Rail > Metro / Subway, Tokyo

It's always a little frightening for a stranger to descend underground...to try to get from pillar to post in a foreign language. Fortunately, the Japanese Metro system is almost fool-proof. There are lots of visual cues (with station names and other information given in English spelling as well as the Japanese characters, so you aren't left trying to puzzle out whether you've reached Omotesando or not). For the mobility challenged, there are elevators; but most stations are more easily accessed by stairways and some require a good deal of walking to make transfers, etc. The cost is very reasonable and the subways are very clean.

I had the most marvelous sense of accomplishment when I navigated from Aoyama to Akasuka to visit Senso-ji. The hardest part was finding the temple after I emerged from the underground!

I was really worried about using the underground/subway when i came as I looked at the map and it looked like a picture my nephew had drawn....a load of coloured lines!

But it was actually quite easy to navigate. It is also now in English so that helps!

The trains are very clean and safe to use.

If you do get lost just ask a local they are more than happy to lend a hand getting you back on track so to speak!

Getting around Tokyo Subway isn't all that difficult after all.

I would, the night before, determine the route and cropped the acrobat copy of the subway map (available on japan metro website) to show only the relevant sections on store it on my PDA and can view it the next day even when I'm on the move.

Further to that, I would ask the station master which platform to my next destination. Their answers are very good and gives the shortest possible route.

They have a subway map and not all subway metro are owned by the Tokyo Metro, only those listed on the legend section under Tokyo Metro Line are covered under the Tokyo Metro pass. The Tokyo metro pass is a 1 or 2 day pass that you can purchase at Narita Airport near the Information Counter.

A 2 days subway metro pass would be 980 Yen while a single day metro pass is 600 Yen.

A single trip (one way) without pass would be about 200 Yen. Would be worthwhile if you are moving around using the subway. Remember, not all lines are owned by Tokyo Metro and you may still need to pay for those rides that aren't owned by Tokyo Metro.

what a pleasure to use the metro in Tokyo
no people talking on the phone or making any loud noise
they sleep, play or sms on the phone or read a book or just stay quiet
and it's clean, on time and fast

Traveling in Tokyo is no problem. The metro stations have numbers and inside the metro cars there are maps that light up to show the next station.

Everyone involved in the tourist infrastructure speaks English.

All other Japanese people read English.
I found carrying a small notebook in my shirt pocket so that I could write my question (printing, not cursive) worked just fine.

You could set your watch to the trains in Tokyo it's truly amazing for the amount of trains they run.
At the train stations if you look at the floor you will notice an area that is painted. This is where the doors of the train will stop and you can get on.
When I was there we didn't know this and just stood at the platform while a large line of people stood behind us thinking we were standing where the door would open. Oops.

It's fairly straightforward, not too much to worry about:

The crowds aren't always bad. Mostly during peak hours.

If you want to navigate easily, you'll probably want to switch metros a few times. Two pieces of advice for this.

1. At the stations, there don't seem to be metro-maps in english that you can take with you, so you might want to print one out before you go. There's one at www.tokyometro.jp/rosen/rosenzu/pdf/rosen_eng.pdf

2. Sometimes it appears like two lines are crossing at one station, but you might find out that the other line's station is actually 500 metres away. There are generally easy-access tunnels conencting the various cities.

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I must confess I was scared when I say a map of Tokyo subway when I tried to find Shibuya station, but I had a great experience using it. You pay for the distance you go, if you go farther you have to pay more when you get out from it.
It is safe, clean and confortable, way better than Mexico City's subway!!
I used it from Ginza to Shibuya and the price was 190 yens. I had to ask for help when buying my ticket because the ticket machine can be very hard to understand.