The Toei-Oedo Subway Line in Tokyo opened in 2000 and is the second-longest linear motor subway line after the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line in Osaka.
The Toei-Oedo is also one of the most expensive metro lines ever built in Japan and was 10 years in construction. The line loops from Tocho-mae in Shinjuku with an extension from Tocho-mae to Hikarigaoka.
Important stations for connections to other lines include Ueno-Okachimachi, Iidabashi, Daimon, Shinjuku, and Nerima.
The Kuko Line operates from Meinohama in Nishi Ward to Fukuokakuko (Fukuoka Airport) in Hakata Ward. The line is represented by an orange (or red) color on Fukuoka subway maps.
Known officially as Line 1, the Kuko Line connects with the JR Chikuhi Line for trains to Karatsu and has stops at Hakata Station (for shinkansen links) and Tenjin Station.
Akaike Station (lit. "Red Lake") is at the eastern end of the Tsurumai Line of the Nagoya subway before the line becomes the Meitetsu Toyota Line to Toyota city.
The area around the station includes the Oxport sports center and pool, a popular McDonalds, a Piago supermarket, a branch of the Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ bank, a florist, a convenience store, a pachinko parlor and a number of bars, cafes and izakaya.
Akaike Station has full wheelchair access and a free motorbike and bicycle parking lot.
Buses from Akaike no longer run to Chubu International Airport but there are bus services to Toyota, Nagoya Shoka University, Yufukuji and Toyota Nishi High School.
The Sendai subway system consists of just one line - the 15km, 17 station Namboku Line (South-North line).
The Namboku Line opened in 1987. The new Tozai Line (East-West line) is presently under construction and is scheduled to open in 2015.
The Namboku line is divided into 5 sections and fares range from 200-350 yen. The line centers on JR Sendai Station which connects to Tokyo via Shinkansen.
Japanese public employees are nothing if not helpful.
While in Nagoya, a wonderful subway attendant made our visit pleasant.
We were attempting to buy a subway day pass but, as is often the case, were struggling.
After ringing the "Help" buzzer, a young, efficient woman peeked out and asked us what she could do for us.
She took us to the window, helped us buy the tickets, and then escorted us to the gate.
When asked for a picture, she adjusted her hat and posed with a salute and smile.
What is really amazing is that, in spite of this level of service, she is not that unusual - which also makes trips back to the US a bit of a reverse culture shock.
I use the Tokyo Metro most days to commute to work. It is quick, efficient, safe and very cheap.
The lowest fare between stations on the Tokyo subway system is 160 yen (approx. 1.60 USD) compared with a whopping 4 GBP (6.40 USD) or 1.60 GBP (2.60 USD with an Oyster Card) on the London Underground and 2.25 USD on the New York subway.
The basic pricing structure on the Tokyo Metro is: 160 yen (Child 80 yen) 1-6 km; 190 yen (Child 100 yen) 7-11 km; 230 yen (Child 120 yen) 12-19 km; 270 yen (Child 140 yen) 20-27 km; 300 yen (Child 150 yen) 28-40 km
If you plan on being in Tokyo for a day it is worthwhile purchasing a 710 yen one-day open ticket valid for all Tokyo Metro lines. Buy your ticket from one of the automatic vending machines in every station. A Common One-day Ticket for Tokyo Metro & Toei Subway is 1,000 yen.
The Tokyo Metro Open Ticket available only at Narita Airport is aimed at tourists coming to Japan and costs 600 yen for one day of unlimited rides on Tokyo Metro lines (not the Toei system) or 980 yen for two days. This is excellent value. If you are changing from Tokyo Metro to Toei put your card in the slot, choose your destination and pay the extra with coins or a note.
The Keikyu Haneda/Subway Pass available at Haneda Airport (used mainly for domestic flights) offers a one-way ticket on the Keikyu Line from Haneda Airport Station to Sengakuji Station, plus one day of unlimited travel on all Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines. This costs 1,300 yen.
The Nagoya City Tram & Subway Museum near Akaike Station on the Tsurumai subway line is a favorite for parents and their train-loving kids, especially on weekends.
Besides the model railways, Play Station-style computer train simulators and a collection of old subway and tram carriages (ideal for reading a book or newspaper, while the kids play on the trains and ring all the bells) - there are some interesting black and white photographs of Nagoya in the 1960s, when the last trams were still running in the city.
The trams in Nagoya were finally phased out in 1974 as the subway system began to cover much of the city.
Walk north from Akaike Station Exit 2 down the hill, cross Route 153 and you will see two giant subway drills. The museum is here. Admission free; closed Wednesdays.
Bae Yong Joon, or more commonly known as Yon-sama to his fans in Japan, is the Korean mega-star who makes middle-aged Japanese women dizzy with desire.
He featured in several films and television drams in Korea prior to making it big in Japan. His big break came with "Winter Sonata," in 2002, a maudlin drama which had as much as 20% of Japan tuned in.
This set off Yon-Sama mania--and the ensuing Korea Wave. Every month seemed to bring a new male or female mega-star, each better looking than the previous one. All Japanese DVD stores now have whole aisles devoted to Korean dramas.
In 2004, when Bae visited Japan at the height of the hysteria some 5,000 screaming fans were waiting for him at Narita Airport. In order to keep the hormonally enraged women in line, 350 police officers and 70 anti-riot cops were posted to the airport.
In Seoul recently, our hopes of bumping into Yon-sama were realized.
On the final day, in the subway station, there he was.
As handsome as ever, a billboard pitch man for Global Pioneer.
Women-only carriages on Japan's subway and urban rail routes have become the norm in recent years.
Set up to counter the growing menace of male perverts (known as chikan) groping women in packed commuter trains, many railway companies operate women-only carriages on morning and evening rush-hour services.
Tokyo's subway introduced women-only carriages in 2005 and now has women-only carriages for the morning rush-hour on the Chiyoda, Fukutoshin (Yurakucho New Line), Hanzomon, Hibiya, Tozai and Yurakucho Lines. Nagoya followed suit in 2007 with a women-only carriage on weekday mornings on the busy Higashiyama Line in to Nagoya Station and extended the practice for evening trains this year.
The Keio Line in Tokyo was the first railway company to introduce special carriages for women back in 2000. It is estimated that over 60% of Japanese women travelers in their 20s and 30s have experienced some sort of harassment on public transport in Japan.
The idea has caught on in other countries and there are now gender specific carriages in Brazil, Egypt, India, Moscow and Taiwan.
Look out for the (usually pink) signs on station platforms.
The "Do It At Home" campaign is continuing on the Tokyo subway. Previously the posters featured a young woman applying her make up on the trains. Now a new series of posters features the same woman in a polyptych talking on her mobile phone watched over by a sinister male figure wearing spectacles.
Is the man a chikan pervert or does he represent the long-suffering, law abiding Tokyo commuter? Why is the disapproving figure a man not a woman? Is the poster sexist or misogynist? I am no psychologist but there are layers of hidden meaning in this poster.
