Sega Joypolis

This article is based on visits made on Sunday, 30 March 2014 and Sunday, 13 November 2016.

Edit 2 October 2019: Updated to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax, and the replacement of certain activities.

Previously on Sekai Ichi, I visited the Decks shopping mall in Odaiba.  Another major attraction of Decks is Sega Joypolis, an indoor theme park and arcade. It reminds me of the similar DisneyQuest, which closed earlier this year in Orlando.  There are other Joypolis locations in Osaka, Shanghai, and Qingdao, China.

Edit 11 June 2018: They have also owned another similar indoor park in Dubai, known as Sega Republic, but this has since closed and replaced by a different virtual-reality attraction.

Note that admission to the rides is separate from the admission to the park itself, which alone costs ¥800.  Be sure to buy tickets from one of the ticket machines for the price of the ride you wish to get on. You could also buy a passport, which includes admission and unlimited rides on the day of purchase. It starts at ¥4,300, but goes down in price at certain points in the afternoon and evening.

It appears that somebody hit a jackpot on one of the crane games! Congratulations!

Some of the attractions in Joypolis are souped-up versions of Sega's arcade games, such as the "Initial D Arcade Stage 4" Limited attraction. Essentially a special version of their Initial D arcade racing games, this one uses full-size cars on motion simulators. The white Toyota (centre) and yellow Mazda (right) are cars driven by main characters in the Initial D manga & anime; I, on the other hand, got put into the blue Subaru (left). And won.

Edit: As of 2019, this attraction has been replaced by "Spicy Taxi", a different kind of motion-simulator ride where up to 4 guests take control of a tuk-tuk in a Southeast Asian-styled setting.

Not all of the rides in Joypolis are based on an arcade game. Halfpipe Tokyo, for example, riders rock back and forth along the titular halfpipe. There is some still kind of game element, but I wouldn't know, since I didn't manage to get on this one.

It's a Sega park, so naturally Sonic the Hedgehog and friends are the mascots of Joypolis, and feature in several of the attractions. In Sonic Athletics, you play track-and-field events as one of eight characters by running on a treadmill. I did this, and I'm embarrassed to say that it wiped me out, leaving me unable to explore the park further.  But, that's what my return visit was for!

A tamer Sonic-themed attraction can be found in the form of this 3-D movie, "Night of the Werehog", where Sonic and Chip, his companion from Sonic Unleashed, mess around with some ghosts out to chase them.  There's not really any spoken dialogue in this 15-minute film, so that means no language barrier to worry about!

But Sonic's not the only video game icon represented in Joypolis!  "Ace Attorney in Joypolis" is an attraction based on the courtroom visual-novel games published by Capcom, starring (and I'm using their English names here) defence attorney Phoenix Wright (right) and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth (left).  In this attraction, guests can try their hand in solving one of three murder mysteries.  Unfortunately, it is presented only in Japanese.

Joypolis also has a mascot of its own.  Down on the first floor, there is a stage where "Lopit", the park's own virtual idol, performs periodically.  If you've ever seen a "live" performance by Hatsune Miku, you've got the idea.

Due to the limited space, most of the thrill rides involve spinning the rider around in place.  One example I rode on was "Storm-G", a bobsled racing ride which is like the Initial-D attraction described above, but spins side-to-side and upside-down during play.  But there is a ride that gets to stretch its figurative legs, and that is the "Geki-on Live Coaster".  It starts out slow, stopping every so often for the riders to play a button-pressing rhythm game.  But halfway through, the car picks up speed and zooms about the place, doing a corkscrew roll above the main atrium and spinning wildly.  The car spun so much that, when I rode it, it slid my glasses clean off my head!  (Luckily it landed in the car and was in one piece when I managed to pick it up.)

As we leave Joypolis, we get to see autographs from a few celebrities who have visited in the past, such as Michael Jackson (upper-centre), Leonardo DiCaprio (lower-left), and the pop band Dreams Come True (right).  Did you know that one of its members, Masato Nakamura, composed the music for the first two Sonic the Hedgehog games?

Oh yeah, and my return visit coincided with the 20th anniversary of Joypolis Tokyo.  Its longevity is an amazing feat when you consider that out of the 8 Joypolis locations opened in Japan, all but this and the one in Osaka have closed due to low visitor numbers.  (Another Joypolis branch still exists in Okayama, but now operates as a straight-up arcade instead of a theme park.)  So congratulations on reaching 20 years, Tokyo Joypolis!  May you have twenty more!

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Hours: Open 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM. Admission ends 45 minutes before closing time.  No regular closing days.

Costs: ¥800; attractions cost an additional ¥500-1,000 each. A Passport allowing use of unlimited attractions for the day costs ¥4,500 (¥3,500 after 5:00 PM, ¥3,000 after 8:00 PM).

Address: Decks Tokyo Beach 3F-5F, 1-6-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 〒130-0091

Access: 2 minutes from Odaiba Kaihin-koen station (Yurikamome line (U06)), or 5 minutes from Tokyo Teleport station (Rinkai line (R04)).

Directions: Joypolis is on the western end of Decks, opposite the aforementioned stations.  Read my article on Decks Tokyo Beach for directions to the mall itself.  The entrance hall is on the 3rd floor, same as the Centre and Seaside Decks. Simply follow either promenade to the far side of the building to reach the entrance.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Edo Wonderland

This article is based on a visit made on Thursday, 3 April 2014.


Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Edo Wonderland, a.k.a. Nikko Edo-mura (日光江戸村, Nikkō Edo Mura, lit. 'Nikko Edo Village'), is a theme park built to re-create an Edo-period (AD 1600s to mid-1800s) townscape.  It is located in the town of Kinugawa Onsen (鬼怒川温泉), near Nikko, both of which are 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Tokyo.

The nearest train station, Kinugawa Onsen station, is served by Tobu Railway.  The fastest method of access from Tokyo is to take their "Spacia" limited express train from Asakusa station.  The ride takes about two hours and makes only five stops.  For penny-pinchers, the next-slowest service, Rapid (not to be confused with the slower-still Section Rapid), makes a couple more stops and only takes 20 minutes longer, and costs almost half as much.  But the Spacia also has the regular trains beat in terms of comfort, so I'd say the upgrade was a wise investment.  English timetables are available on Tobu’s website: (English).  But be careful of which train you take!  On the above timetables, only the trains named “Kinu” go to Kinugawa Onsen; the “Kegon” trains branch off instead to Nikko!

Kinugawa Onsen is home to many hot-spring resorts, hence the name "onsen".  The gazebo structure in the centre-right is a free foot-bath.  I meant to try it on the way back, but I was wet enough already. >.<

Kinu-chan (キヌちゃん) and Kawa-chan (カワちゃん), the town mascots of Kinugawa Onsen.  One of the kanji in the town's name, "鬼", means "oni", an ogre-demon.  Thus, Kinu-chan and Kawa-chan are red- and blue-coloured oni, albeit rather cute oni.  Which is good; otherwise you'd scare off tourists!

The central area of Edo Wonderland.  The houses contain, in addition to the dining, shopping, and amusement facilities usual of theme parks, re-creations of old merchants' and artisans' homes.

This was a rather rainy day, as you can see by the reflection of the boards in this picture, and the multitude of umbrellas seen in other pictures.  That obviously didn't bother all these fish, though!

The crew members working about were dressed in historical, yet sensible, costume uniforms, and in some cases broke out old-style umbrellas like this.

This bell tower is similar to the one in Kawagoe.  If you've never been, Kawagoe is a town, 35km (22 mi.) northwest of Tokyo, known for its preserved warehouse disctrict.  The stage in front is used for various performances, but on a rainy day like this, that's obviously not happening.

Fortunately, that rained-out show is just one of several performances held regularly in Edo Wonderland, most of them in indoor theatres.  I got to see a ninja martial-arts stunt show and a water magic show.

There are other types of indoor activities, too.  Pictured here is an exhibit on neighbourhood firefighting brigades in Edo, including the samurai-led buke-bikeshi (武家火消) and volunteer-led machi-bikeshi (町火消).  They were formed in the 18th century due to the city's propensity to catch fire, with one, the Great Meireki Fire of 1657 (明暦の大火, Meireki no taika), claiming over 100,000 lives!

Another exhibit on ninja tools and techniques.  Nearly everything a ninja would use could be concealed, either from sight or as ordinary objects, and/or had multiple uses for combat, stealth, surveillance, and survival.

Continuing on the ninja theme, there is also a fun-house with all manner of sloping halls.  I don't get what was so "ninja" about this place, but it was fun to (try to) walk through.

Is this hallway crooked, or am I practising the 45-degree lean from Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" video?  You make the call!

Beyond the funhouse is a Ninja Trick Maze.  I think the idea is that you're supposed to use these to navigate with...

...but I couldn't work it out myself.  Regretfully I had to employ the use of one of these exits. OTL

Dining options at Edo Wonderland run the gamut of everyday Japanese cuisine, with options including various noodle, rice bowl, and skewered meat dishes.

I also tried some dango, sticky rice dumplings on a stick.  It was tasteless and stuck to the inside of my mouth.

Now for something special.  You can rent period costumes and wear them around a bit!

The menu of available costumes is displayed on these panels outside.  There are multiple options for men, women, and children, with prices ranging from ¥4,000 for a basic townsperson to ¥10,000 for a nobleman/lady.  A full list of costumes and prices is available here: (Japanese)

Here I am posing in the samurai (侍) costume I rented.  That blue colour was an excellent fit for me!  The props it came with include a sword (which you're not supposed to unsheath, for obvious reasons), a coin bag (useful for modern accessories, too!), sandals (which were taxing for my toes to hold on to), and for the rainy weather, an umbrella.  If you're interested, this particular costume cost ¥5,500 to rent, and is available for men, women (as "swordswoman" / "女剣士"), and children.

Closing out this article with a shot of Nyanmage (ニャンまげ), the mascot of Edo Wonderland!  He is named after the chonmage (丁髷), the topknot hairstyle popularised by samurai in the Edo period and, to an extent, by sumo wrestlers to this day.  Of course, Nyanmage sports the hairstyle he was named after.

If you're in the area, you may want to check out the Grand Maze Palladium (in case the Ninja Trick Maze wasn't enough for you), or Tobu World Square, a park with miniatures of world landmarks.  Don't forget about Nikko, which is half an hour away by trains, and is home to some of Japan's most famous shrines, temples, and natural sights.  If all that seems too much to accomplish in a day trip (and it is), why not stay overnight in one of Kinugawa Onsen's hot spring hotels?  Tobu's train passes covering the area are good for two days or more!

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Hours: Open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from March to November, and from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM from December to March.  Closed Wednesdays (except holidays), and from 8 to 21 December.

Price: ¥4,700, or ¥4,200 after 2:00 PM (1:00 PM in the winter).  If you have a Nikko Area Pass, described below, admission is discounted to ¥4,230.

Address: 470-2 Karakura, Nikkō-shi, Tochigi-ken 〒321-2524

Access: From Tobu Asakusa station, take the Tobu Kinugawa line to Kinugawa Onsen station.  Section Rapid trains take 2 hours and 50 minutes to get there; Rapid trains take 2 hours and 20 minutes (both cost ¥1,580).  The "Spacia" limited express makes the journey in only 2 hours, but requires a fee on top of the regular fare (total ¥2,940 on weekdays).

Tobu sells two passes which cover a round-trip train ride from Tokyo to the Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen area, Tobu-affiliated trains and buses within the area, and other discounts.  The Nikko World Heritage Area Pass (English) costs ¥2,040, lasts for two consecutive days, and covers trains and buses around downtown Nikko, but not the buses to Edo Wonderland.  The Nikko All Area Pass (English) costs ¥4,600 (¥4,230 between 1 December and 19 April), lasts for four consecutive days, and covers many more buses on top of the World Heritage Pass, including those to Edo Wonderland.  Both passes cover only the base train fare, but offer a 20% discount on limited-express fares, and discounted admission to Edo Wonderland as described above.  These passes are available only to non-Japanese citizens.

Alternately, from Shinjuku station, take the "Kinugawa" limited express to Kinugawa Onsen.  This takes 2 hours and 10 minutes, and costs ¥4,080 one-way.  All seats are reserved.  As the train is jointly run by JR East and Tobu, the Japan Rail Pass will cover part, roughly half, of the fare.  Pass holders only need to pay for the section using the Tobu lines.  Other JR East area passes, however, cover the entire trip.  More info on these area passes from JR East's website: (English)  However, the Tobu passes described above are not valid for trains to/from Shinjuku.

Directions: From Kinugawa Onsen station, take a bus from platform #3 to Nikko Edo-mura (20 min, ¥410, 3 per hour) to Edo Wonderland.  Schedule: (Japanese)

From JR Nikko station, take a free shuttle bus (30 min, 3-4 per day) to Edo Wonderland.  Schedule: (English)

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Tokyo Skytree Nighttime

This article is based on a visit made on Wednesday, 2 April 2014.

Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

In the beginning, by which I mean 1958, there was Tokyo Tower.  Its antennas broadcasted radio and TV signals throughout the Kanto region, and its observation decks drew in millions of tourists every year.  Even today, this is still true.  But with more and taller buildings having grown up around it, over the years Tokyo Tower's effectiveness as a broadcast tower has become less so.  A newer, taller tower was needed to complement these functions, including Japan's transition to digital broadcast TV in 2011.  The following year, a new solution went online.

Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー, Tōkyō Sukaitsurī) is a broadcast and observation tower in northeastern Tokyo. Completed in 2012, the Skytree measures 634 metres (2,080 feet) at its peak, making it the tallest tower and second-tallest building in the world (behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE). I trust this panorama shot I took gets the point across.  The skyscraper to its left is known as the Tokyo Skytree East Tower.  It's nowhere near as tall, but at 30 storeys, it's a sizable multi-purpose office space.

On days where the queue for buying tickets grows too long, they offer free time-cards indicating a future time range when you can return to get in line. Until then, you can spend your time in the Solamachi mall.  This system is reminiscent of FastPass in the Tokyo Disney Resort parks.   With this system in place, I spent no worse than 30 minutes in the actual ticket-counter queue.

If that still sounds like too much waiting for you, I have some news you might be interested in.  Since my initial visit, Skytree has launched a new form of ticket aimed exclusively at foreign visitors.  Guests with a non-Japanese passport can now go to a separate counter and buy an instant-entry ticket, thus skipping the normal line altogether.  Further details are at the bottom of this article.

Multiple artistic depictions of the Skytree line the wall at the ticket queue.

There are four elevators, each patterned after the four seasons.  I went up in the Autumn elevator, the gold colours representing the changing leaves of that season.

All four of these elevators go straight to the lower observation deck.  The screen above the door displays the current elevation, in addition to a cut-away of the tower’s shape, as it transforms from a triangle to a circle.

The main observation deck, called the Tembo Deck, is 350m (1,148 ft.) above ground.  As you can see, I came in during the night.  I'm pretty sure the blue needle-like structure in the far background, a bit to the left, is none other than Tokyo Tower.

A view down to the west of the tower.  The Sumida River crosses along the front of the shot, and Asakusa's Senso-ji area is behind that, to the centre.  If you look closely in the lower-left, you can also see the Asahi headquarters (also seen in my Asakusa Nighttime Walk article).

Posted at multiple points around the Tembo Deck are these touchscreen panels where visitors can identify specific places in the distance.  Many observation towers have pictures for this purpose, but the ones here show both night and day views, as well as facts about various locations!

Like in Tokyo Tower, there are a few windows set into the floor where you can look down to the base of the tower.  I must say, my camera's tendency to turn white lights green in the night made for an interesting shot, for once!

For an extra thousand yen (exact prices at the bottom of this article), you can climb up to the Tembo Gallery, a second observation deck with an elevation of 450m (1,476 ft.). It is a tubular walkway which curves upward in a full circle around the tower.  At night, the Gallery has its own unique lighting patterns.  The pink lights shown here were chosen in honour of the Spring sakura season.  Combined with the tube-like architecture, it felt rather space-age.

As I was walking up the Tembo Gallery, I saw a few welcome messages projected in lights onto the glass.  I'm not sure if that blue streak in the centre is supposed to be one of those, or just a bridge lit up.  Either way, the greenish glow of the lights in this picture remind me of a circuit board.

At the end of the Tembo Gallery is the "Sorakara Point", the highest point one can climb to on the Skytree, specifically 451.2 meters (1,480 feet).

Of course, I just had to take a selfie at the Sorakara Point.  If you desire a more professional photo, you can have your picture taken by the staff at different locations on both the Tembo Deck and Gallery (not at the Sorakara Point, sorry), and buy a copy of it for ¥1,500.

I'll wrap up this article with one more vertical panorama, this one showing off Skytree's night-time colour patterns.  They are the blue iki, representing the nearby Sumida River, and the purple miyabi (shown), a traditional colour of old Edo.  As pretty as Skytree is at night, both inside and out, I imagine seeing it, and seeing out from it, during a clear sunny day would be a different experience altogether.  If you can, I'd recommend going up Tokyo Skytree twice; once during the day, and once at night!

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Hours: Open 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. No regular closing days.

Costs: ¥2,100 for the Tembo Deck, plus an additional ¥1,000 for the Tembo Galleria.  On weekends and holidays, the ticket prices are ¥2,300 and ¥1,100 respectively. Major credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, JCB, and Discover are accepted.

It is possible to reserve tickets ahead of time through their website; however, this requires a credit card issued in Japan, and as such is not feasible for overseas visitors. However, foreign guests can take advantage of the new Fast Skytree Tickets, which are sold at a separate counter and allow the user to skip the regular lines. These tickets cost ¥3,200 (Tembo Deck only) or ¥4,200 (Tembo Deck & Galleria).

Address: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒130-0045

Access: Right next to Oshiage Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon (Z) and Toei Asakusa (A) lines, and Tokyo Skytree Station on the Tobu Skytree (TS) line.  From Tokyo Station, walk to nearby Otemachi Station and take the Hanzomon subway line to Oshiage (Z14, 15 minutes, ¥200).

Directions: The ticket counter is on the 4th floor, in the structure directly underneath the tower.  The Oshiage subway stations are on the east side of the Skytree complex (roughly underneath the East Tower), and Tobu's Tokyo Skytree station is on the opposite west side.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Bunkyo Civic Centre & Tokyo Dome City

This article is based on a visit made on Wednesday, 2 April 2014.

Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

There are many places in Tokyo where one can climb up to view the city skyline.  Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, and the Mori Tower at Roppongi Hills are some of the more famous.  But they are somewhat expensive; the examples I just listed cost ¥1,500 (US$15) or more for entry, with the upper decks costing a little extra on top of that.  But Tokyo has its share of free observatories as well.  The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku is one, and the Bunkyo Civic Centre (文京シビックセンター, Bunkyō Shibikku Centā) is another.

Wiiii [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

The building was completed in 1994, reaches 146 metres (479 feet) tall, and has been described as a "colossal Pez dispenser" in the press. [1]  Much of the building is used by offices for the Bunkyo ward government, and the base of the building also houses a pair of concert halls.  The 25th floor is taken up by an observation deck, standing 100 meters above ground and boasting a 330-degree view of Tokyo.

The windows are tilted inward.  This is supposed to cut down on reflections from the lights inside the building.  This, obviously, doesn't apply to the windows looking inside the building.

The Tokyo Skytree is clearly visible among the low-rise buildings to the east.  Perhaps hitching a ride on that blimp up there would afford an even better view, given the haze that morning.

The 330-degree viewing angle excludes views to the direct south, which unfortunately account for some of Tokyo's more interesting cityscapes, like Tokyo Tower, Roppongi, and the Imperial Palace.  But it is enough to afford a view of the Tokyo Dome City amusement park, which I will cover later on below.

To the northwest is Ikebukuro, one of Tokyo's many urban centres.  The train station is the second-busiest in the world, behind nearby Shinjuku Station.  The tallest building in this shot is Sunshine 60, part of the Sunshine City complex.  It opened in 1978 and, at 240 metres (787 feet) tall, was the tallest building in Asia at the time.

And this is Shinjuku, to the west.  Of the buildings in the back, the one with two side-by-side columns is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and the curved one is the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower.  Mount Fuji is about 95 kilometres (60 miles) behind Shinjuku, and would make for a terribly interesting composition, but alas I was unable to see it in the morning haze.  And I apologise for my camera's poor picture quality when zoomed in like this.

One view not obstructed by the haze is of these gardens below.  This is Rekisen Park (礫川公園, Rekisen Kōen, lit. 'stone river park'), a small park directly to the west of the civic centre.  The Marunouchi metro line can be seen poking above ground to the left.

Afterwards, I made my way to Suidobashi Station by cutting through the Tokyo Dome City, the area surrounding the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium.

Tokyo Dome is the home stadium of the Yomiuri Giants, one of the most famous baseball teams in Japan.  They are owned by and named after the Yomiuri Group (major-league sports teams in Japan are named after their parent company instead of their location), which also owns the Yomiuri Shimbun (Japanese) and Japan News (English) newspapers and the Nippon Television (日本テレビ, Nippon Terebi) network.  The Japan Baseball Hall of Fame is also found on the premises.

Plenty of Giants merchandise for sale, including some cute plush mascots.  Much of it is in the team colours of black and orange.  In fact, those colours, and their "YG" logo, were inspired by the San Francisco Giants of America's MLB.  If you're not a fan, you may want to cheer for their rivals, the Hanshin Tigers of Kansai.  But with merch this cute, why would you want to?

In addition to the stadium itself, attractions in the Tokyo Dome City include a hotel, the spa complex LaQua, and an amusement park.

The Thunder Dolphin roller coaster is one of the park's flagship rides.  Despite lacking any inversions, it runs at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), and a G-force of 4.4.  It passes through a hole in the LaQua building, and even through the middle of the Big O, the world's largest centreless Ferris wheel at 60m (200 ft.) in diameter.

Tokyo Dome City also hosts Hero Action stage stunt shows starring the latest cast of Super Sentai, the TV series which forms the basis for Power Rangers in the US.  The one from 2014, Ressha Sentai ToQger, was based around trains.  (As of this post, it will not be adapted for Power Rangers.)  Knowing how much trains form a part of everyday life for the Japanese, I'm surprised it took Super Sentai almost 40 years to get to it.

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Bunkyo Civic Centre

Hours: Open from 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM.  Closed on the 3rd Sunday in May, and from 29 December to 3 January.

Costs: Free.

Address: 1-16-22 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 〒112-8555

Access: Directly adjacent to Korakuen (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi (M) and Namboku (N) lines) and Kasuga (Toei Mita (I) and Oedo (E) lines) stations.  From Tokyo Station, take the Marunouchi subway line to Korakuen (M22, 8 minutes, ¥170).  From Shinjuku, walk to the nearby Shinjuku Nishi-guchi station, and take the Oedo subway line to Kasuga (E07, 13 minutes, ¥220).

Website: (Japanese)

Tokyo Dome City

Hours: Open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  Admission ends 45 minutes before closing time.  No regular closing days.

Costs: Attractions cost ¥450-1,200 each.  A 1-Day Pass allowing use of unlimited attractions for the day costs ¥4,200 (¥3,200 after 5:00 PM).  Alternatively, a "Ride 5" pass allowing use of any five attractions costs ¥2,800.

Address: 1-3-61 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 〒112-0004

Access: Directly adjacent to Suidobashi Station (JR Chuo-Sobu (JB), and Toei Mita lines).  Also within 10 minutes on foot from Korakuen and Kasuga Stations; see above.  From Tokyo Station, take the Marunouchi subway line to Korakuen, as above.  From Shinjuku, take the Chuo-Sobu (Local) line to Suidobashi (JB17, 15 minutes, ¥170, JR Pass OK).

Website: (English) (Japanese)

[1] Nagamura, Kit (7 September 2007). "Booking Uphill in Bunkyo". The Japan Times.