TOKYO METRO

The Tokyo Metro or subway system is essentially a network of 13 major lines from East to West, and North to South, connecting to railways such as JR Lines to bring people in and out of the city from 4-directions. If we use the term 'Metropolitan Tokyo' it will be drawn by a radius of major stations : Ikebukuro in the NW, Shinjuku in the W, Shibuya in the SW, Roppongi in the S, Aoyama - Otemachi - Tokyo in the middle, Ginza - Shimbashi in the SE, Tsukiji in the E and lastly, Ueno - Asakusa in the NE.

The trains are not state-of-the-art but the Metro is run efficiently, to the minute. Trains come through every 5+ minutes, while Platform Wardens marshal with vigor. I cannot say it is handicap-friendly on the whole but those on wheelchairs do get special attention. I watched how a disabled young man was brought on to the carriage (always the last one it seems) at one stop by a station staff , with a colleague waiting at the next station the passenger wanted to get off ... they made it a simple routine, without fuss, fanfare and certainly no delay for everyone else. I was most impressed.

Equipped with a 2-day 'All-You-Can-Ride' ticket for a meager Y980 or HK$75 (Y600 or HK$46 for 1-day) I decided to explore the Metro this past weekend.  Back in the 90's when I was a frequent business flyer on UA I used to love a Japanese series called 'Looking for the Best Ramen'. One segment was on the Metro, with the reporter stopping at every station to look for a shop worthy of the competition. I wanted that job badly then.  My venture was not about eating but a general recce of the system, going from one end to the other and I could only manage 3 over the past 2-days. I did this same exercise when I was at Wandee Cooking School but of course the BTS in Bangkok is a only a fraction of this complex machinery in Tokyo.

BTW do you remember a few weeks ago a MTR spokesman made the grand announcement that the company, after 11 years or something like that, will stop charging the public for the costs of installing safety doors on station platforms. Hello? He said it with such forthrightness as though he was expecting a big thank you from taxpayers, what a clown!  The kind of offer tourists, or for that matter locals, get here in Tokyo must be unimaginable in Hong Kong. The 'management' will, I am sure, find ways to oppose it as they cannot even give Senior Citizens a break, case closed.

HIBIYA LINE : from Naka-Meguro to Kita-Senju x 21 stops
GINZA LINE : from Shibuya to Asakusa x 19 stops
MARUNOUCHI LINE : from Ogikubo to Ikebukuro x 25 stops