City Trip and Disney to Universal

Hi There,

From looking at your itinerary, I know that it will be better to buy single tickets.
Most of your travel will be locally in Tokyo.

The JR Pass is a great option if you travel longer distances, for instance the 7-day JR Pass is about the same price as a return Tokyo Kyoto by Bullet train but I think it will be better for you just to buy a normal ticket as you will only travel one way.

What you may find useful is the [Suica + Narita Express ticket package]when you arrive. This will give you a discounted ticket from the Airport to Tokyo and a prepaid IC card, which can be used to travel on all kinds of transport in Tokyo.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for the advice.

On your recommendation:
1. For travel from tokyo to osaka can we use suica?
2. For tokyo trip is it cheaper using suica or 1 day metro?
3. Suica can be refilled or by certain denomination? How much do you think I should buy for my tokyo trip? Is it refundable?
4. Since i am arriving in Haneda by midnight, is there any bus still operation to disneyresort?

Appreciate all the answer. Thanks.

Hello again,

1.) Yes you can use the Suica card for travel on the shinkansen for using non reserved seats.
I would however recommend buying a train ticket at a ticket counter, this way you can arrange for seating together. Which I would certainly do, traveling with a family.

2.) This depends on the amount of travel you do within a day. With Suica you pay the normal ticket fees but it does not limited you to one kind of transportation. The one day metro pass is a great deal but it is only valid on the metro, I would recommend buying it if you plan to do a lot of sightseeing in Tokyo on a single day.

3.) You can charge the Suica card by amounts of a 1000 yen or multiples thereof, the maximum a normal suica card can hold is 20,000 Yen. You can always return a Suica card to get a refund for the deposit and renaming balance.
A fee of 210 Yen applies if you still have balance on the card.

4.) I looked for buses but unfortunately could find none departing around midnight (the last I could find leaves around 8 p.m.). Arriving around midnight will make for difficulties. Public transport shuts down a little after midnight and the only way to travel around will be by using a rather expansive taxi. Consider booking your first nights accommodation around the Airport or around Tokyo station, the Mono rail is available until 00:10 you can use that to travel to Yurakucho and use the Yamanote line from there to travel to central Tokyo. You can read more about late arrivals at Haneda Airport here.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Dear Daniel,

Great advice. Really appreciate it.

One more question though....for 5 of us do we need to buy suica for 5 cards or can share one card? Children 2 yo usually needs to pay or free?

Thanks again Daniel.

Hi Again!

Yes every person needs their own card, children below the age of 6 generally travel for free.
Children between 6-12 pay half price, you will need a special card for the last group, so be sure to ask the staff for one.

Enjoy Japan!
-Daniel

Thanks so much. Take care.