Tokyo Subway Ticket: Prices, 24, 48 and 72 Hour Validity and Where to Buy

You are standing in front of a ticket machine in a Tokyo station, with a map of colored lines in one hand and a day of temples, markets and neighborhoods ahead of you. Two operators run the underground here, and a single ticket can cover both of them. The Tokyo Subway Ticket is that ticket, sold in three lengths for visitors who plan to ride the subway often.

What is the Tokyo Subway Ticket?

The Tokyo Subway Ticket is an unlimited-ride ticket for all lines of Tokyo Metro and the Toei Subway, the two systems that make up the city’s underground network. Once you start using it, you ride as many times as you like until the clock runs out. It is designed for visitors, so it comes in 24, 48 and 72 hour versions, and each has an adult and a child price.

The ticket matters because Tokyo’s subway is split between two companies. Tokyo Metro runs nine lines, and Toei runs four. A ride that crosses from one to the other normally means paying two separate fares, and this ticket removes that question. You tap or scan, step onto the platform and pick your line by color and letter without thinking about who owns it.

What it covers

Tokyo Metro operates 180 stations, and Toei adds another 106. Together the two networks carry a combined average of over eight million passengers a day, which gives you a sense of how much of the city they reach. Along the way you pass the stations for Asakusa, Ginza, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ueno, so the ticket fits a day of hopping between districts.

The Toei Asakusa Line has through service to Haneda Airport via the Keikyu Airport Line, and to Narita Airport via the Keisei Oshiage Line and other lines. Through service means trains continue onto another operator’s tracks. Through services operate on all lines except the Tokyo Metro Ginza and Marunouchi Lines and the Toei Oedo Line, so a few lines stay within their own tracks.

What it costs

Who can use it

The ticket is sold to overseas visitors, which includes travelers from the United States. It is also available to domestic visitors who live outside Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Yamanashi. Residents of those prefectures are not eligible, so the ticket is really a visitor’s product.

Discounts at attractions

The ticket also comes with affiliated discounts at various spots of interest in Tokyo through the CHIKA TOKU program. These are the kind of small savings that show up at museums, shops and attractions near subway stations. Since the list of participating places is the program’s own, it is worth looking at it while you plan your days, then matching a few stops to the neighborhoods you already want to see.

How long is it valid?

The ticket is valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours, counted from the travel starting time. That means the clock runs in hours from the moment you begin, not in calendar days, so the ticket is not tied to midnight.

This is helpful in practice. Start a 24 hour ticket at ten in the morning, and it carries you through that day, the evening and into the next morning. A traveler who rides out to dinner and back, then heads to a morning market the following day, can fit both into one ticket. A calendar-day pass would not stretch like that.

Choosing between 24, 48 and 72 hours

The 48 hour version fits a weekend, or two days where you plan to cover several districts without thinking about fares. The 72 hour ticket is for a longer stay when the subway is your main way around.

A useful habit is to count the days you will really spend in the city and the rides you expect on each. If some days take you out of Tokyo for a trip, the hours keep running while you are away, so think about when to begin. Travelers plan the ticket around the stretch of days that stays within the city.

Thinking about your first ride

Because validity is counted from the travel starting time, the first ride is the moment that matters. Plan to begin at the point in your day when you will use the subway most.

Arriving from the airport and heading straight to a hotel is one option, and starting fresh the next morning is another. The Toei Asakusa Line’s through service to Haneda and Narita is part of the network, so an airport ride can be part of the first day if that suits your arrival.

A good approach is to sketch your days before you buy. Mark which neighborhoods you will visit, count how many separate trips that adds up to, and see how the hours fall. A ticket that spans a morning, a full afternoon and an evening out will feel like good use of the time, while one that starts late and sits idle overnight will feel less so.

Where do you buy it?

The Tokyo Subway Ticket is available as a QR code version, so you can get it on a mobile device. That makes the phone the starting point for travelers, and the ticket can be used from the device once it is in your hands.

The QR code ticket

The QR code version lets you use the ticket from a mobile device, and it allows distribution of multiple tickets to devices. In plain terms, one person can buy tickets for a group and send them to each phone. For a family or a few friends traveling together, this saves everyone from lining up at a counter and means each person carries their own ticket.

When you have the ticket on your phone, keep the device charged and the screen easy to open, because you will be showing it at the gates each time you ride. It is a small habit that keeps the day moving, especially at busy interchange stations where people pass through the gates at once.

Who the ticket is sold to

Whichever way you buy, the eligibility rule is the same. Overseas visitors can buy it, as can domestic visitors who live outside Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Yamanashi. If you are visiting from the United States, you fall into the first group.

Pick the length before you buy, since each version has its own price: 1,000 yen for an adult 24 hour ticket, 1,500 yen for 48 hours and 2,000 yen for 72 hours, with children paying half.

Planning the purchase around your trip

Because the validity clock starts at your first ride, buying and starting are two separate moments to think about. Having the QR ticket ready on your phone before you reach the station means you can begin when it suits your plans. Think about the day you want to begin, the neighborhoods you will cover and how the hours will land across your stay.

If your group includes children, remember that they have their own lower price, so count adults and children separately when you decide how many tickets to send to which phone. With that settled, the ticket is a simple way to keep the Tokyo subway fares out of your mind while you enjoy the city.

Good to know before you go

The ticket pays for the subway only, so food, admissions and anything off the Tokyo Metro and Toei lines are still yours to cover. Tokyo’s underground is a large system with long interchange walks, so give yourself time at big stations such as Shinjuku or Otemachi, where several lines meet. Station signs use line colors and letters, which helps when the Japanese names are unfamiliar.