Train Costs
 

I just had a question about, and one I don't have time to research quite yet. It's about the train lines in Japan. I will be living at Sendagaya Dorm, from Sakura House, in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. I was wondering what options are available to me for transportation from Shibuya to Shinjuku station, as I will be attending ARC Academy right by Shinjuku station, but living in Shibuya. (Closest dorm I could find).

My question would mean I would need to look up the different train lines, compare rates, check departure times, stops, travel times, month/year passes, etc. What would be the best way to travel to and from a a dorm to school in Tokyo? Is it best to purchase a monthly rail pass? If so, what is the average rates of such a pass?

Thanks for all the help, I hope I was able to get the question out, instead of blabbing on and on about nothing...There I go again. Anyway, I really do appreciate the help.

I can't offer specific advice about Tokyo of Shibuya/Shinjuku, but almost all the students at the high school I taught at that rode the train bought a monthly/yearly pass. I don't know the cost, as I walked to the school, but it was enough of a savings in money and daily ticket hassles that pretty much everyone who needed to ride the train daily bought one. When you get to Japan, just go to the subway or train ticket counter, tell them the 2 stops you'll be commuting between daily, and they can get you a pass.

Yamanote Line - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shinjuku and Shibuya are only a few minutes away from each other. If you know you are going to be taking the train every day for school, then you'll want to buy a monthly pass between the two stations.

This is one of the busiest lines in the world, really. It's the loop that goes around Tokyo. You don't need to worry about train schedules as the a new train comes every few minutes.

I don't know the rate, but it will be cheaper than buying a ticket (probably about 2 dollars) twice a day.

Shibuya and Shinjuku are just 6 minutes of Yamanote away (and it's the slowest line). From Shinjuku, almost every train southbound stops at Shibuya. There's one Yamanote train every 3 minutes, and with all the other lines you really don't have to worry about train departure times and stops, there's a constant flow of trains and people from Shibuya to Shinjuku. Really, it sounds silly, but you'll just have to walk to the station and take the first train! It's easier than it may look.
But if you're particularly paranoid, check this out and see for yourself. Enter the station name
About tickets. One trip from Shinjuku to Shibuya costs 150yen. You can buy single tickets or get a pre-paid card. There are 2 cards, PASMO and SUICA. The second one only works on JR trains, PASMO works almost everywhere. They cost just 500yen, you can buy credit with ease from any automatic ticket venging machine. You'll pay always the full price if you use them without a monthly ticket. SUICA doesn't have a monthly pass, only PASMO has. When you buy a rail pass, you pay for a certain trip - for example, you can get a monthly pass from Shibuya to Shinjuku, but you'll pay every trip outside these two stations at full price.
More stuff:
Suica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tokyo Prepaid Cards: Suica, PASMO
PASMO
PASMO - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don't bother using Tokyo metro except for those places which aren't covered by JR trains.
Don't worry about a thing, trains are very easy to use. Get a Pasmo or a Suica and use it without worrying about monthly passes, they'll end up in costing you more - they're worth only if you plan to move *only* from a certain station to another, if you want to move around the city buy a card, put 30.000yen in there and just go wherever you want. You'll have to worry about your credit only after two months, maybe less, maybe more...

Thanks tons. Literally. If I could pile on thanks they'd be in multiples of 2000 pounds =). Seriously though, thanks for the help. Yamanote does seem quite amazing. Every 3 minutes is a nice "cushion" if I miss one. Don't have to wait a half hour, where I may be really late to school. I'll look into the passes, and I will probably be going for a monthly pass between the two stations. If I get comfortable enough with the directions, I may walk a few times to school, (45 minutes-ish it seems...) So I've got the school, boarding, transportation, plane ticket all figured out. Next is a visa, but an American citizen can stay in Japan up to 90 days w/o a visa according to the MOFA. Food seems to be fairly well planned out...Going to be a bit crazy at first though. School, Boarding, Food, Visa, Transportation, Insurance, Books. Anything I'm missing? (Apart from packing). I think I have the major things covered, but if there are any tips out there for anything else I may need to look into, a heads up would be helpful.

Thanks for the advice, you guys give it so well =).

btw MMM I've noticed you in all kinds of posts, and you seem to be the Japan411 Forum Guru :P. Accurate? (Take it as a compliment O.o)

im not sure how far that will be, but if its only 6 minutes away, then it can access by bicycle :D. If you can use bicycle, you can save a lot :D and get your daily morning exercise :D

Yeah, get a bike rather than walking. 4 days a month I taught at a technical school 1 train stop away, and I'd often bike to it if I could leave early enough because it was a nice ride right along the river.

You might want to take some small gifts from home with you to Japan. Nothing really fancy or expensive, food usually works best. I live in an area with lots of almond orchards, so I took lots of different flavored almonds that were grown and packaged locally. Give these as thank you gifts to the school principal, your landlord, and other people who go out of their way to help you when you arrive. It will be much appreciated.

Thanks for the tips. I'll also try to come up with some small things I can pack with me and bring.

I can't help but stick my nose in almost everywhere.

Check out Housetek's Guide to Japan thread(s)...they are helpful, too.

Pack light!

sure i have posted it several times for you now, but:

www.hyperdia.com

has all the train times and prices

trying to find a place to leave a bicycle in Shinjuku probably won't be easy...

Or a place where it's still there when you come back!


Wut's with this pasmo? What's the difference between it and Suica? Cards for the different systems but they've intergrated them both now?

I use my icoca card so much I can't imagine going back to finding change to que at the ticket machines, and I can use it on JR, metro, hanshin, hankyu, plus I have my teiki on it.

Ok, so who thinks JR West's Icoca platapus mascot pwns Suica's penguin????

Not sure to be honest - I always thought it was same thing by different companies...

My suica works on all the ticket gates so that is good enough for me

Originally, Suica was JR's travelcard and worked only on JR trains. PASMO worked on private lines and subway lines. Now, PASMO works on every train, subway and bus, SUICA works on every train and subway. Except for buses, they have exactely the same functions.
Another difference is that since Suica is made by JR it works also on Icoca systems, Pasmo doesn't.
The penguin is very "majikawaiindamon", but the platypus is "meccha badass".

Oh ok I get it now. Like the pitapita card in Osaka is kiiinda like that, EXCEPT...I believe it's a POST-paid system, in that you hook it up to your bank account and they take out what you've used each month. Which sounds like a) a hastle, and b) another bill.

And omg that suica card!! Been in japan too long when you think 'omg cute limited edition!! want!!'

But see the penguin looks kinda lalalaaa but that platapuss is one tough cookie, you can tell!

yeah that is also a pain ..


why is the subway in tokyo cheap?? :confused:

Competition. Japan's railways was decentralized I don't know how many years ago partially for that very purpose.

hmm i wonder why osaka subways still expensive :D ...

Probably because JR goes around Osaka, but not straight up the middle (Midosuji-sen) like the subway. The subway is a lot more convenient for the popular places like Shinsaibashi and Namba.

Just my guess, though.