JAPAN - Kitakyushu Monorail

On the Shinkansen, Kitakyushu is only 16 minutes from Fukuoka, so I could have explored this city's monorail system easily on a daytrip, but in the end I decided for the locker option to continue straight to Hiroshima the same evening (22 April 2016).

Monorail train entering Kokura station on level +1

The bad thing about the Kitakyushu Monorail, there is no day ticket. So I had to use my PASMO stored-value ticket each time I wanted to get out and back into the system. I don't know for how long you could actually remain inside the paid area, and for example ride the whole line in both directions and get off at Heiwadori, a short walk from the railway station? Would the system understand that you only travelled between two stations? Or would it get suspicious and send you to fare adjustment? Has anyone tried? And what if you actually exit where you first entered? Anyway, to avoid problems I tap in and out as any real Japanese would do.

The good thing, you can use any of the IC cards available across the country and also add value to it. For someone who lives in Germany where each city not only has its own fare system, but also a completely different philosophy about fares and zones and subzones, using just the same card all over the country is like heaven. Especially for the occasional riders, it is so much easier, as you don't really have to worry about fares, as long as there is some credit on your card, and if not, you can always add some.

Monorail map

The monorail line initially started a few hundred metres south of the railway station, but was eventually extended, and the first station is now perfectly integrated into the railway station complex, with trains one level above the main lobby, and actually visible from there. Route diagrams are displayed in all stations, but there is no map to take away. While in other places there are always some leaflets to pick up, Kitakyushu has nothing about the monorail, it seems.

Typical entrance to monorail station, here at Tanga 

Opened in 1985, this is actually the most dated-looking of all urban rail lines I have seen in Japan so far. Especially the accesses to the stations look quite run-down, whereas the mezzanine and platform levels are o.k. Just the terminus at the railway station and the original terminus Heiwadori have an island platform, all other stations have side platforms, and though longer, stations have a similar layout to those in Naha. Here, there is mostly (or always?) also an escalator down from the platform, besides a lift and stairs, of course. Between street level and mezzanine, there is normally one up-escalator and stairs on either side of the street. One could say that the stations are almost designless, or have a very basic and plain design, somehow similar to Vienna's elevated stations, but without the elegance the line colours add to the stations in Vienna. The basic tone is cream, and walking down from the platform to the mezzanine in one station reminded me of those staircases you find in hospitals or department stores no one uses because everybody takes the lift.

Typical monorail platform, here at Kawaraguchi-Mihagino 

Jono station seen through driver's window

The lowest point of the viaduct is at Jono station, where the mezzanine is actually at street level, and this is also a good photo spot. Otherwise the viaduct is at a normal height, not excessively high, and you get a good view of the neighbourhoods the line runs through as well as of the mountains that surround the city. Taking pictures from the end of the platform is not ideal, because their is a glass wall with thin black lines on it. You can get decent shots with the train entering on the other side, but again, be careful not to be hit by the train entering in your platform. The monorail does not have platform gates, just a fence, but the area where the train doors are, is open. The train floor does not exactly match the platform height, so one of the middle doors has a gentle ramp to allow wheelchair users to get on without the help of others.

The stations have, however, one singular features, yet another system to announce when the next train will arrive (there is a basic 10-minute headway). First I was wondering what this sign was, but then understood it quite intuitively:

Next-train indicator: the next train is now approaching the previous station

With the original terminus at Heiwadori, the switches between the two beams are actually located to the south of that station. So between Tanga and Heiwadori, the trains alternate between eastern and western beam to continue into Kokura station, and then return on the same track, which somehow limits the minimum headway to what it is now. There is a layover of some 4 minutes, so with a continuous driver change as done on some metro systems, this could be reduced and thus also more trains offered if necessary. But this monorail is certainly not one of Japan's busiest urban rail lines, at least I haven't seen any train getting full, always easy to get a seat. It will certainly have its rush hour, too. Almost all trains were running with full adverts.

Regular livery vs. advert

Viaduct south of Tanga station

Viaduct near southern terminus at Kikugaoka

Movable beam section next to southern terminus at Kikugaoka (normally only the departure platform is used)

The ride of the four-car trains is decent, not too smooth, but it doesn't shake either. I assume that these are the first-generation cars, so they have been running for 30 years now. I wonder whether there are plans to replace them.

 Inbound Chikutetsu tram arriving at Chikuhu-Katsuki

As I had time, I took a JR train to Kurosaki, to see the Chikutetsu line to Nogata, this is a kind of interurban tramway running through the western parts of Kitakyushu (which has quite a large area of merged cities). It runs about every 12-15 minutes on the inner section, but suddenly I was stranded on the outer part where there is a train only every half hour during off-peak times. They have just introduced low-floor cars, making the line look more like a tram line than before. I only saw one in service, maybe it's the only one they have. Typically you have to get on through the rear door and exit by the driver who checks tickets or collects fares.

New Chikutetsu tram announced inside older vehicles

Previous stop: FUKUOKA | Next stop: HIROSHIMA

LINKS

Kitakyushu Monorail (Official Site)

Kitakyushu Monorail at UrbanRail.Net (feat. map)

JAPAN - Fukuoka Subway

I spent a day and a half (20/21 April 2016) in Fukuoka to explore its Subway and a bit of the suburban railways, too.

Compared to Tokyo, the Fukuoka Subway feels more European, especially because of the train length, with 6 cars rather similar to what I am used to. On the newer Nanakuma Line trains consist of only 4 cars. Also the level of usage is not as excessive as in Tokyo, in fact the Hakozaki Line seemed pretty empty during morning off-peak hours. And the system uses a proper logo, a white f on blue background, in italics, so in a way it suggests F for Fukuoka, but also seems to include an S for Subway.

Outbound Subway train continuing beyond Meinohama terminus

Let's start with the older lines, the Kuko (Airport) Line and the Hakozaki Line, which is in fact a branch of the first. In a Japanese fashion, the Hakozaki Line is shown as a separate line, although about every other train continues west on the Kuko Line to Nishijin or Meinohama. Some maps show a thinner blue line next to the normal orange line, which depicts quite well that it is a mixture of separate line and joint operation. Interestingly, the junction station Nakasu-Kawabata actually consists of two stations on top of each other, so the Hakozaki Line actually merges with the Kuko Line just east of Tenjin station. So transferring passengers who wish to go from the Kuko Line's eastern leg towards Kaizuka either have to go one level up (down in the opposite direction) or continue to Tenjin and change across the platform.

By the way, Subway maps are available to pick up at all stations, in a Japanese version and an English version, although the latter may not be waiting for you in all the stations. 

JR train at Hakata on Kuko Line

At the airport, the Subway station was only a very short walk from where I came out, getting a day pass for 620 Yen (Subway only) from a machine was easy. Trains run every 7 minutes during off-peak hours, and about every fourth train is a JR train that continues beyond Meinohama. With only one interoperating route, this is pretty clear here in Fukuoka. At the western end of the line, Meinohama, there are two island platforms, terminating trains seem to normally use the inbound track directly, so no reversing beyond the station. Interestingly, the indicators announce that this "train originates in this station", which is like saying "don't worry, you'll get a seat anyway", very nice. JR trains, however, use the outer tracks. If I have observed correctly, Subway trains may also continue on JR tracks. At Kaizuka, the Hakozaki Line is not interconnected with the Nishitetsu Kaizuka Line, although both lines are actually on the same level and have the same orientation, but I guess that this was not considered due to the lower demand on the outer line, where rather short trains operate less frequently, but it may be an option for the future, I assume.

Position of train on its approach to "This station"

The funniest feature I have detected in the Fukuoka Subway is the display of the position of the train on its approach. A similar service is provided in Brussels, even with several trains and their position visible. Here a small train is shown as it enters the previous station and then when it is between that and the station where you are waiting. Indicators also show which train provides a connection at Kaizuka, or that at Nakasu-Kawabata you can connect to the other line.

Station symbol with matching colour bar on Nanakuma Line

I was already familiar with the station symbols. This is a nice feature, although I wonder why it is necessary. In Mexico they said it is for people who can't read. Are there so many in Fukuoka? It will be interesting to study their origin more deeply, as some are quite obvious, but others may need some explanation. On these two lines, the colour assigned to the symbol was also used for some other station finishings, so adding a little colour to the otherwise rather sober designs. The stations are not ugly, but very functional and global style, could be in Germany in the 1980s too. They seem to have the right size, not too narrow, but not exaggeratedly spacious either. Needless to say that all are well-kept and also feature excellent toilets. Trains on these two lines look a bit dated, but probably will remain in service for a couple more years still.

The green Nanakuma Line is different in various aspects, although I don't quite understand why. They chose linear technology which is said to allow smaller tunnels, but I don't see much of a difference compared to other metros, and they chose 1435mm gauge as opposed to the typical Japanese 1067mm gauge, making the line incompatible with the rest. Without knowing its history, I would think that originally the Hakozaki Line and the Nanakuma Line were supposed to become a single line, which explains the separate stations at Nakasu-Kawabata; this would have given an X-shaped network. When the Nanakuma Line was built in the early 2000s, apparently an eastern extension towards Hakata was already considered, as the line turns sharply east just west of the current terminus (requiring trains to reverse beyond the station). So probably this intention was the reason why it was not linked up with the Hakozaki Line. Eventually this extension seems to be starting now, I saw some construction just being launched at the intermediate station near Canal City. This will partly alleviate one of the major flaws of the Fukuoka Subway system, the unacceptable interchange between the Kuko Line and the Nanakuma Line at Tenjin - you have to walk for some 500 m through an underground shopping mall. It's quite an elegant mall, though rather dark to make it look more stylish! When you come from the well-lit metro station it is like entering the real underworld... 

Quiet moment in the mall used to transfer between Kuko and Nanakuma Lines

But if you want to travel from A to B, you want to change trains as quickly and easily as possible and not find your way through a shopping centre. So the extension will at least bring people from the southwest directly to Hakata to catch a Shinkansen or allow them to change to the Kuko Line towards the airport much more easily. Anyway, if you really need to change trains at Tenjin, you have to exit through special gates, otherwise you'd be charged an extra fare:

Special gates for transferring passengers in green

The Nanakuma Line is a proper 'Green Line', I mean, the line colour is quite present, even on handrails, which made me think of Vienna's U4. Each station symbol also has a specific colour, but this is not reflected elsewhere within the station except for a colour stroke above the station name. Otherwise the stations all feature a standard design, although different materials were used for some wall cladding around staircases and escalator shafts. Just Yakuin-odori station has many animal motives on the otherwise blank platform gates to show the way to the zoo:

Nanakuma - standard station on the namesake line

This line is operated in full ATO-mode and this is more visible than elsewhere, because the driver, whose duties have been scaled down to train attendant, sits there in front of you in an open cabin, so you can watch every move he makes. At the terminus he closes the driving console, and people can actually sit in his place (which also means, that the drivers have to sit on a very basic, certainly not ergonomic seat!). 

A look over the driver's shoulders on the Nanakuma Line train

Just with one driver I observed that he kept to the same routines you can see with all Japanese train drivers, pointing in all directions, while others just pressed the door-closing button to move on. I suppose these trains were meant for driverless operation, but in the end they decided to keep the driver. They could install a separating wall, though, to give the driver a bit more privacy... The train runs smoothly, and features the best seats I have seen so far in Japan (well, they also look a bit like Berlin's S-Bahn seats...).

Inside a Nanakuma Line train

So while visual announcements are plenty and quite good, accoustic announcements in Fukuoka can get on your nerves after a while, because the lady has a rather unpleasant voice and speaks continuously. I don't know what she says, but it sounds very repetitive, and the single sentence intermingled in English is hard to grasp as it is spoken within the same monotonous monologue. It can't be the language, because I hadn't perceived it as unpleasant in other places, so it must be that voice.

By the way, Fukuoka also feels a bit American - the next-train indicators also display a message saying "If you see something suspicious, tell an official". In America, taking pictures inside a metro station is already suspicious, but I hope that in Japan they have mercy on us. Anyway, so far, no one has bothered me, everybody seems to be ignoring me, or pretend they do. However, when somebody told me that actually drivers and staff were smiling at you when they see you taking pictures, I think they were talking about Korea or China, because here every driver puts on a pokerface as if any kind of reaction would be disobeying the strict railway rules.

Older Nishitetsu rolling stock at Tenjin terminus

I also took the Nishitetsu Tenjin-Omuta Line, which heads south from Tenjin and intersects with the Nanakuma Line at Yakuin. The route is rather busy, offering local, limited express and express trains, so at Yakuin, a train stops every few minutes. The line still has lots of level crossings, but I saw that on some section they have started to put the line on a viaduct. I was a bit shocked by some rather dated stream-lined rolling stock on my way back from Futsukaichi on a limited express.

Previous stop: OKINAWA Naha Monorail | Next stop: KITAKYUSHU Monorail

LINKS

Fukuoka City Subway

Fukuoka at UrbanRail.Net (feat. map)

JAPAN - Okinawa

After a short prelude in Tokyo (see First Impressions here) I started my south-to-north trip in the country's southernmost city, Naha, on the island of Okinawa. Primarily a tourist destination, unfortunately you don't see much of the seaside while in the city. But my visit was not meant to be a vacation, but a mission to get some nice photos for our series "Metros & Trams in Japan" [PS.: Naha was included in volume 2, which was released in March 2017!].

Wuppertal-style alignment just north of Asahibashi

The day I arrived (18 April) as well as the following morning were quite cloudy with a few sunny spots, but with a 10-minute headway these were often not long enough for nice photos. But in the afternoon it cleared up more and more and in the end I got my share of blue-sky pictures to show Naha's monorail line ("Yuirail") from its best side.

Route between Asahibashi and Tsubogawa

As there is not much description of the line on Wikipedia either, I will add a little bit more than just personal impressions. To start with, the line is a victim of its own success. On my way to the airport this morning (20 April) I could experience a proper rush hour, and you don't need too many passengers to fill a 2-car train. Luckily, there are more trains during rush hour, but still, I hardly got onto the train with my luggage, and on the way I saw some tourists which were left behind. I hope they realised that you'd better queue orderly to make sure you'll be the first to board the next train. Yes, like in Tokyo, people do queue outside the doors, which, however, adds to the congestion as the platforms are not really wide enough for four rows of queues form either side. So, while the overall impression is quite good, the system is undersized. The 2-car trains should urgently be extended with a middle car. While technically this shouldn't be a problem, I think it is more a logistic issue, as virtually all of the cars need to be rebuilt at the same time, while also the platform gates are adjusted. This may take the entire system out of service for a certain time. The platforms are long enough to take another carriage, so I assume that longer trains had been taken into account. Another problem with the otherwise quite nice Hitachi trains are the narrow doors, nothing like what you would find on a normal metro train nowadays, just about one metre wide. And there are only two doors in each carriage, rather at the end, so no one likes moving inside the aisle on a crowded train as it is always a hassle to get to the door if you want to get off at a less busy station.

Full train on leaving Airport station

Continuing with the trains, there is only longitudinal seating, with seats quite low and not much of a backrest, so again for me, a tall European, getting up from these seats may be a challenge. If you remain standing, you should not be to sensitive to air-conditioning, because that will blow strongly into your neck. Just at either end of the train, there are four transverse seats which allow you to look out the front window through the rather large driver's cab. These seats are virtually always taken:

Popular front seats

Taking pictures or filming out the front window, however, is difficult, because you have two windows more than a metre apart from each other, and then the front window is divided into three sections and strongly curved. You can, however, observe the driver with their somewhat funny Japanese routine of dispatching themselves. At all stations they have to get up and look out of the window, all movements made in a strict discipline and including all sorts of arm dancing and pointing at various objects before moving on. You can also see that they manually adjust the speed, with the speed limit (max. 65 km/h on straight sections) being set by an ATP system. The ride is rather smooth and despite the excessive dispatching, the journey feels fluid and not a crawl. The train doesn't bump or wobble or shake, the comfort is comparable to a normal metro train. So for a monorail, it is the best I have experienced and similar to Seattle's, as opposed to the crap-train in Las Vegas or the crawler in Moscow. The straddle beams that the train runs on are generally made of concrete, just a few bridges are steel structure painted white. At either end of the line, normally only the departing side is used, i.e. the trains switch from one beam to the other as they enter the station. I'm not quite sure whether there is a possibility to switch beams along the route. The depot is located quite near the Airport terminus and accessible from that station only.

High-rising viaduct on approach to Naha City Hospital station

So, this single line, which is almost 13 km long and has 15 numbered stations, links the airport with the city centre (Kencho-mae/Prefectural Office being the busiest station) and then continues on a rather steep route up to some residential areas. Many tourists will use the line to the upper terminus which is a short walk from Shuri Castle, the city's main tourist attraction. From the entire route you can enjoy lovely views of the city as the viaduct is pretty high in most places, the highest point above street level is, I'd say, just before Naha City Hospital station (some stations have adopted a translated English name recently, although this has not yet been implemented everywhere). Such an elevated structure is never beautiful, but it blends in well with the city, which itself is not a marvel, but a mix of small and high buildings without any architectural appeal. With no emergency paths, the structure basically consists of mostly single T-shaped pillars and the two beams, so it is quite transparent.

Inbound train arriving at Furujima

The stations all have a similar basic layout. From the outside they look like rather massive structures, quite striking that the pillars are able to carry this structure. Usually from either side of the road, a lift, an escalator and a set of stairs can be used to reach the mezzanine level, which acts as a footbridge over the road. At some stations, elevated walkways lead directly to nearby buildings. Ticket gates are similar to those in Tokyo, i.e. they are often open. If you use a printed ticket, this carries a QR-code which you need to scan at the gate. Alternatively, IC cards are available too. I haven't really checked whether the Tokyo PASMO card would work, but I'd assume so. Upon arrival, I got a 2-day pass (1200 Yen - 10 EUR) which is actually good for 48 hours, which was perfect for my stay. Next to the ticket gates there is always a station clerk who seems to thank everybody personally for scanning their tickets. In Berlin, bus drivers don't even nod although they are supposed to check your ticket. Once inside the paid area, there is a wide vestibule as well as toilets, again all in good shape and free to use! One lift and one escalator go up to the platform(s), and there are one or two sets of stairs, too. I think most stations have an island platform, but some have side platforms. At stations with island platforms, the train kind of hangs outside the station, and especially in the centre, where the line follows a canal, it reminded me of the Wuppertal Schwebebahn. The platforms are separate from the train by half-high gates. Unfortunately the end section of each platform is enclosed by glass (the stations still get rather draughty), but this glass has a very fine grid, so it is impossible to take a picture through them. At stations with side platforms you can get nice shots with the train coming in on the other side or stopping on the other side, but don't lean too much over the gates as the train on your side may just be arriving. 

One of several stations with side platforms: Omoromachi

Unfortunately, there are no indicators showing the minutes remaining, but you can normally hear a Japanese announcement before the train enters. Inside the train, the stops are accoustically announced in Japanese and English ("Now arriving - Omoromachi"). 

Typical station with island platform: Akamine

The stations don't have much individual design, besides a small wall mosaic in the vestibule, but different colours are used in different stations for signage, which is quite unusual, as signage is normally standardised or reflects the line colour. Here, the colour, however, is not prominent enough to make it a distintice feature, and the same colour reappears in various stations. I have only now seen on one of the photos that shows a line diagram that three stations in a row use the same colour, starting with blue at the airport, as well as Akamine and Oroku, then green, then yellow, orange and red. I'm not quite sure what this is supposed to mean or how it could be helpful. The same diagram also shows the distance between stations and the required time of travel between them (the diagram above the ticket machines does not reflect these colours and shows the line in green). 

The station name is in fact hard to read from the train, as the original signs are vertical, so in a typical station you may have two signs in Japanese and two in English, but in some places I have seen that brown stickers have been added to increase the number of signs (these already carry the new translated name in the case of several stations). On the outside of the station, the name is written in large letters with an illustration of what could be a symbol of the station, but then I did not find this theme inside the station itself.

Although geographical route maps as well as a line diagram is displayed at all stations, this map is not available to take away. Instead they give you tourist information material which features some info about the monorail and what to see around stations. Inside stations there are also good and large neighbourhood maps.

Wall mosaic at Onomaya Park

The line is currently being extended with four new stations at its eastern end beyond Shuri, hopefully a train-extension programme can be finished by when this extension opens, otherwise overcrowding during peak times will become more severe. I don't know the number of trains they have right now, this morning during rush hour, at least two were standing in the depot. The current line only serves a small part of this rather extensive city, I wonder whether there are plans for any more lines; building an elevated intersection at the central Kencho-mae (Prefectural Office) station might probably even be too much of a visual impact to the otherwise not so easily irritated Japanese eye.

From here, my itinerary will continue due north, calling at all metro cities - next stop: FUKUOKA   

LINKS

Yui Rail (Official Site)

Naha Monorail at UrbanRail.Net (feat. a map)

JAPAN - Tokyo Part 1

::: First Impressions :::

This is the first post on a series to come about Japanese metro systems as I have just started a 1-month tour across the country to see all subways, monorails and peoplemover systems. The final kick to get me to Asia finally was the fact that, together with Andrew Phipps from London, I'm preparing a series of three books covering all urban rail systems in Japan; the first volume is almost completed and will be released in June 2016: "Metros & Trams in Japan: Tokyo Region".

First impression when you get into Narita Airport T2 station, shared by JR and Keisei

Most Japan trips probably start in Tokyo by default. And not knowing what to expect, I thought, I'd just spend a few days here to settle and recover from the jetlag, which after all wasn't too bad anyway, and in case I get too exhausted as I usually do after a few days in New York, I can get away and take the slow approach to this country, entirely new to me (and I hadn't been to anywhere proper in Asia at all!). Starting with a weekend in this megacity probably helped to actually find it a rather relaxed city, in terms of traffic, etc., so I actually didn't feel the need to move on already, but that's the itinerary chosen some months ago, and here I am on way to Okinawa. But I will be back in the Tokyo area for a full week in two weeks.

When I arrived on Friday, 15 April, from Narita Airport I took the Keisei Sky Access train into the city because it left me quite near my hotel. The railway station at Narita Airport T2 is quite a chaotic thing for a first-comer, as there are several options to head towards Tokyo, luckily the internet allows you to make your choice at home, otherwise it could be quite confusing, especially as JR and Keisei operate from the same shared station, but still somehow separate from each other. Even the endless platforms are split in the middle. The Sky Access train is pretty fast, but only runs every 40 minutes, whereas slower trains run more often but via Chiba. The streamlined Skyliner goes directly to Ueno. So I had quite some time to wait for the next one and thus to watch other trains run through the station in the meantime.

Typical ticket machine with fare chart above, here on the Toei Asakusa Line

But before taking a train, one has to get a ticket, of course, which brings us already to one of the big advantages in Japan. You just get a PASMO or SUICA value card, add some money to it and you can use it virtually all over Japan and don't have to worry anymore about all those fares. Buying one (it has a 500 Yen deposit) is quite straight-forward, once you switch the ticket machine to English, everything is on the screen. And then you just tap in and out as you go. But after my horrible experience with the Oyster Card in London, I would still recommend a day ticket for metro explorations within Tokyo, but an IC card (the generic name of all those standardised value cards) is necessary anyway for all other transport not covered by the limited day passes. Those pay-as-you-go cards tend to get confused if you do too many weird rides we rail enthusiasts normally do, or might not allow you back into the station just after leaving etc.

Diagram for different services on the Keikyu system, with through running on the Toei Asakusa Line and on to the Keisei system - just one of some 10 S-Bahn systems...

Back on the Sky Access train, this service is also a typical case for Tokyo railways, in the positive sense, that it runs through into the city, suddenly becomes the Asakusa metro line, before becoming a Keikyu suburban train on its way south to Haneda Airport. So, in principle, this through-operation is great, but what I don't like about it is the confusing presentation of those services. The term "line" in Tokyo (and a few other Japanese cities) does not mean a service from A to B operated by a certain company, but rather a "section of route" belonging to a certain operator. So, for example, the train I took, runs from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport, but uses lots of different "lines", first the Keisei Sky Access route, which is partly single-track, because the other track is used by 1067 mm JR trains, then the Hokuso Line, then the Keisei Oshiage Line, then the Toei Asakusa Line, and finally the Keikyu Main Line and the Keikyu Kuko (Airport) branch. We would probably just call it S1 or so, and depict it is a single line on maps. But Tokyo, besides the maps covering the two subway companies, doesn't really have proper all-rail maps showing all services on one map (which would be quite a challenge anyway), instead the network is extremely fragmented, especially the railways not purely metro-style. So while there are basically two metro systems, Toei's and Tokyo Metro's, there are some 10 different S-Bahn systems, including JR! Luckily, they have introduced line coding for most routes, and even JR has just announced to do the same for its Tokyo suburban railways, the Yamanote line, for example, will carry a JY code.

Out of 13 metro lines, actually only 3 are proper metro lines by global definition, whereas all others are interlaced with suburban lines, some with a few through-running trains, others to an extreme that they are actually more a "Passante" or "S-Bahn" trunk line, like the Asakusa Line. On the other hand, some suburban lines, like the Saitama Railway, in the rest of the would be simple metro extensions into the suburbs, as they don't operate a separate service anyway, with all trains running through to the Namboku Line, in this case.

So to make things more European (if anybody thought this is necessary), what is defined as "subway" could be described as "zone 1" of an overall rail system, just that JR services are still apart. But especially those private lines connected to the metro lines have quite a different fare structure, although through-ticketing is available everywhere. And that's where you'll need an IC card anyway. There is no day ticket covering all railways within this virtual zone 1, although there are combined tickets for Toei, Tokyo Metro and JR.

On the next two days, I therefore bought a combined day ticket for the two subway operators (yes, each of them also has their own day ticket!) for 1000 Yen (8 EUR), which allowed me hassle-free exits and entries into the system, and in case I wanted to get on a JR train, I would use my PASMO card. When I return in two weeks, I will have a valid JR Rail Pass and that is also good for local travel within Tokyo.

Typical ticket barriers, mostly open but closing when you pass without having your ticket checked.

By the way, ticket gates may appear to be open (like in Russia), but you are always meant to tap in or slip your day pass through the machine, otherwise it may suddenly close. The machines react very fast, compared to many I have seen in Europe. There is usually also a station officer next to the barriers. The same gates may function for entry and exit, so avoid collisions! In case you don't have the correct ticket, there is always a fare adjustment machine near the exits.

Generally, the metro stations look very clean but rather cramped. In many stations, although the platform is wide, staircases and pillars obstruct the view and often the platform gets as narrow as just one metre on those sections where the stairs are. While many stations now have a lift (which may be difficult to locate on the surface as it is often hidden in some building), the overall number of escalators is below what you would find on other metros of that age. So you end up climbing lots of stairs, which the Japanese do in a rather relaxed pace. Information inside stations is plentiful, almost too much. So if, like me, you think that the Moscow Metro could do with some additional information panels, then Tokyo could maybe do with less, especially as it is often mixed with excessive adverts (even inside the trains, adverts are omnipresent, hanging from the ceiling between straps).

Line panel on the Hanzomon Line depicted position of nearest exists for swift transfers.

But there are also information details other metro system may want to copy from Tokyo, for example a station list which shows which car is best for which exit or transfer, etc, and even for toilets. Yes, toilets, the great thing on the Tokyo subway, in every station, clean, and free of charge! A paradise! In Germany I spend a fortune on toilets and then they are very scarce!

Narrow entrance at Kyobashi on the Ginza Line right in the city centre

Designwise, the stations are all very plain and functional, could be anywhere in the world and built during the 1970s/1980s. I haven's seen much of the new Oedo Line yet, though. In fact, you can't really tell by their look when they were built. What's quite striking is the narrowness of many accesses at street level, only comparable to some entrances in New York. Many accesses are located in a small niche in a row of houses and if it wasn't for the logo, they would be hard to identify as such. 

Hardly recognisable entrance to the Hibiya/Yurakucho station complex

Toei and Tokyo Metro use a common logo with a subway train, additionally each has its own company logo. Toei's logo is actually that used for other municipal services, too. I wish the two metro systems could at least be unified properly, no matter who the operator behind the different lines is. The Tokyo Metro logo would make for a nice logo for the entire system:

"Tokyo Metro" logo, just good for 9 out of 13 subway lines

Most cities with separate metro companies ended up merging them, those that come to my mind still with different companies being Seoul and Singapore, although these two have quite a unified appearance for the customers. In Japan, such mergers seem very unlikely as all those companies set up to build suburban extensions to the actual metro system are complex entities with various shareholders, so unless they are forced they would probably not see this as a main goal. In Europe, I guess Switzerland is the country with most private railways, but here it has been achieved that for the passenger, at least within urban and suburban areas, it doesn't really matter, who owns and operates which line. One may argue, however, that our fully integrated systems in the end are quite expensive for the passengers, while single journeys in Tokyo have quite a reasonable price, but it adds up if you have to use different trains or even a bus to get to your destination.

Back to useful information given in Tokyo but not available normally in Europe: on newer trains, the screen inside the train also shows where you are on the train and where exits etc. will be located at the next station. Through-running trains also have information panels on the ceilings of all possible routings, but this tends to be very complex. At least, within the proper metro system, those trains that run a long way out, tend to run as 'local', but in some cases they may skip some stops. Unfortunately this is not displayed in a London fashion with "Calling at....", but you need to check the huge panel displayed somewhere along the long platform. And although spoken English is very limited, or people are too shy to use it, all written information is given in English, too, so that helps a lot. I think in most European cities, among them Berlin, we should be much more visitor-friendly and use English more in information systems. We take it for granted when we travel to other places, but don't provide such an international service to our visitors.

Japanese politeness is world-famous, and indeed for a standard westerner often seems exaggerated and servile. But things become much less friendly when you ride a metro train. The Japanese suddenly become quite global in their behaviour, some rush into the train before people get off. This morning going to the airport, I had the chance to see a bit of rush-hour traffic, and it was a bit surprising how selfish those friendly people suddenly get. I managed to squeeze into the train with my luggage at Ningyocho and was happy that at the following stations the doors opened on the other side. But it was rather weird watching all the uniformly dressed people how they ignored the fact that other people get on and off the train, all just staring at their mobile devices and not taking into consideration at all that they may be in the way nor moving a bit to let people pass. On the other hand, at Shinagawa, when the train suddenly filled up again, I observed how orderly they were queuing outside on the platform. By the way, what did the passengers do while riding a train before the age of smartphones? At least they are not talking loudly on their phones while on trains!

In general, all trains like the entire system are well-kept, but for a tall European, the seats are far too low and more of the London-style cushion type, so I almost need the grab-poles to get up. They are also rather narrow, but that probably fit the average Japanese. Otherwise the cars are spacious and offer a smooth ride. Surprisingly the Oedo trains with their linear motors seem less modern, their motors sound like our old 477 or 485 S-Bahn trains.

Yurikamome passing the "Big Sight" Expo Center

So while during this short first stay I managed to ride on every metro line, I also explored the Yurikamome extensively right on the first day when the weather was absolutely perfect. It's a rubber-tyred guided transitway, but feels like a proper metro. It does get pretty packed, so it could run more often, especially when a fair is being held at the Expo Center. You can get very nice views and the ride across the Rainbow Bridge with its loop-like approach is fun. If you're lucky, you can grab the "driver's seat" in this driverless train. The ride is pretty smooth, though a bit slow in curves compared to rubber-tyred VAL systems. The elevated alignment through new developments make one think of the London Docklands Light Railway, of course, although the white trains on rubber tyres reminded me a bit of Marseille. As the stations are equipped with platform screen doors, you can only take pictures through a glass window at the end of the platform, but this being Japan, the windows are all quite clean. For the Yurikamome you can get a day ticket for around 8 EUR if you want to get on and off along the line, otherwise an IC card will be the best choice as even on this isolated line the fares are distance-based.

Yurikamome on its way across the Rainbow Bridge

That's it for today - next stop Okinawa for the Naha Monorail!

And check back soon for the second part about Tokyo!

LINKS

Tokyo Metro (Official Site)

Toei Subway (Official Site)

Yurikamome (Official Site)

Tokyo urban rail systems at UrbanRail.Net