"Exploring Tokyo on the JR and other train lines" Top 5 Page for this destination Rail - In and out of Tokyo by Train Tip by Wild_Orchid

The JR and various train lines can initially be quite daunting, but if you spend a bit of time at the station reading up & studying the lines, you'll be fine.

Within metropolitan Tokyo, there are English wordings at all stations. I was able to get all the way from Shinjuku station to Narita town & airport and Disneyland, Chiba (about 2 hours out of Tokyo town) with little difficulty. However, once you get to the outskirts of Tokyo, there might not be as many stations with English wordings.

I found the people manning the Information Counter to be extremely helpful. The ones I met all spoke English and were clear in outlining the various options and they even provided my husband and I with a little mini route map. If you have to choose, approach a lady rather than a man. The ladies tend to smile more and are friendlier. The men tend to be brusque and more impatient.


*Updated (2009): A Useful Tip: "Topping-Up Ticket" Machine*
As for the ticket, if you underpay when you purchase the ticket, you can top up the ticket difference on the other side, so don't worry at all about getting it right. That's why I observed that many people simply purchase the lowest value tickets, and then ride the subway freely. When they get out on the other side, they would top up the difference using the top-up machine.

What the machine does is read the value on your ticket, the station that you had commenced your journey on, and calculate the difference by which you have to top up. This works even when you've changed stations numerous times, within the same train or JR network.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has prepared some tips for tourists on how to travel around Tokyo using various transport options - click on the link below

Mode: AROUND
Type: Train
Website: http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english