Haneda to Minamiazabu

I forgot to mention the good water at the hotel in Haneda. There was just a hint of cedar smell but I couldn't detect any taste but that of fresh water. There was an explanatory note in the room.

Also forgot to post a photo of one of the many flower shops we saw in Kawasaki. No matter the time of year flowers are always available.

Street-side flower vendor's goods

In place of the real flowers, above, most restaurants have realistic displays of plastic foods showing their best dishes 

Saturday we checked out of our hotel in Haneda with its tasty water and headed down to the subway system to make our way to our new hotel in Minamiazabu.

Multi-lingual self-serve ticket dispensing machine

First stop at any station is the ticket machine This machine accepts cash, has directions in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean and dispenses tickets in values allowing travelers to go to any stop on that line. If you aren't sure which of the thirteen subway lines (with their 216 stations) that serve Tokyo you need to take to reach your desired destination there is a helpful map showing all those plus the main Japan Railway Line, other JR Lines, private railways and a couple of the main streetcar lines.

Tokyo's thirteen subway lines are color coded with numbered station markers which make it easy to get around

We bought tickets for the first leg of four, fed those tickets through the automated ticket reader and went to the platform to wait for our train. The ticket readers scan the magnetic code embedded in the ticket and punch a hole in each ticket and return it to the traveler at the other end of the scanner. When you go out of the destination station you feed your ticket into the scanner and if the fare is correct for that station a green arrow lights and out you go. If the fare is incorrect two batwing gates swing out blocking progress and you head for the fare adjustment machine or conductor's office to make amends.

Ticket readers scan the magnetic code and allow, or block, passage

These subway signs show destinations, times and track numbers. The times are departure times and are very accurate

In the Tokyo subways many stations have new safety gates to prevent accidents during rush hour. The gates are closed until the train stops then open allowing passage then close again before the train departs.

In many stations safety gates line the boarding area

We rode four different lines as we worked our way to Hiroo station in minamiazabu, near the New Sanno Hotel, our home for the next week. It was interesting riding the different subway lines through Tokyo. We were traveling light with only carry-on bags so navigating the escalators and stairways wasn't a burden and we traveled during the middle of the day on Saturday so the trains weren't crowded.

In some of the photos you see the word "Pasmo" which indicates you can touch the reader with your phone and the fare, or other charge, will be deducted from your on-line account. This same system works for vending machines, store express checkout lines and many other situations where small amounts of cash might be needed.