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I chose train, as I mainly use the Japanese train network. Having said that, once you get into Tokyo itself, most (but not all) of the train lines then go underground and become the Metro (tube).

Ok, so there's no clear distinction between both then?

Hey, thanks for the info GavinT !

Tôm Càng wrote:

Ok, so there's no clear distinction between both then?

Hey, thanks for the info GavinT !

Hmmm. How can I explain this??!!

OK. In the Tokyo area, there is the 'Metro' rail company, which runs the underground/metro/tube/whatever-you-want-to-call-the-going-underground-trains
There are also trains run by JR (Japan Railways), which run overground. The main one in Tokyo is the Yamanote line, which is kinda like the 'Circle' line on the London tube, except it's not underground.
Then, you also get some other private train companies, who run lines that extend out from central Tokyo districts into the suburbs and surrounding towns (actually all the towns pretty much have merge together to make Tokyo this huge urban metropolis, with very little countryside   ). Examples of such companies would be Keio, Keisei and Odakyu.

Now, this is the complicated bit. There are a couple of Metro lines, which have been build recently, such as the Oedo line, that are what would be considered 'British' style tube trains. They only run on the underground network, have small carriages, with curved roofs to save space.

The rest, they use standard trains, all the same shape square boxes. All the same width track. All overhead electrified wires.
(The bullet train, 'Shinkansen', however, uses a seperate rail system, with a different width track)

For example, it is possible for me to catch a train from my local station (Matsudo), to get to a place West of Tokyo called Karikada. Doing so, means I travel on 3(!!!) different rail networks, without changing train!
From Matsudo to Ayase, I am travelling on the (Local, not Rapid) line for the JR Joban line. At Ayase, the JR driver gets off the train, and the Metro driver gets on the train. At this point, the train just keeps going now, but it is now a Chiyoda Line train on the Tokyo Metro (it now goes undergound). This is the train I use to get to work, as I would get off at Otemachi (on the Metro) line. However, if I keep going I eventually reach Yoyogi-Uehara. There, the Metro driver gets off the train, and the Odakyu driver gets on the train. Now, the train has become a 'Rapid Express' on the Odakyu Tama-Express line!

Its nuts!! The fun bit is paying for all this, because you've travelled on 3 different networks without getting off the damn train. The ticket machines get quite complicated sometimes at some stations, because you'll have multiple companies sharing stations.

I know it sounds all complicated, but to be fair, they all run perfectly about 99% of the time.

Living in Melbourne, I use the tram. I'm not sure which to pick - the train or the bus/tube. They also have trains here, and buses - so it doesn't seem right to pick either of these options.

God the tram... Well, pick the bus/tube/tram since they are all urban means of transportation [intra muros] and some people use all of them on a single day...

Use the train if you have to travel from suburbs or surrounding towns to the town center through railways, like GavinT.

Dmscvan, GavinT, do you see other things I could have missed?

Tôm Càng wrote:

Dmscvan, GavinT, do you see other things I could have missed?

Hovercraft
Sedgeway
Skis
Helicopter (though I guess Plane is OK there)
Skateboard
...
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Joking by the way

When I'm abroad I use the bus or the tube everyday.

I actually prefer the bus, because it's a better way to discover the city you're in ... and it's often cheaper than the tube (in central London, a basic bus fare is £1 and a basic tube fare is £2 ... in Madrid the price is the same).

But I often use the tube because it's much faster!


Gavin, my young brother uses his skateboard to go to his office everyday!!

Roller blades, I forgot the rollers
And the camel
And the Yak
And the tchuk-tchuk
And as I see sometimes, someone else's back

No 100cc "Honda Dream" nor ox back riding here

Whatever I do, wherever I go, I have to drive my car. If I lived in downtown Toronto I would have the choice to ride either the subway, the bus or the streetcar (tramway), but in suburban North America: forget about it, the bus system is next to useless.

Even in large Canadian cities like Toronto or Montréal, public transit systems are a joke in comparison to their European counterparts, with high fare rates and poor service levels.

At least they're clean and safe

Here, in the south of Italy, buses are not widely developped ... moreover the schedule is not always respected ... For example, there could be on bus I can use to go to work ... but there is one bus every hour ... so it is not very flexible !!

So I need my car !!!

Kikou,

I'd love to have a Honda Dream 2 but it's too small for me...
I have 2 'bonus' instead, cheap taiwanese motorbike (reason why I spend my time getting them fixed). But nice for 100cc. And un-stolen-able, nobody would like to get caught while stealing such a cheap thing...

Here in Krasnodar, Russia it is called a "trolleybus" and I ride it daily!  If I am in a hurry I will take a taxi or hail a car.  No it is not the same as hitchhiking. I will pay the driver money when I am getting out of the car!  And I never do it alone... only when one of my sons or husband is along with!

Motoconcho!
Motorbike taxi. 20 pesos ( 60 cents ) anywhere in town.

carina wrote:

Motoconcho!
Motorbike taxi. 20 pesos ( 60 cents ) anywhere in town.

Xe om : same thing in Vietnam (xe means vehicule and om is hugging )

Muchos gratias Carina (don't know if it's proper spanish..)

The metro, or my feet.

When I need a car, I rent one for an hour or two.

Olivi€R wrote:

The metro, or my feet.

When I need a car, I rent one for an hour or two.

Hmmm??? Let's see. Here in Miami I have to have a car because Miami has terrible transportation services and when people talk about Miami, they don't realize how dispersed it is. The Miami everyone thinks of is really Miami Dade County and is over 2000 square miles!. Only one train line (called the MetroRail) that services a limited area, no metro, subte, subway, tube,, underground etc.... and cabs are very expensive.
When I travel, I usually try to use whatever transportation is available and if necessary I rent a car, I love to drive!!!!

stef

i voted for the car, but in 5 days, it will be by bike (a mean that you forget....). But Holland Fever !!!

As I am living in Madrid I always walk everywhere..so nice to look at all different things, so many things to see!!!But of course, I use the bus as well...I m not walking the whole city around the whole time!!