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The new Yurikamone monorail
connects the Tokyo Bay water front area to Shimbashi station. We used it
every day.
Cost one way per person:
310 yen ($2.23).
 Hear
our arrival to Shimbashi station (102 kb wav)
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Determining ticket prices
on the Yurikamone was easy. This chart is an example of ones found
at each station. To determine your fare, start at the red arrow and find
the station you want to go to. For example, to go to the Telecom Center
from this station would cost an adult 180 yen ($1.29) and 90 yen ($0.65)
for a child. |
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Marilyn looking like
a seasoned Tokyo traveler!
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For the most part, the crowds
were not bad but during the busy times of the day - there were a lot
of people!
Map of rail lines in Tokyo
(Tokyo University) |
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The underground subway
stations were clean and had kiosks selling candy, ties, and magazines.
Every station had helpful
information desks where you could go to ask questions about getting to
your destination. We used them often.
 See
a subway ticket.
See
a Tokyo subway map.
(Tokyo English Information Source) |
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In fact, Tokyo has a
whole city underground with restaurants, stores, supermarkets and more!
Tobu is one of the largest
department stores and had levels in the subway. |
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This beautiful building
is Tokyo station- one of the main transportation stations in Tokyo.
It provides access to the trains and subways.
Tokyo
Station |
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Waiting for one of the last
Yurikamone monorails to take us back to the hotel after a long day
of site seeing.
Tokyo both feels and is
a very safe city. We never felt uneasy even late at night. |
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A type-300 Shinkansen
bullet train nicknamed "Nozomi".
Special thanks to John Ebert
who identified this train for us!
Learn
more about Japanese bullet trains (Japan-Guide.com) |
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A JR (Japan Railways) train
arriving. Notice that there are not many people at the station right now.
Learn
Japanese words useful for train travel (76 kb image).
Map
of JR train lines (LARGE image 312 kb)
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Inside a JR train. Check
out the polished floors. All of Tokyo's transportation systems were
amazingly clean. We saw no graffiti anywhere.
The Japanese do not seem
to make eye contact with each other on the trains and subways. They also
do not talk with each other unless they appear to know the person. Many
people slept on the trains and subways. The Japanese seem to need more
sleep. We actually saw people with their eyes closed on escalators.
Arriving
back to Shimbashi Station (91 kb wav) |
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