Tokyo: Essentials

Fare Adjustment Machines
If you don't quite get the train line maps and ticket pricing system, don't worry. Simply buy the cheapest ticket available when entering a station, and pay the extra at the other end using a Fare Adjustment Machine. Just press the English button for directions and insert your ticket. The machine will tell you how much to pay.

Taxis
Fares are about $5.75 plus $2.50 for every additional 262 feet traveled. Rates increase 30 percent 11 p.m.--5 a.m. The average cab carries up to four people. In Tokyo, you can hail a cab just about anywhere by holding your arm out. A red windshield light means vacant; green means out of service. Note: Licensed taxis vary in color and make of car; just look for the identifying windshield light.

Free on the street Metropolis (the best of the English guides), Tokyo Notice Board, Tokyo Journal, and Japanzine; available at HMV, Tower Records, and Kinokuniya

In bookstores Katei Gaho International is a beautiful, glossy English-language magazine with articles on traditional and contemporary Japanese culture and the arts, as well as on local events and restaurants. Well worth a look. $7.50.

TOURS

Goodwill Guide Tours
Asakusa Cultural and Sightseeing Center, Kaminarimon 2-18, 011-81-3/3842-5566
Enthusiastic English-speaking volunteers conduct walking tours of the historic Asakusa area, which encompasses Tokyo's busiest temple, Senso-Ji. Another tour option takes you through Ueno Park and the city's liveliest market, Ameya Yokocho. Asakusa tours last one hour and depart at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Ueno tours run 90 minutes and depart at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Free.

Hato Bus
World Trade Center, Hamamatsucho 2-4-1, 011-81-3/3761-1100, hatobus.co.jp Half- and full-day bus tours in English that include the space-age sounding Cityrama Tour, which covers the distinctly un-futuristic Meiji Jingu Shrine and Senso-Ji Temple. $35.

NUMBERS TO KNOW