Getting Around Tokyo: Suica, Subway Passes, Yamanote and Taxis (2026)

Suica vs PASMO, and what's on sale now

Suica (JR East's card) and PASMO (the private railways' and subways' card) do the same job. Either one works on JR, Tokyo Metro, Toei and the private railways and buses in Tokyo, and in the other cities' IC areas too: PASMO lists ten interoperable cards, including ICOCA in Kansai. You touch the card on the gate going in and out, and the fare comes off the balance; IC fares are often a few yen cheaper than a paper ticket. You can also pay in convenience stores and many shops. The balance can't go over ¥20,000.

What you can buy, as of November 2026:

• On your iPhone (my pick): add Suica or PASMO to Apple Wallet. No card to lose, no queue at the machine, and you top up from a card in Wallet. See below.
• TOURIST PASMO (launched May 2026, for short-term visitors): sold at the airports with the value already on it, no deposit. At Narita it's ¥2,000 from the SKYLINER & KEISEI INFORMATION CENTER in the Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 stations; at Haneda, ¥1,000, ¥2,000, ¥3,000, ¥4,000, ¥5,000 or ¥10,000 from Keikyu's machines for travellers at Terminal 1·2 and Terminal 3 stations (credit cards accepted). It lasts 28 days, and leftover value isn't refunded.
• Welcome Suica (JR East's card for short-term visitors): no deposit, 28 days, and the balance isn't refunded. JR East sells it at its travel service centres and Welcome Suica machines in the Narita Terminal 1, Narita Terminal 2·3 and Haneda Terminal 3 stations.
• Ordinary Suica and PASMO cards: back on sale since March 2025, after sales were suspended in 2023. PASMO adds a ¥500 deposit to a new card, refunded when you hand it back.

PASMO PASSPORT is gone. PASMO says sales had already ended and all handling of the card stopped on 11 October 2024; TOURIST PASMO is its replacement. Older guides that tell you to buy one are out of date.

Suica and PASMO on iPhone (Apple Wallet)

Apple's instructions: on an iPhone 8 or later, open Wallet, tap the Add button, choose Transit Card, pick Suica or PASMO, tap Add New Card, choose an amount and confirm. You need an eligible payment card in Apple Wallet to pay for it and to top up later. The first transit card you add is set to Express Mode, so you just hold the phone near the gate, with no Face ID or unlocking. You can also move an existing physical card onto the phone; after that the plastic card stops working, and its deposit is added to the balance.

JR East's Welcome Suica Mobile app is the other option for visitors on iPhone: you can set it up before you fly, there's no deposit, and the balance lasts 180 days from issue and isn't refundable. For an Android phone bought outside Japan, PASMO says Mobile PASMO generally won't work, so buy a physical card instead.

The Yamanote line

JR East's Yamanote line is a loop of 30 stations round central Tokyo: Tokyo, Yurakucho, Shimbashi, Hamamatsucho, Shinagawa, Ebisu, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Takadanobaba, Ikebukuro, Sugamo, Nippori, Ueno, Akihabara, Kanda and more. On JR East's November 2026 timetable a full loop takes a little over an hour, and trains run every few minutes through the day, in both directions (signed clockwise for Ikebukuro and Ueno, and counter-clockwise for Shibuya and Shinagawa, at Shinjuku).

Times between the big stops, from the same timetable:

• Shinjuku to Shibuya: about 7 minutes
• Shinjuku to Ikebukuro: about 9 minutes
• Ueno to Tokyo Station: about 9 minutes
• Shinjuku to Tokyo Station: about 35 minutes either way round

Any IC card works on it. It's JR, not the subway, so the Tokyo Subway Ticket doesn't cover it, but the Japan Rail Pass does. If your hotel is near a Yamanote station, you can reach most of the places in our 3-day Tokyo itinerary without changing lines.

Tokyo Metro vs Toei

Tokyo's subway is run by two companies. Tokyo Metro has nine lines, including the Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya lines; Toei, run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, has four, including the Oedo and Asakusa lines. Stations, maps and signs are shared, and one IC card pays on both, so in practice you can treat it as one network. The difference matters for tickets: they're separate companies with separate fares, so a journey that changes from one to the other costs more than staying on one network, and some passes cover only one of them.

Google Maps and the station signs give each line a colour and letter (G for the Ginza line, M for the Marunouchi, E for the Oedo) and each station a number, which makes changes easy to follow even if you can't read the Japanese.

The Tokyo Subway Ticket: 24, 48 or 72 hours

The Tokyo Subway Ticket gives unlimited rides on all Tokyo Metro and Toei subway lines for 24, 48 or 72 hours from first use. It's sold to overseas visitors on a short-term stay, and since 25 March 2026 also as a QR-code ticket. Prices went up on 14 March 2026, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's announcement:

• 24 hours: ¥1,000 (children ¥500); before 14 March, ¥800
• 48 hours: ¥1,500 (children ¥750); before, ¥1,200
• 72 hours: ¥2,000 (children ¥1,000); before, ¥1,500
• Tokyo Metro and Toei common one-day ticket: ¥1,100 (children ¥550); before, ¥900
• Keisei Skyliner and Tokyo Subway Ticket, the Narita train plus the pass: ¥3,100 to ¥6,100

Is it worth it? Only if most of your rides that day are on the subway. It doesn't cover JR, so it does nothing for the Yamanote line, the Chuo line, or the trains to the airports. On a day of subway hops (Asakusa, Ginza, Roppongi, Omotesando) it pays; on a day based round Shinjuku, Shibuya and Harajuku on the Yamanote line, an IC card is simpler. Older guides still quote the ¥800, ¥1,200 and ¥1,500 prices.

Rush hour, women-only cars and luggage

Tokyo's weekday morning rush is famously packed, roughly 7:30 to 9:30am into the centre, with a lighter evening peak after work. If you can, start sightseeing after it, and never travel with big suitcases then; take the airport bus or a taxi instead, or send your bags ahead.

Several lines run a women-only car on weekday mornings, usually from the first train until about 9:30am. The car and the platform spot are marked with signs (usually pink); check them before you board, and if you're a man, use another car during those hours. Which lines, cars and times vary, so go by the signs on your platform.

Taxis, GO and Uber

Tokyo taxis are metered, and fares are set within a range approved by the government. On the Tokyo Individual Taxi Association's table for the 23 wards, Musashino and Mitaka, in force from 20 April 2026:

• Flag fall: ¥500 for the first 1.0 km
• Then: ¥100 for every 232 m
• Slow traffic: ¥100 for every 1 minute 25 seconds when the taxi is going 10 km/h or less
• Late night and early morning (10pm to 5am): 20% more
• Booking a pick-up: ¥500
• Long trips: 10% off the part of the fare over ¥9,000

GO is Japan's most widely used taxi app, available in all 47 prefectures: set your pickup and drop-off, request a taxi, and match the confirmation number when it arrives. It takes international credit cards; GO's help page says Apple Pay works only with a linked JCB or American Express card for now. Uber also works in Tokyo: choose Taxi in the app and a licensed taxi picks you up, and Uber Private Car, Uber's Japanese ride-share service with drivers working through taxi companies, has operated in some areas, including Tokyo, since 8 April 2024. Booking a taxi, by phone or app, can add a pick-up charge.

From the airports, taxis charge fixed fares. See Haneda Airport to Tokyo for Haneda's (from ¥7,600 to Chiyoda ward). Narita's are far higher, from ¥23,500 to the nearest Tokyo wards.

Last trains and first trains

Tokyo's trains stop around midnight to 1am and start again around 5am. On JR East's weekday timetable, the last Yamanote trains from Shinjuku leave at 12:41am counter-clockwise (towards Shibuya, ending at Osaki) and 12:44am clockwise (ending at Ikebukuro); the first leave at 4:43am and 4:44am. Last trains often run only part of a line, so check the destination. Subway last trains vary by line and station: check the timetable at your station or in Google Maps before a late night out.

Miss the last train and you're looking at a taxi (with the 10pm to 5am surcharge, and long queues in Shinjuku and Shibuya at weekends), a long walk, or staying out till the first train. Our nightlife guide and late-night food guide cover the staying-out option.

Airports, day trips and the bullet train

For the airport trains, buses and fixed taxi fares, see Haneda Airport to Tokyo. For the bullet train to Kyoto and Osaka, and whether a Japan Rail Pass pays, see Tokyo to Kyoto. For trips out of the city, see the best day trips from Tokyo and the Mt Fuji day trip. And to pick a base on a good line, see where to stay in Tokyo.

How to get around Tokyo

Put Suica or PASMO on your phone, or buy a TOURIST PASMO or Welcome Suica when you land, and use it on almost every local train, subway and bus (limited expresses such as the Skyliner and N'EX need an extra ticket). Use the Yamanote line for Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ueno and Tokyo Station. Buy a Tokyo Subway Ticket (¥1,000 for 24 hours, ¥1,500 for 48, ¥2,000 for 72) only for days that are mostly on the subway. Avoid weekday mornings with luggage, use GO or Uber for taxis, and plan to be home by about midnight.

Tourli, the app that turns travel guides into day-by-day plans, can lay out your Tokyo days by area so you spend less time on trains.