The best underground transfer system

This is interesting news: Virgin Vacations decides the Top 11 Underground Transit Systems in the world.

No.1 is London, England. It's Europe's largest metro subway system and is the world's oldest underground system. No.2 is Paris, France which is a the second oldest in the world. No.3 is Moscow, Russia! (really!) It has the biggest ridership of all metro systems throughout the world. Hmm I wanna try it. No.4 is Madrid, Spain! (really!). It's the second largest underground system in Europe. Then No.5 is Tokyo, Japan. It carries approximately 2.8 billion people per year to 282 subway stations. Hm, okay. BUT I can't agree with the later part! In addition to underground subways, the Tokyo transit system consists of the Toden Arakawa light rail line (one train car!) and the Ueno Zoo Monorail (run between only two stations!). What? Where is JR, auto driving train Yurikamome, and other major railways? Actually I have never ridden the Ueno Zoo Monorail (monkey train!) . Strange article...orz.

Anyway when you use the subway in Tokyo, to choose a transfer point is very hard. On the train map, you can see two lines are connected to each other, but sometimes you have to walk very long to transfer. And you need to be careful when you use Oedo line and make an appointment. Their stations are built in very deep and you may take 10 minuste returning to the ground after you get off trains. Here is an English train route finder. It will help you when you come to Tokyo. By the way, talking about the Tokyo subway, some will remember this Sarin attack. I remember the day because my mom called me at my job to ask, "Are you okay?"

Comments

[Gabrielle]

I'm from London, and being a frequent visitor to Tokyo, have to say that London Underground is totally inferior. The escaltor at Tottenham Court Road was broken for FIVE years! Need I say more?

[Mari]

Hi there
Thank you for comments. Wow! many people like Tokyo subway. Clean and timely. That's ture. When I stayed London, my nail had to be duty soon because of dust. It was amazing experience for me. By the way, I much tell the virgine vacation's article amuse me! :) They need to research more to make the ranking.

[Peter]

I loved the Tokyo rail system. Very convenient and timely. I wrote an article on my old website "Hamamatsu Hakujin" about the bullet train accicdent in 2003 or 2004 I can't remember but I believe Japan's bullet train had the best safety record in the wrold with only two major accidents in it's history!
Peter

[redracer]

It shows how much the idiots that wrote that article know - 2 out of the 3 pictures they used were NOT the Tokyo subway the article was supposed to be about !!!!

If anyone want to know more about rail transport in the greater Tokyo area, they might find this page useful ...
http://japanese-trains.com/tarn/
..and have a look at the 'Tokyo Area Rail Network' page.

[HK]

I was at Tokyo last year. It was one of the cleanest subway system that I ever saw.

[Martin F]

bshock, I think you should take taxis during rush hour, until around 9:30 AM. after that you and your wife will be fine. The Tokyo subway is fantastic and people will be very helpful if you should get confused. It has signs in English too and there are great maps.

From the Narita airport, the Narita express train into the city, or you can take the Limousine bus.

I had my aunt visit me once, and she insisted on "experiencing" the rush hour. It got too crowded for her and she felt bad about it. Apart from that, I don't understand why they listed Tokyo as number 5, it really is top of the class as far as I am concerned.

[zoh]

Hi to Mari from your fans in New York... we love your blog! :)

Speaking of metro trains, here is a page about some abandoned subway stations in New York City:
http://www.nycsubway.org/abandsta.html

This one is very elegant, over 100 years old, with chandeliers like a ballroom:
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/stations?5:979

Sometimes you can take a tour of these closed-off stations... interesting!

I love the New York subway, but I think it is very dirty, compared to Tokyo. It might be scary for some visitors because sometimes you can see rats in the tunnels.... aaahhh! I liked the Tokyo metro very much when I was visiting there.

[bryce]

bshock-
i wouldn't worry too much... there are only a couple of stations as confusing as shinjuki eki. and even though shinjuku eki's layout doesn't really make any sense, there are tons of maps and signs (all bilingual with english and japanese). also, if you are ever in any doubt at all, it's easy to find a station employee (be sure to ask for maps and line information handouts so you can map out where you want to go before hand... you can also find this information online).

good luck!

[james]

yeah... London's Underground was not my favorite... that thing was broken most of the time I was there. For me, it's a toss-up between Tokyo and Paris... and then NYC coming in 3rd due to the cleanliness and the type of people you encounter. Based on what they say about Russia's system, I definitely want to check it out. I think Tokyo's Metro gets a bad rap because it goes to SO MANY areas. That's a recipe for a very confusing system for tourists but I do think that Japan has done quite well with it. I agree with Mari that the transferring is tricky and walk-intensive, but other than that, you figure things out. Plus the train station agents were really cool to us once they saw that we were idiot tourists. They usually let us slide when we bought the wrong ticket fares.

Oh, and here's a link to a good briefing on the Tokyo Metro for those that will be traveling out there:
http://greggman.com/japan/tokyo-trains/tokyo-trains.html

and a friend of mine told me to get this pass (don't know if there will be the same deal in 2009 tho):
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/index.html

Lookin' forward to seeing Tokyo this April!... and Mari, all my days out in Tokyo will be filled because of your site. You are the "boom"!

[abraxis]

Geesh! Obviously the people who "wrote" the Virgin Vacations article are either: Eurocentric or Ignorant, or both.

Based on how London is #1 according to the article, which includes other non-Tube systems in its rankings, I agree with Mari asking about why JR and the other private lines (Keisei, Tokyu, Keio, TX, etc) were also left out of the "comparison". And they admit that the Tokyo Metro is "on time", yet they only place it 5th?

Of course, that sort of omission is not limited to Tokyo. In their ranking of Hong Kong, they forgot to include the KCR in addition to the MTR. But yet they gave the higher nod to Beijing's "construction in progress" system. Wonder why? Brownnosing perhaps?

[Ken]

@Mari:
Interesting article!

@stuz:
Right, before and after the rush hours the ladies cars can be used by anyone, too.

[bshock]

This blog entry was very interesting to me because my wife and I have finally decided to visit Tokyo in 2009. Even though that's a long way off, we think it will take a great deal of time for us to plan our trip correctly. Of course we will want to use the Tokyo transit system.

After reading what was written here, I'm a little concerned that taking the subway may be difficult for us. Although I read Japanese well enough, I'm not always very good with directions in a strange city. I don't mind being lost for hours or days at a time, but my wife gets very nervous about that sort of thing.

Aside from the helpful route finder in this article, does anyone have other travel suggestions for newbie American tourists visiting Tokyo?

[acorn]

Tokyo metro is the best! Clean, safe and on time.

[stuz]

Apparently the person who wrote that article (seems) clearly have no experience riding the London Underground. It's already overcooked, the rails are so old that they constantly need to close down lines during the weekends, and have only occassionally experienced the train to be on time. I agree on the fact that it's easy to get around on if you don't know London (even if it's sometimes faster just walking between stations, avoiding the transit from the street down to the tube, and back again), but I'm scared thinking of how it will be once we're flooded with tourists during Olympic Games in 2012.
From a "happy" tube commuter in London.. heh heh

[snowfox]

Sarin... It's is strange how some "intelligent" people can be mislead.

I found, that some people, whom may not have high education, have more common sense and insights than the so called "well educated". Sarin gas production is not easy, fortunately the people involve was not smart enough to disperse the gas.

Question: The 1st Tokyo, Japan photo posted on
http://www.virgin-vacations.com/site_vv/11-top-underground-transit-systems-in-the-world.asp
Has a pink Sticker pasted on the window. Isn't the sticker suppose to mean That Particular Cabin is for Ladies only.

There are a few passengers seated, whom does not look ladylike to me.

Or does the Lady Cabin has limited hours only?

ps, Italian song, I load it in my player more or less permanently: http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/ghost-in-the-shell-stand-alone-complex-2nd-gig-original-soun...-/16-ilaria-graziano-i-do.mp3

[Mark]

How could they forget the Disney Resort Line? It's not actually in Tokyo, but it's part of the overall greater Tokyo transport system! You can even use the same prepaid transit cards.