How to Use Trains in Tokyo: A Beginner's Guide

An IC card (Suica or Pasmo) is the single most useful thing you can get on arrival — tap in, tap out, no ticket math required, and it works on almost every train, subway, and bus in the country, plus convenience stores and vending machines.

Regular Suica and Pasmo cards are back on sale at ticket machines in major stations after a supply shortage in 2023–24, and come with a refundable 500-yen deposit on top of your starting balance. Short-term visitors can skip that deposit with a tourist-only card instead — a physical Welcome Suica (valid 28 days, non-refundable) or Welcome Suica Mobile added to a phone (valid 180 days) — or add regular Suica/Pasmo directly to an iPhone or supported Android phone before you land. (Exact fees, deposit amounts, and which card options are being sold can change — verify locally at the station or in the transit app you use.)

Tokyo's map looks dense because it layers multiple operators (JR, Tokyo Metro, Toei, private lines) on one map. You don't need to understand the operators — you need a route app. Google Maps and Japan Transit Planner both give platform numbers, transfer times, and car position for the shortest wait.

Each line has a color and a letter+number code at every station (e.g. G-05) — even if you can't read the Japanese station name, the code tells you exactly where you are.

Weekday mornings (roughly 7:30–9:00) and evenings (17:30–19:30) are genuinely crowded — if you have flexibility, traveling just outside those windows is a lot more comfortable.

See our full guide to train etiquette for the unwritten rules (phones on silent, priority seating, letting people off first).