This day was not super exciting, lots of walking to get through the subway system and onto the high speed train to Kyoto. The bullet trains, or Shinkansen, are everything I had hoped for. We were cruising along at 300kmh!
One thing about Tokyo, getting around might be a little confusing or complicated at times, but all the trains have English signs and if you are prepared it won’t be super expensive. What I recommend if as soon as you land go to the booths in the airport that sell subway cards. See the pictures below. There are 1, 2 and 3 day cards. Get as many as you need for your stay because they are hard to find once you leave the airport. These cards are only offered to tourists and you must show your passport to buy them. The locals pay per ride, which gets expensive so take advantage of this deal.
So there are at least 3 different companies operating subways in Tokyo. Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway are included in your Tokyo Subway ticket. This will get you around most of the time. On the odd occasion you need to take Japan rail or one of the various other smaller lines, you will need a Pasmo card. You can get these from a vending machine and a lot of them have English menus. Go ahead and put some prepay on the card and top it up as you need.
On the off chance you didn’t get Metro unlimited pass at the airport, you can go to Shibuya and find the BIC Camera shop. They will sell you as many as you need, but again you will need to show your passport.
Your Pasmo card will work when you get to Kyoto as well, even though the locals there prefer a different prepaid card. Try to top up in the larger stations, as the smaller stations, especially in Kyoto do not have English instructions.
Another suggestion would be to take the bus from the airport, not the trains, as Narita is really far away and the trains can be crowded and take a long time. Pay the extra money and take a bus to Tokyo.
Walking:
Steps: 18356
Miles: 9.03
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