hinjuku stations as well. Ueno and Ikebukuro stations connect you to the northern suburbs and neighboring prefectures.
On the western route there are departures every 10-15 minutes from Kyoto and Osaka with two types of shinkansen trains, Nozomi is the fastest cutting the journey time down to 2:20 hours while the slightly slower Hikari trains adds an extra twenty minutes.
The northen route connects with Aomori, Fukushima and Sendai, the fastest services are with the Hayabusa and Hayate trains.
Altough Japan is dominated by fast shinkansen trains there are still a few sleeper trains left. Sunrise Izumo runs daily to Tokyo from Izumo while Sunrise Seto connects with Takamatsu, the largest city on the Shikoku island. Also, the luxurious Cassiopeia overnight train offers an direct route from the northen city of Sapporo three times a week. Fares starts at �27,000 with a journey time of 16� hours. For those on a smaller budget, the Hokutosei leavs daily and has a more reasonable price of just over �9,000. Notice that the both trains from Sapporo arrives in Ueno.
By car or thumb
While you can drive into the city, it's really not recommended as the city can be congested, signs may be confusing and parking fees are astronomical.
Hitchhiking into Tokyo is pretty easy, but hitchhiking out is considerably more difficult. It's definitely possible for determined cheapskates though, see Hitchhiking in Japan for a detailed list of tested escape routes from the city.
By bus
Highway bus services link Tokyo to other cities, resort areas and the surrounding prefectures. There are JR and private bus companies. Bus service may be cheaper, but the train is probably more convenient. If you have a JR pass, then you should generally stick with the trains
