How to Take City Bus in Tokyo - Tips on Public Buses

Toei Bus is the major city bus in Tokyo, and it is easy for a bus ride as all the buses are operated in the same standards. Here are the details for first visitors about how to take city bus in Tokyo.

1. Make Sure You’re at the Right Bus Stop

A Small Bus Stop in Tokyo

As there are quite many bus routes as well as bus stops in Tokyo, you need to find the right bus stop with the map. At a bus stop, the operator - Toei Bus, the bus routes, stop name, a simple route map, and the timetable are listed clear. Usually, these information are displayed in Japanese and English at least, some are shown in Korean and Chinese at the mean time.

For the bus routes, the route number and the terminus are specified. The bus route number is often made of kanji (Chinese characters) and Arabic numerals, such as “都06” from Shibuya Sta. to Shimbashi Sta.. Uncommonly, a few bus numbers are composed of capital letters and Arabic numerals, like “RH01” shuttling between Shibuya Sta. and Roppongi Hills.

Travelers can also check the real-time status of buses on each route, in English online. 

2. Identify Buses Getting to the Stop

The bus number is shown on the forehead front of a bus, followed by the terminus. Thus, you can easily recognize the buses.

In rare cases, some buses of the same route number may run for a section rather than the whole course; thus, watch the terminus. For example, “都02乙” goes on the route of Ikebukuro Sta. East Exit - Tokyo Dome City - Hitotsubashi, while some run between Ikebukuro Sta. East Exit and Tokyo Dome City merely.

Besides, there is a route simply displayed with the starting station, a few major stations on the way, and the terminus, on the side of the buses with doors.

3. Boarding through the Front Door & Paying

For all Toei city buses in Tokyo, the front door is the entrance while the back door is the exit. Specially, it’s reverse in some other regions in Japan. Thus, get on the bus via the front door in Tokyo. If there are people queueing for boarding a bus, please comply with the order and queue up consciously.

What’s more, the bus fee is charged at a flat rate for all Toei buses.

	Cash	Suica/PASMO Card (Transportation Cards)
Adult	JPY 210	JPY 210
Child (≤11 years old)	JPY 110	JPY 105

How to Pay for the Bus Fare:

Queueing for A Bus

You will find a machine standing by the driving seat in the front of the bus as you get on. This is for the payments, with a transportation IC card or cash.

Cash:

It’s noted that only the coins of JPY 10, 50, 100 & 500 as well as banknotes of JPY 1,000 are acceptable by the machine onboard.
You can drop the right amount of coins via the square coin slot on the top, or insert a JPY 1,000 banknote through the bill acceptor on the upper right side. Then the machine will spit out the change via a change tray on the lower position.

Transportation Card:

The most common transportation cards in Tokyo are Suica card and PASMO card. If you have one, you can swipe the card directly at the IC card reader, on the top of the machine, next to the coin slot. As long as there is sufficient balance in your card, you can pay successfully.

If the balance is not sufficient, please tell the driver, then you can deposit the banknotes via the bill acceptor and swipe the card to finish recharging after the driver make settings. However, it is not recommended to do so as an oversea traveler, for not all the drivers could understand what you say smoothly. Therefore, please recharge your transportation card before using it.

4. Getting Off the Bus via the Back Door

Please pay an attention to the onboard broadcast or the electronic signboard, which will tell you the next station and terminus, in Japanese and English. On the signboard, the information will also be shown in Chinese and Korean.

As the bus is getting to the bus stop that you’re to get off, press the button on handrails or by the windows. This is to indicate that you want to get down. When the bus stops completely at the stop, get off orderly through the back door.

One-Day Bus Pass in Tokyo

To take Toei buses in Tokyo, Toei Bus 1 Day Pass & Toei 1 Day Pass are available. It is valid on that day you buy it until 04:00 am the next morning; if you book it in advance, it can be used on the day you use it similarly.

When you buy the pass or use it for the first time, the information including the date would be printed on the card as you insert it into the card slot between IC card reader and bill acceptor. Later, you can just show the driver the printed date each time getting on a Toei bus, on that day.

	Valid Routes	Fare	Where to Buy
Toei Bus 1 Day Pass	All Toei buses	JPY 500 per adult JPY 250 per child	Toei bus offices / On the Toei buses
Toei 1 Day Pass	All Toei vehicles (Toei Subway lines, Toei buses, Tokyo Sakura Tram & Nippori-Toneri Liner)	JPY 700 per adult JPY 350 per child	Self-service ticketing machines at each Toei subway station / On Toei buses

Different from the Toei Bus 1 Day Pass, Toden 1 Day Pass can be utilized to take Tokyo Sakura Tram (Toden Arakawa Line) only, taking JPY 400 per one. You can know if the ticket you are to purchase is right or not via the amount of money on the small screen of the machine.