Hello world, This is Tabear, I’ve been living Japan 30years. I can write in English little bit, so,
I will show you how to get the train in Japan.
JR and Tokyo Metro
There are so many train company in Japan. JR,Tokyo-Metro, Keisei,so on. But you can get any trains by one IC card called “Suica”. You can buy New Suica at the station,Black ticket machine.Photo is below.Black machine, you can buy Suica.
Why we Japanese uses Suica?
The reason why almost all Japanese use Suica is that Suica is VERY useful. You can buy drink at vending machine, you can pay at the fashion shops, restrant, Taxi,of cause conviniance store.
And train fee is different from the money and Suica.If you get the train from Narita Airport to Shinjuku, by using Suica, it costs 1188yen. But if you use money, it costs 1200 yen. Japanese people knows this, almost Japanese doesn’t use money for the train.
How much is Suica?
Suica can be used repeatedly(you need to charge to it). Once you get a Suica, you can go everywhere in Japan by public transportation. You can buy your own Suica at the station at least 500yen!! (Maybe you need coins) Suica is very useful.Suica is made by JR. There is not only Suica but also “Pasmo” in Tokyo.Pasmo is same as Suica, but made by Tokyo-Metro.Tokyo-Metro is not same company as JR.
If you want Suica, you should buy at JR’s ticket machine. or you want Pasmo, you should buy at Tokyo-Metro’s tickets machine.Once you get Suica or Pasmo, you can use them foever as long as it doesn’t bend or cut into two.
How to Pass the ticket gate
Finaly you get Suica(already charged about 1000),you can pass the ticket gate with one second. Touch to Gate,and lights green, you succeed to enter to the station.You can get the train and go to your destination.When you reach your destination, touch ticket gate again,then be automatically liquidated the fee. If you didn’t charge enough to Suica, ticket gate alarts and lights red,and shutt the gate. Do not afraid of it. You can charge at the charging machine.
The train is the most important and populer traffic in Japan.Just we are used to it,sometimes we lost the way how to pass the gate.I think the happenings will also be memorable.no one gets angry at foreigners, please enjoy Japanese culture.
