Tokyo Public Bus

Travelling to Tokyo, the city bus, sightseeing bus, shuttle bus as well as community bus are accessible. All these types of buses weave a large bus network, auxiliary to the developed urban railway system in the city. In particular, a public bus is more convenient than the city trains in the suburban areas.

Bus on the Street in Tokyo

Pros and Cons Compared with City Trains

  Public bus usually takes a longer time to reach the destination in Tokyo.
  It has less routes but some head to obscure places or communities in the city.
  Most bus stops are constructed in the surroundings of residential quarters, convenient for residents’ travel.
  It is much less crowded than on a city train.
  In the outskirts, public bus is more developed than rails with denser stops.

City Bus Dominated by Toei Bus

Toei Bus, operated by Bureau of Transportation under the government, is the major part of city bus in Tokyo. Although there are also some buses of Keio, etc., Toei bus has an overwhelming superiority as all the 128 routes cover all major wards in Tokyo as well as Tama and Ome. What’s more, all these buses are non-step buses.

The high-frequency Toei buses run every 10 minutes at most in the daytime, while others run every 10-20 minutes. The bus fare is often fixed as JPY 210 (JPY 206 if a transportation card is used), and JPY 110 per child at 6-11 years old.

Tokyo Sakura Tram, aka Toden Arakawa Line, is similar to Toei Bus. Both of them are affiliated to Bureau of Transportation, while Toden Arakawa Line extends between Waseda and Minowabashi via Oji-ekimae & Machiya.

  Read More: How to Take City Bus in Tokyo

Sightseeing Bus in Tokyo

Sightseeing buses run through the major attractions in Tokyo, and there are multiple alternative routes for your choices. The double-deck & open-top Sky Bus, amphibious Sky Duck and hop-on hop-off Sky Hop Bus are the most popular, transferring visitors to the area around the Imperial Palace, Ginza, Tokyo Tower, Odaiba, etc. The Odaiba Night Course also gives a chance to appreciate the night view by Tokyo Bay on the bus.

Hato Bus is the time-honored chartered sightseeing bus operator in Tokyo, offering the sightseeing bus service around the city as well as to Mt. Fuji and Nikko.

Shuttle Buses

Shuttle buses usually are operated in an area of Tokyo, as a great way to shuttle around the local place. There are free shuttle buses as well as the paid ones in Tokyo.

Free shuttle buses run in 3 routes: Marunouchi, Metrolink Nihonbashi, and Metrolink Nihonbashi E-Line. These free shuttle buses run all year round except January 1th.

Route	Operating Hours	Frequency
Marunouchi Shuttle (Loop route via Otemachi Tower and Hibiya)	08:00-19:00 on weekdays 11:00-18:00 on weekends and holidays	Every 15-25 min
Metrolink Nihonbashi (Loop route via Yaesu, Kyobashi and Nihonbashi)	11:00-19:00	15-20 min
Metrolink Nihonbashi E-Line (Via Tokyo Station with Hamacho, Ningyocho & Kabutocho)	11:00-18:00	25-28 min

The Otemachi Route, a sectional loop of Marunouchi Shuttle Bus, is accessible within 08:00-10:00 on weekdays only.

The paid shuttle buses facilitate local life as well. The main paid shuttle buses in Tokyo include:
  Shuttle Seven of Keisei Bus between Kameari Sta. and Kasai Rinkai Park & Tokyo Disney Resort;
  Fukagawa Shuttle in Koto ward (on weekends and holidays only);
  Joto Shuttle in Koto (on weekends & holidays);
  Megurin (5 loop lines around Asakusa, Negishi, and more areas in Taito ward);
  Sumida Hyakkei Sumimaru-kun / Sumirin-chan (3 loop lines around Sumida ward)

Community Buses

In Tokyo, community buses often connect many communities in the area, and it’s smaller than ordinary buses in the size.

Hachiko Bus has its name after the well-known movie Hachi: A Dog's Tale. With 4 lines in Shibuya, Hachiko Bus connects Shibuya with Ebisu Station, Yoyogi Uehara Station, Honmachi, Sasazuka, Omotesando, etc. It take JPY 100 regardless of adults and children.

B-GURU is the community bus in Bunkyo ward, taking JPY 100 all the time as well. The Sendagi-Komagome, Mejirodai-Kohinata and Hongo-Yushima Routes pass by parks, gardens, hospitals, metro stations, and so on in the area.

Free Thanks Nature Bus in Jiyugaoka, Sakura and Shioiri-Sakura Bus in Arakawa, and more are also popular community buses around Tokyo.

  See more details on City bus in Japan