My Trip To Japan: On A Tokyo Subway Platform

If you travel to Japan you will almost certainly have to ride the subway. It can be a little intimidating when it is crowded. However, millions of tourists have ridden the subways and had little to no problems. All of the pictures in this post were taken well before the crowds. I think I took these on my way to eat an early morning breakfast at Tsukiji Market. They were taken at 4:30 am.

Most times you will have to walk the stairs or take an escalator to get to your subway platform. Some of the big station have several floors where you have to catch different subway lines. You can usually find an escalator or elevator if you look hard enough. The signs are always in Japanese and English. Some of the signs are in Korean and some are also in Chinese. This particular platform has a twin across the tracks. The subway heads in the opposite direction towards Shibuya and Shinjuku.

This sign gives you some information for whenever you exit the subway. It will tell you where the elevators, restrooms, and exits are. This station has East, West, and Central exits. Each of these exits has sub exits. I know the Central has 2 main ones. Some of the really huge stations have more than two dozen exits. Don't worry, it's usually not a long walk if you go out the wrong exit. You can also see the two tracks that head in opposite directions in this photo.

This is a station sign. When the doors to the subway open these will be visible and let you know when to get off. There is always an led sign inside the subway too. However, it can sometimes be difficult to see if it is crowded.

That's pretty much it for the signs on the subway platform. Riding the subway is easy. The worst thing that can happen is that you go in the wrong direction or get on the wrong car. All that you have to do is get off that subway and take another one back to where you started. Really, it's that simple.