This
was my very first time travel to Japan and I have been reading a lot of
Japanese comic and novel since I was small. I imagined a lot while I
was reading. I love every single that had illustrated in the comic and
books, from the food mochi, red bean-macha ice, bendo to clothing &
building like kimono, Cosplay, Tokyo tower and temple. How could I
missed all these things, when I have the chances to pay a pilgrimage to
Japan??
Actually, I had planned more than this, but due to time constraint we only managed to visit to the place shown as below,
Itinerary
Day 1: Haneda Airport --> Sotetsu Fresa Inn Hamamatsucho Daimon
Day 2: Koganei Park江戶東京たてもの園」(江戶東京建築園) --> Kawagoe-shi, Saitama川越小江户 --> Shinjuku新宿-歌舞伎町
Day 3:
Tsukiji Fish Market筑地市场 --> Sensoji Temple浅草寺 --> Tokyo Sky
Tree吾妻橋 --> Yokohama International Port Terminal 横滨
(原町，山下公园，中华街，横滨大栈桥) --> Tsukishima月島 – つきしま (dinner 文字烧(MONNJYA YAK)
Day 4: The imperial Palace皇居外苑 --> Nippori 日暮里 (谷中银座，谷中猫町)--> Nedujinja根津神社 à Ginza
Day 5: Taokao San 高尾山頂 --> Kichijōji吉祥寺 --> Tokyo Tower
Day 6: Tokyo tower --> Akihabara秋叶原 --> Shibuya涉谷 --> Daimon à Haneda Airport
Forget
about the taxi I took on the first day, I took tourist bus and tube all
the time. There are a list of subway that operated by a dozen different
company which cost slightly different to travel to the same
destination. Looking at the spider net of Tokyo subway map, I felt dizzy
and immediately shut the window tab off. It was kind of complicate to
me, so I found an alternative way, it help me to find the best route to
my destination yet its result even shown the travel time, cost and which
tube & station to transit. I used it to plan my itinerary, without
spending me too much of time and good understanding on all the subway
map/company.
Plan your itinerary with subway planner at -
Tokyo subway planner
Yamanote
Line and Toei Odesen are 2 lines that I used most in my trip. You cant
avoid from Yamanote line as it covered most of the attraction yet it is
the cheapest line I would say. Toei Odesen line is near to my
accommodation and it could bring me to fish market and Roppongi. To
travel on subway, we bought Suica (or you could choose Pasmo card, is
just the same) and reload around 1000 yen almost everyday.
Not
to forget I am on budget trip, I wouldn't let go any chances of cutting
down the cost on EVERYTHING. There is something named travel pass in
the world, and its is design for budget traveler. I love everything with
a name of cheap/budget, so I love passes. Some of the passes will help
you save a fortune, and allow me to spend more on food!! But some of
them might not save even a penny for you, yet cost you a lot more, it
highly depends on your itinerary. So make sure you have a list of must
go destination on hand before you bury your head in the passes/ticket
fare list.
There are 2 passes that I was really interested in,
and considered to use in my trip (apologize that I did not do a very
detail survey on all passes, I have filtered the passes that is easy to
use and convenience to be used in my journey. Yet, I have listed out the
passes available in Tokyo at the end of this article for your
references.)
1. Airport to city + one day subway pass
Keikyu Haneda/Subway pass (adult: 1300 yen, child: 650yen) -
More information on Tokyo Metro Pass
Available only in Tourism counter in Airport and it closed around 1030pm.
2. Tokyo Metro Open Ticket (
1-day: 710 yen; 2-day: 980 yen)
Toei Oedo-sen (都営大江戸線)
I
failed to used Keikyu Haneda/Subway pass, due to my late arrival in the
airport where the tourism counter has been closed. If you wanna save
cost please do not arrived in the airport after 8pm, as the custom took
me 1-2hours for queuing up. (Further reading on my
2012 Japan - Spend RM2800 & travel 5 days around Tokyo – Inventory, Flight ticket & travelling seasons)
To
prevent myself from unable to find out the desired subway, I printed
the itinerary out with the station and subway that would direct me to
the destination. Its helped a lot during the trip, I show my itinerary
to the railway staff pointing on the destination or subway, not even
needing me or him to speak a word, he found the platform for me.
List of passes in Tokyo, Japan
| Tokyo Free Kippu (1580 yen) |
| Unlimited use of all subway lines (Toei and Tokyo Metro)
and JR trains in the central Tokyo area on one calendar day. It is also
valid on buses and streetcars operated by Toei. The pass is overpriced
and will unlikely provide any savings over regular tickets or prepaid
cards. |
|
| Toei and Tokyo Metro One-Day Economy Pass (1000 yen) |
| Unlimited use of all subway lines (Toei and Tokyo Metro) on one calendar day. The pass only pays off if you use the subways excessively. The pass is not valid on JR trains. |
|
| Tokyo Metro Open Ticket (1-day: 600 or 710 yen; 2-day: 980 yen) |
| Unlimited use of the nine Tokyo Metro
subway lines, but not the four Toei subway lines and JR trains. A
regular one day pass costs 710 yen, while a tourist version is available
for 600 yen (one day) and 980 yen (two consecutive days). The tourist
version is only available to foreign tourists at Narita Airport and Haneda Airport. |
|
| Toei One-Day Economy Pass (700 yen) |
| Unlimited use of the four Toei subway lines, buses and streetcars on one calendar day. It is not valid on the nine Tokyo Metro subway lines and JR trains. |
|
| Tokunai Pass (730 yen) |
| Unlimited use of JR trains in the central Tokyo area on one calendar day. |
