Rush Hours

-Can I verify that Tokyo's rush hours still range within 7.30am till 9.30am and 4.30pm till 6.30pm on weekdays?

TIA

Morning rush hours are considerably more concentrated than evening rush hours and correspond to the times you have mentioned. Evening hours don't start until after 5pm but extend longer into the evening.

Depending on the train line, crowded trains for the evening last beyond 630pm some are crowded right through the very last train of the night.

I don't think that 4.30pm to 6.30 has ever been the range for Tokyo's evening rush hour. As above, more like 6 to 9pm with the peak being 6.30 to 8. Once a week I take the Chuo line from Tokyo station west at 9pm and it is absolutely packed when it reaches Shinjuku.

I would also say the morning rush starts at 7 rather than 7.30. Some lines are already very crowded by then.

Thanks for the replies.

I will be staying at Ueno area. If i reach Ueno stations (JR / Subway) and board the trains around 7.15am, will the trains just be crowded or ''sardine packed''? I saw the youtube video's of Tokyo's rush hours and is very worried I will encounter it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0A9-oUoMug

These are the few stations I will need to take from
- Ueno to Asakusa
- Ueno to Shinjuku
- Ueno to Ikebukuro
- Ueno to Tokyo
for my coming trip.

Those portions you plan to travel are not as heavy sardine packed as other portions of the line might be.

The video shown is an extreme case, at peak hours at peak station sections.

It is possible though that some of the trains you board will be "sardine packed". Basically if you want to sightsee in Tokyo and take trains at that time of the day, you have to expect it to be extremely crowded. Anybody who is very bothered by that should either plan to travel much later or perhaps leave Tokyo off their itinerary.

Ueno to Asakusa
- Ueno to Shinjuku
- Ueno to Ikebukuro
- Ueno to Tokyo

These are some of Tokyo's busiest sections. Ueno to Tokyo, in particular, has been Japan's most crowded section for many years. Best avoided before 9am.

you're gonna get crushed on just about any train in tokyo between 7:30 and 9:30. at around 10 it stops being so crowded.

i ride the yamanote every day around the shibuya - ueno section and it's never very crowded until around 6pm. after that though, look out.

so to say, in the morning the lines in the center of tokyo ( so yamanote and around) are the croudest. so if you travel direction IN tokyo its crowded, direction outside Tokyo is not crowded.

So you see, your routes are definitely crowded if you go the way all ppl go that time. better start to travel after 9 o clock, if youre sight seeing its definitely better since usually shops and museums open at 10.

you're gonna get crushed on just about any train in tokyo between 7:30 and 9:30. at around 10 it stops being so crowded.

Depends on the line, the Chuo Line right up to the last train of the evening is jammed packed with commuters getting back home in the suburbs of Western Tokyo.

If I were to take subway (Ueno-Hirokoji / Nana-Okachimachi), is there a lower possibility of "sardine-pack"? Or as long as its with the rush hour, all transportations?
Thanks

Those are still central Tokyo areas, so they are likely to be very crowded. It's the luck of the draw really. Depending on what other trains/buses have just arrived at the same station, trains leaving minutes apart can be slightly more or less packed.

As above, if you are taking trains in central Tokyo at rush hour, they will be crowded. There is no getting away from it.

I will be staying at the Hotel New Otani in Chiyoda-ku area, if I need to get to Tokyo JR for a morning bullet train to Kyoto with luggage, would I be better to taxi or will that be very expensive as the roads would be blocked too?

Taking a taxi to the station would be a good option especially if you have lots of luggage. The hotel is about 4 km from Tokyo Station so a taxi will cost roughly 1400 yen.