Suica Card

Dear Experts ( Uji,CG3,...)

Is there any Suica card vending machine at Ueno station ? since we will start our journey from there in early morning..

I plan to purchase 4000 yen suica card for 7 days, is it oke ? or suica card ony valid for one day only from the purchase date ?

We will end the journey at Haneda airport on 18.30, can we have the deposit refund of suica card there ( though we purchase it at Ueno station )

Please kindly advice us,thanks in advance
Pauline

Is there any Suica card vending machine at Ueno station ?

Yes, dozens of them.

I plan to purchase 4000 yen suica card for 7 days, is it oke ?

The initial purchase is 2000 yen for the card, which includes a 1500 yen initial balance and a 500 yen deposit. Afterwards, you can charge a further 2500 yen to it if you wish for a total balance of 4000 yen.

or suica card ony valid for one day only from the purchase date ?

No. The Suica remains valid forever unless you do not use it a single time during a 10 year period.

We will end the journey at Haneda airport on 18.30, can we have the deposit refund of suica card there ( though we purchase it at Ueno station )

That is a good question that I am not able to answer. There is a JR counter, but it is not a regular counter with limited opening hours, so I am not sure whether they do refunds. There is also a Monorail ticket counter, but I am not sure whether they can refund JR Suica cards. To be sure, I would refund it at JR Hamamatsucho or JR Shinagawa Station and pay the final airport train/monorail with cash.

Dear Uji,

Thanks for the advice..
really appreciate it

Regards,
Pauline

Dear Uji,

could you inform me which wesite that can inform me about the map inside the stations in Japan..
So I can briefly prepare about the platform direction of each station, I am a little bit worried since connection time between one metro line to another is short in my ittinerary..

Thanks,
Pauline

could you inform me which wesite that can inform me about the map inside the stations in Japan..

There is no one good website it really depends on the station. Sometimes the JR East site has useful info but it is often only in Japanese.

So I can briefly prepare about the platform direction of each station, I am a little bit worried since connection time between one metro line to another is short in my ittinerary..

In general if Hyperdia suggests it then it is possibe. Most stations in Japan have English signs so that it is easy enough to work out where to go. Also, if you are worried about a transfer from a metro line then you can usually jump on a train a few minutes earlier to get you to your transfer destination earlier and make the transfer easier.

Feel free to provide a specific example(s) including which station and where you come from and go to.

Dear GC3,

There are so many transfers will be done during our visit, I will ask you which I think the most difficult,please help me for my preparation,hope you don't mind..

for my first day ittinerary, will start at Ueno station to buy suica card and approach to shibuya
8.31 – 8.59 : Ueno station to Shibuya with Tokyo Metro Ginza
since it will be the first point for me,could you please give me direction/mnemonic which entry should I get ( I will be at New Izu hotel Ueno ) at Ueno station, and which way should I take to access to suica centre and the tokyo metro ginza

my itt from kawagoe to shinjuku :
- 16.20 – 16.55 : Kawagoeshi to Ikebukuro with Tobu Tojo line exp
- 17.00 – 17.06 : Ikebukuro ( depart track no.1 ) to Shinjuku JR with Saikyo Line rapid
is there any different platform from tobo tojo line exp to depart track no.1 within 5 minutes ?

Many Thanks,
Pauline

Map for hotel from Tokyo Metro
http://izuhotel.co.jp/english/access/

(JR) Ueno Station Map
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/stations/e204.html

Maybe another member (Omotenashi) can provide you with some more detailed information but to be honest I wouldn't worry about it too much. All of the stations have good English signs and most of your trips within Tokyo are on commuter lines where the train comes every two or three minutes. eg. from Ueno to Shibuya on Tokyo Metro Ginza there is an 8:31, 8:33, 8:35, 8:37, 8:39 etc.

JR Ikebukuro Map
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/stations/e108.html

Other JR Station maps:-
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/stations/

ok GC3,
thanks a lot for the info

regards,
pauline

BTW, about Ueno, you had better prepare for printing MAP around the hotel.
http://goo.gl/maps/uJT7h
Way to the hotel is not hard, but there is a bit intricate Korean town and above-ground way is a bit inconvenient.
And if you lost, I can recommend you go toward "Eiju Byoin (hospital)" that's very large, well-known and very nearby the hotel.

I know you don't need my advise, but that's all just by way of precaution.

Dear Pauline,
I was very nervous about some of our connections too, but found that transfers were far quicker than I had anticipated.

One thing I found very useful is that, where you have to make a transfer, Hyperdia shows you the platform number that you arrive into and the platform number for your departure. That means as soon as you arrive, you can immediately look for signs to the departure platform number and get moving to reach it. You don't need to waste time trying to find displays showing which trains go from where. You just go to the platform indicated by Hyperdia. In our 2 week trip, these were always correct.

Where underground / metro / local trains were the first part of the routing, since these run very frequently, I just made sure that we started our journey a bit early, maybe 10-15 minutes, and we took the first suitable train to our next destination. That meant we had more time to find our way from one part of the station to the other. This was particularly the case when using metro lines in Kyoto and Tokyo before transferring to Shinkansen / JR trains.

"We will end the journey at Haneda airport on 18.30, can we have the deposit refund of suica card there ( though we purchase it at Ueno station )"

You cannot get deposit back at Haneda Monorail Station. Get it back at JR Hamamatsucho before you take the monorail to Haneda.

Dear experts and Kavey F,

Sorry to rise the issue again..
Kavey ; you mention that we can indicate the station platform number on hyperdia..how ?
I have searched the platform number on it but can not find, please help to inform..
Thanks
Pauline

you mention that we can indicate the station platform number on hyperdia..how ?

Sometimes it is listed, sometimes it isn't. Depends on the train/station/search. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I will be at New Izu hotel Ueno
Ueno station to Shibuya with Tokyo Metro Ginza

Have you checked the number of your exit from subway Shibuya Station?
If you are not sure about your exit, I recommend using JR-East instead.
Ueno Station of JR-East is complicated, but fortunately your hotel is near Central Gate; I suppose you can get a Suica Card at a ticket-vending machine, pass through the gate, go smoothly to Track 2 on the upper floor and take your train (on Yamanote Line's inner loop).
- http://izuhotel.co.jp/english/access/
- http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/stations/e204.html

In some stations it's not possible / not easy for passengers to go between a certain platform and certain exits/entrances.
Shibuya Station of Tokyo Metro subway is an example.

dear Omotenashi and GC3,
Thanks a lot
pauline