iPad I have the following:

Lonely Planet Tokyo Guide
Maps.ME offline maps app with Tokyo maps installed.
PDF file of Tokyo subway network
PDF file of Tokyo rail network

I can access all of these without having a network connection.

The signposting and indicators on Tokyo's public transport are so good that even Mrs. Pickles doesn't get lost. And take it from me, Pickles, that's saying something.

I am carefully examining a Tokyo subway map, and I don't see how this is possible.
The F ((Fukutoshin line) originates at Shibuya on the South end, and terminates at Wakoshi at the North end.
Where does the F train diverge into another line to terminate at Kotesashi or Hanno? I can't even find these stations on the map.

Which are you looking at? The Kodansha Tokyo Atlas is available on Amazon for immediate purchase and 2-day shipment for a small extra fee. The 3rd edition, as I posted above is from 2012.

Really, you are making this much more difficult than it is. The main stations in Tokyo are all signed in English and staffed with many uniformed personnel who can direct you to the correct platform. Carry a brochure or card from your hotel. Even if everything goes to complete crap, just go to street level, hail a cab and show the driver the material from the hotel or tell him where you want to go and he will take you there. That shouldn't be necessary but will work if all else fails.

Many trains feed into subway lines from suburban railway lines (and vice versa) that are not on your map. Unless you plan to travel beyond central Tokyo, don't let it worry you.

Thanks, will check it out.

If you can't find those stations on your map, then you as a first-time tourist to Tokyo will not need to find them on any map.

I was just playing around on google maps. It's amazing. I searched for the shinjuku hilton. Then I zoomed in until I saw these pink areas on the map. I believe these are underground passages that connect subway stations to various buildings in the area. The Google map also shows exit labels such as B5 or N6. Assuming that I can locate the signs directing me to these exits, I would have a relatively easy time finding my way to the hotel.

I am planning on staying at the shinjuku hilton. There are multiple page threads directing others how to negotiate these passageways. Now that I have this Google map Rescource I have a visual to go with the directions.

I hope this helps the OP. I have not been to Tokyo, but I am confident of the accuracy of these maps.

To put it in perspective I first travelled to Tokyo in 2000 with my 7 year old daughter, by the second day she was in charge of all subway navigation (deciding the lines we'd take to get from one place to another, navigating within the station when changing lines etc). It's a big system but the signage is excellent and easy to follow. As has been mentioned the key for navigating when you leave the station is to know your exit and one of the things I love about the Tokyo subway system is that the maps at the station you start your trip (for that line) will tell you what carriage is best for the exit at your destination station. Brilliant!

After my first trip to Japan I started travelling very regularly as I was racing cars at the time and it was much cheaper to fly to japan to buy parts and 'suitcase import' them back to australia. This meant travelling out to some pretty far flung places and I managed all of this with the kodansha atlas which has been recommended. No smartphones and GPS, just a good map and some common sense. It's really not hard.

In terms of directions the one bit of advice I give everyone these days is that if they are lost rather than asking someone it's best to stand there with a map in your hand looking confused. If you ask someone you'll get someone who can't understand you, who now has an obligation to help you and will flap about being useless for 30 minutes. Worse than that the person who can help you will see that you're being helped and not stop. By standing there looking hopeless within a couple of minutes someone will stop, ask if you need help and get you pointed in the right direction (or actually take you there, thats surprisingly common).

And finally it's tokyo, not the sahara. The worst thing that can happen is you might need to pay $10 for a cab to get you back to a station, maybe stopping off at an izakaya for a couple of beers and some food. You'll survive.

Thanks for the clever tips and kind words of encouragement.

I hate to sound like I am a naive newcomer to international travel. Far from it. I've been to 18 countries, some of which were very confusing and/or remote. I came out in one piece.
I guess the reason I am concerned is because Tokyo will be the only city I've ever been to whose streets have no names (most of them, anyway). This will definitely be a new experience for me.

By the way, I have a Borch street map of Tokyo that is fairly detailed. Not sure if you're familiar with it, but I'm wondering what advantages getting the Tokyo City Atlas: Bilingual Guide would have over this map (besides being bilingual) in terms of detailed illustrations of the streets and landmarks.

Is this the map you mean?
http://eu.mapscompany.com/shop/maps-...p-tokyo-borch/

Kodansha atlas shows you each of the numbered blocks in each cho/district. It even shows you the numbers of many of the buildings, this allows you to pinpoint your destination, or at least make a decent guess.

The Borch map is extremely vague in comparison. I would neither use it myself nor recommend it.

In comparison, a sample of the Kodansha map:
http://stanfords.s3.amazonaws.com/sa...o_KI_carto.jpg
And a sample address: Senshu University, 3-8 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
The map shows the Kanda Jinbocho (3) area. Within this area are different blocks. Up at the top, between blocks 6 and 10 is block 8. (8th block of the 3rd area in Kanda Jinbocho)

This was already explained, in the very first reply to your first post at the beginning of this thread.

For all the comforting reassurances in this thread, I think it's incumbent on me to mention one famous case of a family of foreigners who got lost in a godforsaken corner of Katsushika Ward. Nobody really knows what became of them, but there is some speculation that they got trapped in a labyrinth with no street names and were eaten by the minotaur. It's also possible that they fell into one of the snake filled pits that were installed by the Shogun to stymie invading armies. It's a wonder that nobody has dismantled those. I recommend carrying some wax as you travel around Tokyo. If you find yourself really stuck somewhere you can grab some feathers from the crows that are picking at the trash in the streets, and fashion yourself a pair of wings to soar above the city and escape.

Oh come on, that's ridiculous. If you tried that, the radiation from Fukushima would melt the wax as soon as you made it above rooftop level. :td:

Yes. Melting wax has been a problem for people who tried this before.

Yes, that's the map I have.
I will order the atlas right now. Hopefully, it will arrive before Sunday.

You will probably have to pay extra for 2-day shipping. The regular Amazon shipping takes about a week.

Tokyo is probably the most English friendly city I have visited. signage and audio announcements are at worst equal occasionally seemed skewed more toward English. Beyond walking a few extra blocks as a consequence of choosing the wrong station exit, I got lost exactly once in my week there. It was a very enjoyable afternoon as I was willing to toss the planned schedule and let Tokyo happen. I highly encourge it.

I return this month, I still know very little Japanese, and fully plan on going out and about with just a map and guidebook.

+1

You will survive.
 

On another topic: on my return from Tokyo, I want to take the JR Narita Express (NEX) from Shinagawa station to Narita airport, Terminal 1.
Can I buy my ticket for the NEX at Shinagawa station from a machine (like I would a regular metro ticket)? Is it easy?
I'm reading some info online, and it only mentions buying tickets at Narita Airport and some other out of the way JR stations (I'm coming from Meguro). It's as if people only travel in one direction in Tokyo-- from the airport to the city. No one goes the other way. I must be the only one.

Yes, you can do that. However, for someone who is so concerned about getting lost, you would be much better off to just drop in to the JR ticket office (midori-no-madoguchi or "green window") at Shinagawa and buy your ticket from one of the smiling, helpful, English-speaking agents.

Thanks.

Just get your return NEx tix at the station of origin (ie, Meguro). Meguro has midori-no-madoguchi, too. You can reserve NEx and pay for it at any JR station midori....guchi.
Advnatages of doing this:
1). You'll be able to pay the fare from Meguro to NRT plus the NEx supplement together on one tix (although this is moot if you're using Suica to pay the fare).
2). JR tix office will probably be less busy in Meguro.
3). You'll reduce the chances of seats being sold out by not waiting till last minute to reserve seats in Shinagawa (although most of the time it won't sell out).

Better yet, just reserve your return NEx tix at the same time you purchase your inbound NEx tix upon arrival in NRT.