Flashback: Tokyo Oct 2011 Part 2

Tokyo Subway/Metro:

First thing we did when we got to a metro station, was to grab a free copy of the Tokyo subway/metro map(below). The good news is that the Tokyo is very well-connected with the subway system, and there is also no need to take bus or taxis; the bad news is that the map is pretty complex!

 

Ginza (銀座)

Ginza is one of Tokyo's main shopping areas and caters primarily to the well-heeled crowd (think Louis Vuitton). If you're like us, i.e. budget-conscious or simply not interested in luxury goods, there's nothing much to do here :D. However, what we really liked about this place is that on Sundays between late morning till evening, the main shopping street along Chuo dori (中央通り) between 1 丁目 to 8 丁目 will be closed to vehicles, and it's a real great experience to walk along the broad road on a cool Autumn afternoon.








AKB48 Cafe - Akihabara (秋葉原)

There - the origin of the famous Jpop group AKB48 in Akihabara.
There seemed to be multiple queues in front of the cafe. We weren't interested in them, so we gave it a miss.



In case you don't know who AKB48 is:

Flashback: Tokyo Oct 2011 Part 1

Narita (成田) -> Tokyo

The fastest way - based on our Internet research - to get from Narita (成田) airport to downtown Tokyo is to take the Narita Express (N'EX) train. Narita Express can get you from the airport to Tokyo in ~50 min, and there is a train every approximately 30min. But take note though - the first train departs from Narita airport at 07:31AM, and the last train at 21:44PM; so if you're traveling outside these times, you might want to explore other transportation options. 

(Narita Express time-table here)

We bought the "Suica & N'EX" package that includes both a N'EX ticket as well as a Suica card, as we thought that this is a pretty good deal. 

(Suica is a contactless, reloadable smartcard that can be used on almost all public transport in Tokyo). 

Inside the Narita Express train

Shinjuku station (新宿駅)

Hohoho, ever heard of urban legends about people losing their way in Shinjuku station? Trust us, it's totally believable! 

Shinjuku station is Tokyo's railway hub and is served by several railway companies with a total of 12 railway lines. It is a HUGE station with 35 platforms and over 200 exits, and is supposedly registered with the Guinness World Records for the world's busiest transport hub with an average of 3.64 million human traffic per day in 2007 (source: Wikipedia)!

I have a photo to show how large and crowded Shinjuku station is. Note the bewildering array of directional signs along the top in the background:

Stay calm and keep moving =)