We use trains a lot; to commute, meet friends, etc...
The reason why I am writing this article is that when I was living in Tokyo before the pandemic happened, I encountered a lot of travellers having difficulty in front of the train ticket vending machine.
Some were lucky because I talked to them to help them out, and what many of them said was " We were really not sure which ticket to buy. "
This article is the informative bible for all of those who will come to visit Tokyo and use the train.
My recommendation is also included, so I think this article can be very useful for you.
Let's jump into it.
Three types of day pass you need to know
First of all, a "one day pass" for the trains is available in Tokyo and most of the other main cities.
In Tokyo, there are 3 types of it you need to know.
(There are more actually but I will focus on explaining the main ones.)
Those are...
- JR one-day pass
- Tokyo Metro 24 hours pass
- Tokyo Subway (Toei) one-day pass
JR one day pass
JR ( Japan Railway ) is the most common train running across all over Japan.
Price: 760 JPY
Area: Tokyo 23 District
Validity: 23:59 of the day you have purchased
Where to buy: Ticket Vending Machine.
This ticket covers pretty much every part of the sightseeing place.
If you have already purchased your Japan rail pass ticket, it covers the same area so you do not need to buy JR one-day pass.
Detail of the Japan rail pass ticket is written in the article All you need to know about Japan rail pass ticket -Do I need a reservation? Does it cover bullet trains? Is it cheap?
Japan rail pass ticket is your life saver and lasts at least 7 days.
After you know what it is, you would definitely choose it rather than JR one day pass.
Tokyo Metro 24 hours pass
Tokyo Metro is the tube running across Tokyo's main area.
Be careful that the Japan rail pass ticket does not cover the area of the Tokyo Metro, so if you are to use Tokyo Metro, you need to buy it individually.
Price: 600 JPY
Area: Tokyo 23 District "Tokyo Metro" line only
Validity: 24 hours since you have purchased
Where to buy: Ticket Vending Machine.
This one lasts 24 hours with its validity so "What time you buy" is very important.
Tokyo subway (Toei) one-day pass
Price: 700 JPY
Area: Tokyo 23 District, Toei-bus
Validity: 23:59 of the day you have purchased
Where to buy: Ticket Vending Machine.
Tokyo Subway is another subway and it is called "Toei-Subway".
One thing good about this ticket is that this can be used to ride on the Toei bus as well.
You will find that some minor places would be reached by bus much easier than by train, so depending on your destination, this can be a magical card.
Tokyo Metro & Tokyo subway common one-day pass
This one is simply the combination of the above two that I have explained.
Price: 900 JPY
Area: Tokyo 23 District, Toei-bus
Validity: 23:59 of the day you have purchased
Where to buy: Ticket Vending Machine.
How to distinguish Tokyo Metro from Toei-Line is very simple.
You open the Google Map app and set the destination and your location.
The route that Google Maps shows also tells you whether it is Metro or Toei, so using Google Maps to find out the line would be very smart.
Which one should I buy?
If you have a Japan rail pass ticket, you should go for the last one "Tokyo Metro & Tokyo subway common one day pass".
It is kind of troublesome to think about "Is this Tokyo Metro or Toei-Subway?", so I think buying the common one-day pass will save you time and energy.
And, it isn't that expensive.
If you ride more than 4 times, you will get the benefit from it.
Purchasing a ticket in Japan is fun but also quite difficult.
You need the information in advance to be financially smart.
Even if you purchase one day pass, having Suica is very important.
If you do not know about Suica, please read the article What is Suica card? A very useful prepaid card in Japan.
I hope your purchase for the one-day pass is without any problem.