The Little Tokyo Subway Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Around the City and Beyond [Paperback Bunko]

IBC Publishing (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

This handy book was prepared with the official cooperation of Tokyo Metro and the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation to help readers confidently navigate the convenient but complicated Tokyo subway system. Included are color-coded diagrams of all thirteen Tokyo subway lines; information on ticketing, tourist fares, and commuter passes; a landmark finder; an exit finder; and full-color maps that include national railway, Yokohama, and airport connections. Also included are useful words and phrases, a guide to signs, and where to go for help. Concise and thoroughly up to date, this is the one book readers will want for getting around.

Product Details

• Paperback Bunko: 96 pages
• Publisher: IBC Books; 1 edition (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4896844572
• ISBN-13: 978-4896844573
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,299,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > Travel > Asia > Japan > Tokyo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tokyo Subway Guides, October 26, 2007

By 

G. P. Gennaro (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Little Tokyo Subway Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Around the City and Beyond (Paperback Bunko)

With the release of IBC's "Little Tokyo Subway Guidebook," there are now three distinctly separate volumes designed to help us navigate through the maze of Tokyo's underworld. The first, published by Kodansha in 2002, holds up surprisingly well and boasts a distinct advantage in having maps for about 50 of the stations most likely to be used by visitors, showing how each station, and its numbered exits and entrances, relate to the street system and noteworthy buildings above. The guide published by Tuttle in 2005 does have about 13 area maps, but these are far less detailed than the Kodansha volume. The latest entry from IBC (2007) is the first to acknowledge a 13th line (due to open in June of 2008), though the map shows only one short segment between Ikebukuro and Kotake-mukaihara, stations already served by the Yurakucho line. The unique benefits of the IBC volume are sections that explain the ticketing system (with illustrations), airport connections (for Narita and Haneda), and several pages of bilingual phrases (that could come in handy).

If you feel that a guide book is needed, I'd suggest investing in both the Kodansha and IBC books. They're compact (about 4"x 6" each) and complement each other nicely, with the Kodansha supplying station and area maps and the IBC providing the latest information and helpful ticketing guidance.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ESSSENTIAL for Tokyo travel., May 23, 2009

By 

Jetpuffed (Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Little Tokyo Subway Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Around the City and Beyond (Paperback Bunko)

I just returned from a week in Tokyo, and was very glad I bought this book.
I like to explore, and bought two resources in advance: This subway guidebook, and Kodansha's Tokyo City Atlas with very detailed street maps.
Honestly, you only need two things: this little subway book and a general street map that the hotels provide (we stayed at the Imperial Hotel, in the heart of Ginza). Kodansha's City Atlas is way too detailed for the average tourist. It is more appropriate for a businessman or a new transplant.
This little subway book was INDISPENSIBLE. The subway system in Tokyo is very complicated, and this little book clearly detailed all of the stops along a specific line. I used it constantly; you will too!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Indispensable, January 22, 2009

By 

M. Greenfield - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Little Tokyo Subway Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Around the City and Beyond (Paperback Bunko)

Even after traveling to Tokyo on a regular basis for over 15 years, this is the quickest way I've found for figuring out how I was going to get from one place to another on the fly. Small enough to keep in a pocket, it makes the less Eigo friendly secondary subway systems a lot easier to navigate. Now if they'd just put out a digital version...