Tokyo

Public Transport

Tokyo has one of the most sophisticated and efficient public transport systems in the world - a combination of an extensive train network operated by a number of private companies, 12+ underground lines, bus services and several monorails.

The complexity of the network and the sheer size of some of the stations can seem daunting at first, but navigation is remarkably easy. Most signs are written in English, there are numerous easy-to-use ticket machines and the clear colour-coded underground map makes navigation simple.

A single journey from one part of central Tokyo to another is unlikely to cost more than ¥200. Best of all for confused travellers, if in doubt simply buy the cheapest fare available at the ticket machine. You can then settle up at the fare adjustment machines at your destination without the risk of a fine. For information in English call the JR East Infoline (tel: 050 2016 1603).

There are a variety of passes available designed to save travellers' money. Suica and Pasmo are pre-pay cards - they won't save you any money, but they will save you time as you simply charge it up at the machines and swipe it at each ticket gate.

Note that Tokyo's subway network is operated by two principal companies, the Toei Subways and Tokyo Metro.

With the number of Tokyo commuters, trains are uncomfortably crowded during rush hours (0730-0900 and 1700-1900), despite very frequent services. But now that the problem of women being groped by men in the morning crush has been eliminated by the introduction of women-only carriages, public transport is also very safe, even after dark, and staff and passers-by are generally quick to help confused foreigners.

Despite Tokyo being very much a 24-hour city, the service does not operate 24 hours - trains run from approximately 0500-2400/0100. Nevertheless, there are many 24-hour pubs and cafes in the city, and waiting for the trains to start running in the early morning is a long established tradition among the revellers wishing to avoid ruinously expensive night-time taxi fares.

The Tokyo Tourist Information Office (tel: (03) 3201 3331) can provide detailed service and timetable information for all the different service providers.

Taxis

Tokyo's taxis are numerous, and can be hailed easily on the street, or found at taxi ranks. It is also possible for one to reserve a taxi in advance, from one of the many companies. Fares vary slightly between taxi companies but are uniformly expensive at ¥710 for the first 2km (1.25 mile), then ¥100 every 350m thereafter. Tipping is not customary and could offend.

Taxi drivers are very professional, but rarely speak English, so it is advisable for tourists to have their destination written out in Japanese, or to be able to point to it on a Japanese map. During rush hour, it is often quicker to take the train. Unoccupied taxis become scarce at around 0100, once the train services have finished. A peculiarity of all Japanese taxis is that the rear doors are operated automatically by the driver - visitors should not try to open or close the doors themselves.

Driving in the City

Tokyo's public transport network and taxis are excellent, and driving in the city is therefore not advised. Traffic is heavy, navigation is greatly complicated by the fact that streets rarely have names, and parking is expensive and difficult to find.

Car Hire

The biggest car hire company, with 150 branches in the Tokyo area, is Nippon Rent-A-Car (tel: (03) 3485 7196; www.nipponrentacar.co.jp). Other companies include Toyota Rent-A-Car (tel: (03) 5954 8020; http://rent.toyota.co.jp/en/index.html) and Nissan Rent-A-Car (tel: (0120) 004 123; http://nissan-rentacar.com).

Car hire in Japan costs from around ¥6,000 per day for the smallest class of car. Basic insurance is usually included in the price. Both a national driving licence and an International Driving Permit are required. Drivers must have held their licence for at least a year and the minimum age for hiring a car varies between 19 and 26, although is usually 21 years.

Bicycle Hire

SCS, 2-1-16 Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku (tel: (03) 3815 6221; www.scs-tokyo.co.jp), arranges scooter hire from ¥5,000 per day. Bicycles often can be hired at suburban train stations for around ¥1,000 per day.

Introduction

Fully embracing the legacy of the pleasure-loving inhabitants of old Edo, modern Tokyo continues to host an astonishing number of festivals, rituals, observances and celebrations (see Special Events section). The traditional arts, too, thrive here, with drama, martial arts, the tea ceremony and flower arranging all widely taught and performed. Tokyo is a stop on the touring schedules of many internationally famous music and dance companies, pop groups and art exhibitions, further adding to the vibrancy of the local arts and entertainment scene. 

The Tourist Information Centre (tel: (03) 3201 3331) has a database of detailed information on the city's festivals, and the English-language magazines Metropolis (www.metropolis.co.jp) and Tokyo Journal (www.tokyo.to) publish listings of events, concerts and exhibitions.

The English-language booking agencies, Ticket Pia (tel: (03) 5237 9999; http://t.pia.co.jp/) and Lawson Ticket (http://l-tike.com/), are the major ticket merchants, with outlets located around the city. Events are regularly sold out and bookings should be made well in advance.

Music: Lovers of classical music are well catered for in Tokyo. There are five resident symphony orchestras - including the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra (tel: (03) 5353 9521; www.tpo.or.jp/english), the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (tel: (44) 520 1511; www.tokyosymphony.com/top-E.html) and the NHK Symphony Orchestra (tel: (03) 3465 1780; www.nhkso.or.jp).

There are numerous major venues, among them the Bunkamura Orchard Hall, 2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku (tel: (03) 3477 9111; www.bunkamura.co.jp), Suntory Hall, 1-13-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku (tel: (03) 3584 9999; www.suntory.co.jp/suntoryhall) and the stunningly designed concert hall, Tokyo Opera City, 3-20-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku (tel: (03) 5353 0770; www.operacity.jp).

Tokyo International Forum, 3-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku (tel: (03) 5221 9000; www.t-i-forum.co.jp) stages a variety of musical and cultural performances in its four halls, one being among the largest in the world, with 5,012 seats. Traditional Japanese musical performances, such as taiko (drum) and shamisen (a stringed instrument), are occasionally held at Bunkamura (see above) and in smaller local venues.

Theatre: Of Japan's traditional dramatic arts, kabuki, with its gorgeous costumes, elaborate staging and complex plots, is probably the most accessible. Kabuki-za, 4-12-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku (tel: (03) 3541 3131; www.kabuki-za.co.jp), is a beautiful theatre that holds regular performances. English earphone commentary is available. Performances are long, sometimes lasting 5 or 6 hours, however, it is usually possible to purchase tickets for a single act.

Information on programmes of other traditional performing arts, including noh (restrained and highly stylised drama, little changed since Japan's medieval era), bunraku (puppet theatre) and kyogen (short satirical plays, often performed as intervals during noh dramas), can be obtained from the Tourist Information Centre (see above).

Contemporary Japanese theatre tends towards the obscure, and the language barrier is an additional dissuasion. Far more accessible are the extravagant review-style performances of the glamorous all-female Takarazuka troop, held at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre, 1-1-3 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku (tel: (03) 5251 2001; http://kageki.hankyu.co.jp).

Dance: Overseas dance companies, ranging from ballet to tango, regularly include Tokyo on their itineraries. Performances are often held at Bunkamura, 2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku (tel: (03) 3477 9111; www.bunkamura.co.jp).

Butoh, an experimental, sometimes grotesque form of expressive dance developed in Japan in the 1960s, has a loyal following among more avant-garde Japanese audiences. Performances take place in various venues, including Setagaya Public Theatre, 4-1-1 Taishido, Setagaya-ku (tel: (03) 5432 1526; www.setagaya-pt.jp).

Film: At the giant Virgin Toho Cinema multiplex (tel: (03) 5775 6090; www.tohocinemas.co.jp/roppongi/index.html) in Roppongi Hills, shows run late, or sometimes 24 hours, and seats are always allocated on purchase. Round the Yamanote line is the Shinagawa Prince Cinema (tel: (03) 5421 1113; www.princehotels.co.jp/shinagawa/cinema/), a plush 10-screen multiplex with enormous seats and all the latest films. A good arts cinema is Cinema Rise, 13-17 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku (tel: (03) 3464 0052; www.cinemarise.com).

Rather than literary representations, Tokyo has always inspired powerful images, from the ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the Edo period to the films of the present day. Juzo Itami's Tampopo (1986) and Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953) explore aspects of life in the city, while Katsuhiro Otomo's acclaimed Akira (1988) is a sci-fi animation set in a futuristic vision of Tokyo.

In recent years, 2003's Lost in Translation, presenting Sophia Coppola's beautiful vision of Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray lost in the neon wonders of modern Tokyo, has been the most powerful image to westerners. 

Literary Notes: Tokyo is home to Japanese authors as diverse as Kenzaburo Oe, 1994 Nobel Laureate in Literature, and Banana Yoshimoto, author of the cult novel Kitchen (1993).

From the great 'interpreter of Japan', Lafcadio Hearn (an early foreign resident of Tokyo) and from the diplomatic wives of the 19th century, who delighted in the cherry blossoms and the dainty manners of the people, to Angela Carter, who pronounced Tokyo 'an exceedingly pleasant place in which to live', Tokyo has merited inclusion in a host of memoirs.

These include the writings of William Faulkner, Aldous Huxley, Jean Cocteau and Charlie Chaplin. William Gibson's novel, Idoru (1997), explores Tokyo's technological future, while the darker side of the city is vividly portrayed in Speed Tribes: Children of the Japanese Bubble (1994) by Karl Taro Greenfeld.

A Booker-shortlisted novel set in Tokyo is the wonderful Number 9 Dream (2001) by David Mitchell. Although written by an American author, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden, ignited worldwide interest in Japan and Japanese culture when it came out in 1998.

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