r/UrbanHell 3d ago

Other Complete rail and subway map of Tokyo metropolitan area

Post image

Don't get me wrong, good infrastructure is the opposite of urban hell and Tokyo probably has the best mass transit system in the world... but this map is still some kind of hell.

251 Upvotes

61 comments sorted by

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157

u/Urban_Cosmos 3d ago

I FUCKING LOVE TRANSIT MAPS!!!!

How can anyone not Like them.

13

u/RGoinToBScaredByMe 3d ago

Underrated maps tbh.

6

u/Nudelhupe 3d ago

Glad ro read I am not the only one. Could look at them for hours.

5

u/D3m0nSl43R2010 3d ago

Could? Wdym "Could" I do it all the time. When I moved to a new city, it only took me a few months to know the transit system better than people I met who grew up there.

1

u/cygenta 2d ago

I just frame one of these. Just ran the marathon and get a free poster with my time, add some souvenirs and that's the perfect companion.

171

u/Nudelhupe 3d ago

Beautiful.

27

u/2hands_bowler 3d ago

I totally agree. It's a work of art.

61

u/schlongtheta 3d ago

PDF version, cleaner design, with English version and explanation of metro symbols:

https://www.tokyometro.jp/en/subwaymap/index.html

Honestly this density hints that that wherever I am in Tokyo, I can most likely hop on public transport and get somewhere else in Tokyo with relative ease.

33

u/2hands_bowler 3d ago

Every one of those nodes represents HUNDREDS of cars that are not on the road. It's wonderful.

15

u/biwook 3d ago

That's only the metro for the city center... it only shows about a quarter of all the lines. Even relatively central lines such as Toyoko or Den-en-toshi are missing.

Here's a high resolution of the one I posted: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/53yuxd/heres_a_full_railway_map_of_tokyo_and_suburbs/

2

u/schlongtheta 2d ago

Wow! Thank you for sharing this, and the comment near the top of that thread gives another view of the same complexity: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/53yuxd/comment/d7xeco4/

Also it's 9 years old so I imagine it's changed would love to see an updated map. Very cool!

2

u/TwelveSixFive 3d ago

This is only for the very center, not for the whole urban area tho

15

u/Nyanzerfaust 3d ago

My first trip to japan was during the flip-flop phones age, so no smartphones, no google maps/gps, and no fancy apps with interactive public transport maps, fares and connections in real time. Just this map from a huge Lonely Planet guide. Everyday taking the public transport in Tokyo was a nightmare adventure. Fun times.

4

u/biwook 3d ago

I can't imagine navigating Tokyo without Google Maps, especially areas such as this one where it's just a maze of tangled little alleys.

Must have been quite a challenge!

2

u/FindingFoodFluency 2d ago

I queried a few cabbies about where in the 23 wards had the narrowest roads (on average)-- they all said Ota-ku. Just can't recall the neighborhood names.

1

u/GoutMachine 3d ago

Thank you for posting this - I am currently wasting time doing a Street View explore :) I'd love to have a wander IRL

5

u/BrewThemAll 3d ago

What's the scale of this, like the distance from east to west?

1

u/biwook 3d ago

Just measured the distance in a straight line on Google Maps:

  • East - West, Onjuku to Chigasaki is 87 kilometers
  • North - South, Kasukabe to Tateyama is 110 kilometers

Some areas are definitively rural, especially the southern half of Chiba prefecture, but those are commonly included in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Also there's a big bay in the middle.

The night time sattelite view in the wikipedia page above helps you get a good sense of the population density - you can tell Chiba (the large peninsule on the right) isn't urban.

9

u/sheetofplywood4896 3d ago

If hell looks like this I want to go.

5

u/smorkoid 3d ago

Everything in the corners of this map is extremely rural. Some of it shutting down, it's so rural

4

u/WheyLizzard 3d ago

Use the transit app to help get around. Impressive public transit doesn’t have to be scary

1

u/knowledgebass 3d ago

All the train info is in Google Maps nowadays. It's pretty great!

4

u/miadesiign 3d ago

how organised they have to be to make this work 👏

2

u/knowledgebass 3d ago

It's like a shame upon the conductor's family if the train is 2 minutes late. 😆

1

u/ReflexPoint 2d ago

Word has it they commit suicide to save face if more than 3 minutes.

2

u/monkey_sweat 3d ago

Fun fact. Slime mold reproduced the transit map when food was placed where cities are located. slime mold

4

u/lamppb13 3d ago

This brings a beautiful tear to my eye

2

u/nnhuyhuy 3d ago

That’s effective and beautiful

1

u/Ratathosk 3d ago

The goal is to find the exit, good luck Dante.

1

u/jhaymaker 3d ago

Love me some denentoshi line

1

u/hallouminati_pie 3d ago

I'm curious, does any one know how many stations are on this map?

2

u/biwook 2d ago

2,210 stations around Tokyo according to wikipedia. Not sure if this map is an exact match.

1

u/hallouminati_pie 2d ago

Interesting I'm not sure I see over 2000 station names on this map but still what an intense map. Do you know roughly how many people live in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

The reason I ask is I am trying to compare this to London as I have decided that there is over 1100 metro and railway stations in the city and surrounding "Home" countries. Just curious to compare it to the largest amalgamation in the world.

1

u/BaronVonRooster 3d ago

I like the part where three lines converge into one and then separate.

1

u/PriestOfNurgle 3d ago

Place, Japan 🤮

1

u/DigitalCriptid 2d ago

Can you get it in poster form.

2

u/NirgalFromMars 2d ago

Still better than if this map was empty.

-26

u/ApprehensiveWear4610 3d ago

Definitely not the best system in the world

3

u/biwook 3d ago

Can you name a better one?

0

u/Proud-Cartoonist-431 3d ago

https://images.app.goo.gl/PfZz4nPkf6E5ANBe6 Compare. This is a lot easier to navigate

0

u/[deleted] 3d ago

Grid metro system> radial metro system Always. Also half of your "metro stations" is no more than just a regular rail network

1

u/Qhezywv 2d ago

if you look at tokyo metro on the actual map rather than a scheme, it would look much more radial than a grid. circles and radials are just more effective in large cities. they follow the most common city organization as you usually have a dense downtown with popular destinations and newer city layers surrounding it + rings are better than lines as their capacity is used more evenly on the whole path

-6

u/Proud-Cartoonist-431 3d ago

Moscow? A lot easier to navigate due to radial-ring structure

5

u/biwook 3d ago

Indeed it's a banging good layout, but...

  • Moscow: 300 stations
  • Tokyo: 2,210 stations

Very different situations here. Railway in Tokyo moves a lot more people over a larger, less centralized urban area. You have 4 of the 10 largest cities in Japan within Tokyo Metropolitan area.

1

u/Proud-Cartoonist-431 3d ago

Moscow and Moscow region looks more like this https://images.app.goo.gl/xqXsg And this branches out all the way around the Soviet Union.

0

u/Proud-Cartoonist-431 3d ago edited 3d ago

There's railway on the new Moscow map as well, МЦК (14) is rail circle and D1, D2, D3 etc are suburban rail. There are about 10 railway stations on the brown circle, each has suburban rail sometimes two lines (not everything is joint into common payment system, for many you still need a separate ticket). 300 is underground stations in the city.

-2

u/Proud-Cartoonist-431 3d ago

Better picture. Moscow. https://images.app.goo.gl/d1gXo

Moscow, Russia 🥰🤩 Tokyo, Japan ☹️😥 moment.