Tokyo Subway Ticket 2026: New Prices, What It Covers, and When It Pays Off

The Tokyo Subway Ticket is a 24, 48 or 72-hour pass for foreign visitors that covers all 13 subway lines in the city, Tokyo Metro and Toei alike. On 14 March 2026 it got more expensive: the 24-hour ticket went from ¥800 to ¥1,000 and the 72-hour from ¥1,500 to ¥2,000. A lot of the advice still floating around assumes the old prices. Here is what it costs now, what it leaves out (JR, for a start), and how many rides a day it takes before you come out ahead.

Tokyo Subway Ticket prices in 2026

Tokyo Metro and Toei raised the price of every day ticket on the same date, so the other passes further down went up too. Ordinary single fares did not change. The longer tickets took the biggest jump in yen, but the 72-hour ticket is still the cheapest per day by a clear margin.

What the Tokyo subway pass covers, and what it doesn’t

You get unlimited rides on the nine Tokyo Metro lines (Ginza, Marunouchi, Hibiya, Tozai, Chiyoda, Yurakucho, Hanzomon, Namboku, Fukutoshin) and the four Toei subway lines (Asakusa, Mita, Shinjuku, Oedo). That is around 280 stations, and it reaches most of what a first trip to Tokyo is built around.

What it leaves out matters as much. JR East’s lines are not included, and that means the Yamanote loop and the Chuo line, which many visitors use every day without noticing they have switched operator. Private railways (Odakyu, Keio, Tokyu, Seibu, Tobu, Keikyu, Keisei), the Yurikamome, the Rinkai line and the Tokyo Monorail are outside it too, and so are Toei buses and the Tokyo Sakura Tram.

The one that catches people is through-running. Many subway lines carry on without a change onto private railways: the Hanzomon line beyond Shibuya onto the Tokyu Den-en-toshi line, the Fukutoshin line onto the Tokyu Toyoko line toward Yokohama, the Asakusa line onto Keisei and Keikyu tracks toward the airports. The pass stops at the boundary station. Stay on the train and you owe the fare from there, which you settle at the yellow fare adjustment machine before the exit gate.

Is the Tokyo Subway Ticket worth it? The break-even math

Start from the Tokyo Metro fare. It runs by distance, from ¥178 by IC card for up to 6 km to ¥324 for the longest rides (¥180 to ¥330 on a paper ticket). Toei starts at the same ¥178 and tops out at ¥430. Most sightseeing hops inside the city center cost ¥178 or ¥209. Switching between a Tokyo Metro line and a Toei line mid-journey means paying both fares, less a ¥70 transfer discount.

A realistic busy day looks like this: Shinjuku to Asakusa in the morning, Asakusa to Ueno, Ueno to Akihabara, Akihabara to Ginza for the evening, then back to Shinjuku. By IC card that comes to about ¥1,000 on Tokyo Metro’s fare table. So on the new prices a 24-hour ticket only just pays for a full day, and a quiet day loses money. The 72-hour ticket works out at ¥667 a day, which three or four rides cover. That is the version we’d buy.

There is also a benefit that doesn’t show in the arithmetic. With the pass you stop doing sums: one stop to get out of the rain, a detour to a station you saw on a map, a ride back to the hotel to drop shopping bags. On a pay-per-ride card each of those is ¥178 you think twice about.

Tokyo metro pass options compared

The ¥700 Tokyo Metro 24-hour Ticket is the one people overlook. Tokyo Metro alone reaches Asakusa, Shibuya, Ginza, Ueno, Akihabara, Omotesando and Tokyo Station, so a day that stays on its lines needs nothing else. Where it falls short is the Oedo line, the Toei line visitors use most, for Roppongi, Tsukijishijo, Ryogoku and the free observation decks at Tochomae.

Tapping a Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex or other contactless card at the gate is now possible on the Toei subway and at participating Tokyo Metro stations. You’re charged the paper-ticket fare, there is no child fare, and it can’t be combined with a day pass. It is handy for one ride, less so for a week. For everything about Suica, Pasmo and the other IC cards, including the phone versions, see our separate guide.

Where to buy the Tokyo Subway Ticket

At the airports, it is sold at counters in the arrivals halls at Narita (Terminals 1 and 2) and Haneda (Terminal 3). In the city, try the Tokyo Metro pass offices at Ueno, Ginza, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Iidabashi, Takadanobaba and Otemachi, tourist information centers, and Bic Camera and Sofmap stores. Travel agencies and booking sites also sell it in advance as a voucher that you exchange in Japan.

Since 25 March 2026 there is a QR-code version as well, shown on your phone at gates fitted with a QR reader. Most stations have one; at a small number you still hand the phone to staff at the manned gate. Whichever version you buy, the seller checks your original passport for short-term stay status. A photocopy or a photo on your phone won’t do, and residents of Japan can’t buy it.

Tokyo Metro and Toei also sell airport combination tickets that bundle the Subway Ticket with a Keisei Skyliner ride from Narita or a Keikyu ride from Haneda. They went up on 14 March 2026 too. Compare the combined price with the separate fares in our Narita to Tokyo and Haneda to Tokyo guides before you pay for the bundle.

Using it at the gates

The paper ticket goes into the slot at the front of the gate and pops out at the far end; don’t tap it on the round IC reader. The first time through, the gate prints the expiry time on the back, and the 24, 48 or 72 hours run from that moment. It’s a separate ticket from your IC card, so enter and exit a journey with the same one. Go in on the pass and out on Suica and the gate won’t know what to do with you.

Buying the ticket at the airport doesn’t start the clock, which gives you a small trick. If you land in the evening, ride into town on an IC card and put the first pass through a gate the next morning. A 72-hour ticket started at 9:00 on day one lasts until 9:00 on day four, which is close to three and a half usable days.

Many lines keep a women-only car during the morning rush, marked in pink on the platform and on the car itself. Children of primary-school age travel on the child ticket.

After Tokyo

The subway pass ends at the city limits, and the next leg for most visitors is the bullet train west. Our Tokyo to Kyoto Shinkansen guide covers fares, Nozomi versus Hikari and the seat that sees Mount Fuji, and is the JR Pass worth it does the math on the national pass. Bags, couriers and station rules are in luggage and transport rules in Japan, and the rest of the country is in our Japan travel guide.

Data checked: 2026-09-29