After you get comfortable with Tokyo's trains, the bus can feel like a step back into uncertainty: no English platform signs, a fare box you have to read in a hurry, and a door that may or may not be the one you board through. The good news is that once you ride once, it clicks. City buses reach the quiet residential streets, hospitals, and riverside stops that the train simply never goes to, and for short hops they are often faster and calmer than transferring underground twice.
There are two kinds you will meet most: Toei buses (run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation), which crisscross the 23 wards, and small ward-run community buses (the best known is Shibuya's Hachiko bus, and many wards have their own). This is an orientation, not a timetable. Always confirm fares and the exact rules for your route on the official site before you rely on them.
How to ride a Toei bus, step by step
- 1Board at the FRONT door. In the 23 wards, Toei buses are flat-fare, so you pay the moment you get on, before you sit down.
- 2Pay right away. Tap your IC card (Suica or PASMO) on the reader, or drop the exact cash fare into the fare box next to the driver.
- 3The adult fare is 210 yen (210 yen by IC); children are 110 yen cash (105 yen by IC). Check the official site, as fares can change.
- 4No change is given from the fare box itself. If you only have a 1,000-yen note, use the bill slot on the fare machine to break it into coins first, then pay the exact fare.
- 5When you want your stop, press the nearest stop bell button on a pole or window. A light comes on and the bus will stop.
- 6Get off at the REAR (middle/side) door. On a flat-fare bus you do NOT tap or pay again on the way out.
Most Toei routes in the 23 wards work exactly this way: front door, pay on boarding, flat fare. But not every bus in the wider Tokyo area is flat-fare. On some longer suburban or other-operator routes you board at the REAR door, take a small numbered ticket (or tap your IC card on entry), and the fare grows with distance, paid at the FRONT door when you get off. If you see people boarding at the back, follow them and watch how locals pay.
Fares, route rules, and which door you board change over time and differ by operator. Treat the numbers here as orientation only and confirm the current fare and boarding rule for your specific route on the official Toei Transportation site before you travel.
- Get an IC card first. Tapping Suica or PASMO is faster than fumbling for coins, works on buses, trains, and konbini, and saves you the change dance entirely.
- Carry coins and 1,000-yen notes. The fare box and changer take coins and 1,000-yen bills only; 5,000-yen and 10,000-yen notes are NOT accepted.
- Break a big note when you board, not before your stop. On front-boarding flat-fare Toei buses you pay as you get on, so use the fare box's coin changer to break a 1,000-yen note the moment you board, then drop in the exact fare. The 'get your change ready before your stop' rule only applies to rear-boarding, pay-on-exit distance-fare buses, where you settle up at the front when you get off.
- A bus often beats the train for short, cross-town trips that have no direct train, or that would need two transfers. Stops are also right on the street, with no long stairways.
- Have your destination ready in Japanese or on a map. Stop announcements may be Japanese-first, so following along on a maps app helps you press the bell in time.
- Toei sells a Toei Bus 1Day Pass (500 yen adult / 250 yen child) for unlimited rides in the 23 wards, handy on a heavy bus day. Confirm the current price on the official site.
- Do I tap my IC card again when I get off a Toei bus?
- No. On the flat-fare Toei buses in the 23 wards you tap (or pay) only when you board at the front. You just walk off at the rear door. The exception is distance-based routes where you board at the rear and tap or take a ticket on entry, then pay at the front when exiting.
- What if I only have a 10,000-yen note?
- The fare box and changer accept only coins and 1,000-yen notes; 5,000-yen and 10,000-yen notes are not accepted. Break a large note at a station, konbini, or vending machine before you ride, or simply load and use an IC card.
- How do I find the right bus and stop?
- A maps app (such as Google Maps) will route you by bus, show the stop name, and track your position so you know when to press the bell. For official timetables and route maps, check the Toei Transportation site; community-bus schedules are on each ward's own website.
