Sorry I missed a few questions.

1. The train line is shown at the station or section of the station as you enter if they are shared. An IC card can be used on most transport where a subway/metro day ticket or JR Pass for example are specific and require a medium to high use in the time period to be cost effective. Generally Metro/subway is underground train lines while JR / Tobu etc are above ground and the stations follow suit - there are a few exceptions though where both are accessed from one building but it is still clearly marked before you head through any gate which line it is.

2. You don't need a JR pass going from Tokyo to Kyoto and back again, you can buy an individual ticket for any trip, if you are just going to be in the cities at either end it will work out close to neutral price wise. Japan Rail is the company so a Japan Rail pass is only for Japan Rail trains, not subway, metro, Tobu etc. In Tokyo you could also use the pass using the city loop although personally I find subway more convenient, you can also use it for local day trips like Kamakura, Yokohama, Nikko etc but there are other options and again the IC card or individual tickets are a good alternative.

It sounds more complicated than it really is once you are there, train stations have excellent English signage.

Hi Eartha. You really don't need the JR pass if you are mainly based in one city with day trips to the surrounding area. The 14-day JR pass adds a lot of extra cost and depending where you decide to go on your day trips, JR may not be the most convenient train lines to use.

So glad I found this page. We are a family of 4 travelling at Christmas/New Year for two weeks. Still firming up plans but likely to be Tokyo based with a few out of town day trips. The Travel Agent has automatically included four 14-day JR passes on the quote which I just assumed would be easiest and best value. However, after reading this page and the one on JR passes its seems this might be unnecessary...

I have two questions I'm hoping you can help with:
1. You suggested to Ani on 23 March that if you use a mixture of subway, JR trains and private lines then an IC card, like a SUICA or PASMO may be best. How do we identify what trains are subway, JR or private so we can determine what pass we need?
2. If we ended up adding a trip to Kyoto for a few days, your article on JR passes suggests it is worth buying a 7 day JR pass. But then I assume we still need a subway card in Tokyo too as it wont cover all lines (per question 1).

Its a bit more complicated that I thought 🤯

Thanks Toni.

You can definitely buy multiple subway passes. If you are mostly sticking with the subway and using it enough to get the savings they are a great option, if you are using a mixture of the subway, JR trains and private lines then an IC card, like a SUICA or PASMO might be more convenient as it can be used on all of them but there isn't the savings potential.

Do you know the hotel you will be staying at and how are you arriving (Narita, Haneda or Tokyo Station)? The embassies are south of the city and there aren't as many hotels or stations directly around them so it would make a difference. If you are flying in and the children are younger I would normally recommend the Airport Limousine Buses with your luggage as it's a far more relaxed trip and they deal with getting the luggage on and off at your destination but that will depend on whether they go to your hotel or one close by. Another option we sometimes use is to take the NEX to Tokyo station as it's quite easy to do that with the bags and get a taxi from there to the hotel if it's in the general area but not walking distance. Taxies aren't cheap in Tokyo but a short ride after a day of flying is sometimes worth it. If the children are older and comfortable handling their own luggage you can transfer by train, subway, walking but which way is easiest will depend on where you are coming from and to.

Sorry about that Kayla, thanks for pointing it out. I've fixed it now but it should have said around midnight. The trains are so frequent that it's usually very close to midnight but the exact time will depend on the station.

For Shinjuku I prefer the Airport Limousine Bus, it stops at a number of the local hotels and the station itself. You could take the Skyliner train to Nippori then switch across to a local train through to Shinjuku station as an alternative.

In Osaka we like the Namba / Dotonburi area, we find there is a lot to see and do here, so many places to eat, great to wander around at night, good shopping, there is the Kuromon Market and it's easy to get to from Shin-Osaka station or a direct train to the airport. The bullet train then Midosuji subway line is the best way through from Nagoya.

Both Kyoto and Mt Fuji/Hakone can be done on a tour or are easy enough to put together your own itinerary and do independently. I'd start of working out what are the main things you want to see and do in each and go from there in choosing a tour or to do it alone.