Travelling in Tokyo just got better: Introducing the new “Tokyo Subway Ticket”

Tokyo travellers rejoice! A new and improved Tokyo Subway Ticket is available now. The previous tickets were tied to specific dates and are valid for up to three days. So if you arrived in Tokyo during the evening, for instance, you would only be able to use the ticket for a few hours that day, which diminishes its value.

Both Tokyo Metro and the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (which manages the Toei Subway) abolished the current tickets on 26th March 2016. The new tickets has three types,just like the current tickets, but they are time-based rather than date-based. The tickets come in 24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour varieties, each lasting the designated number of hours from initial use. Prices remain unchanged.

Tokyo’s subway system consists of two independent rapid transit systems: the Tokyo Metro and the Toei Subway. Each issuesits own one-day pass, but since each pass can only be used on the line that issues it, many visitors find the system confusing. For example, if you’re travelling from Shinjuku to Roppongi, you can take the Toei Ōedo Line without having to transfer. But if you take the Tokyo Metro, you’re forced to transfer.

Rather than deal with the hassle of learning the differences between the two lines, many travellers find it easier to just buy the Tokyo Subway Ticket, since it can be used on either line. Incidentally, the Toei one-day pass costs 500 yen, the Tokyo Metro version costs 600 yen, and the combined one-day pass is 1,000 yen (which can be purchased by locals as well as tourists). So it’s easy to see how a pass that can be used for a specified time period, regardless of date, could save travellers money.

As the new Tokyo Subway Tickets are intended for tourists, they will only be available at select duty-free shops if you want to buy them while in the city. They can also be bought at Narita Airport and Haneda Airport. Just be sure to have your passport ready.

Tokyo Subway 24-hour Ticket
(Adult: 800 yen; Child: 400 yen)

Tokyo Subway 48-hour Ticket
(Adult: 1,200 yen; Child: 600 yen)

Tokyo Subway 72-hour Ticket
(Adult: 1,500 yen; Child: 750 yen)

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Credit: Tokyo Metro

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Credit: Kaoru Omiya

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Credit: Kaoru Omiya

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Credit: Tokyo Metro

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Credit: Kaoru Omiya

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Credit: Kaoru Omiya