Tokyo Subway Ticket 2026: when the 24, 48 or 72-hour pass pays off
October 15, 2026 · TripDipUpdated: October 15, 2026
The Tokyo Subway Ticket is worth buying when the ordinary fares for journeys it covers exceed the pass price within its validity window. As checked on 15 October 2026, the adult prices are ¥1,000 for 24 hours, ¥1,500 for 48 hours and ¥2,000 for 72 hours. A three-day stay alone does not make the longest pass good value: your routes and first-use time matter.
Cover: AI-generated illustration of an imagined Tokyo station, not a photograph of a particular train or a ticket product.
Current prices and what the pass covers
Tokyo Metro's official product page lists the following prices for the regular and QR versions. The ticket covers Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines, for the stated number of hours from first use within the ticket's valid period.
| Validity | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|
| 24 hours | ¥1,000 | ¥500 |
| 48 hours | ¥1,500 | ¥750 |
| 72 hours | ¥2,000 | ¥1,000 |
Toei Transportation's ticket guide independently lists the same fares and the two covered subway operators. This is a visitor product; check the purchase channel's eligibility, identification and redemption requirements before paying. Do not assume a voucher and a ready-to-use QR ticket work the same way.
The operator coverage is the key limit. JR journeys, including the Yamanote Line, do not become free because you bought a subway pass. Treat other railway operators and buses as separate costs unless your particular bundle expressly includes them. An itinerary with many rail journeys can still contain very few journeys this pass covers.
Break-even calculation: count fares, not train changes
Use this comparison for the same itinerary:
Pass saving = ordinary fares avoided on covered journeys − pass price.
Add uncovered fares to both alternatives. Compare the actual fares you would otherwise pay, including applicable transfer pricing; changing trains is not automatically a new full-price journey. Do not count a journey outside the pass's time window as a saving.
Here is a deliberately simplified example using ¥250 per covered journey. That figure is an assumption, not a quoted fare for a named route or a measured average.
| Adult pass | Journeys to equal its price at ¥250 each | First journey count making it cheaper |
|---|---|---|
| 24-hour, ¥1,000 | 4 | 5 within 24 hours |
| 48-hour, ¥1,500 | 6 | 7 within 48 hours |
| 72-hour, ¥2,000 | 8 | 9 within 72 hours |
For the 72-hour pass, six such journeys total ¥1,500: paying individually would be ¥500 cheaper. Nine total ¥2,250: the pass would save ¥250. If your actual fares are lower, you need more journeys; if higher, fewer. Use the operator's fare and transfer search to replace the assumption with your own routes.
Choose the window around the busy part of your trip
A 24-hour pass first used at 3pm gives a 24-hour window running to 3pm the next day, subject to the ticket's expiry and operating hours. It is not simply a ticket for that calendar date. Check the printed or displayed expiry rather than planning a last-minute journey on an assumption about the final gate entry.
Build your plan around these questions:
| Your plan | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Several covered journeys on one afternoon and the following morning | A 24-hour window against those exact fares |
| Two busy subway days, then a day mostly walking | A 48-hour pass plus any later fares against a 72-hour pass |
| Hotel beside a JR station and frequent JR journeys | Separate JR costs; count only the subway fares avoided |
| A loose itinerary with few definite trips | Pay-as-you-go fares against the cost of buying a pass you may not use |
Do not add unnecessary transfers or detours merely to make a pass appear to pay off. Walking time, convenience and the places you actually want to visit belong in the decision too.
PASMO and airport travel are separate decisions
Tokyo Metro describes PASMO as a rechargeable prepaid IC card, usable on participating railways and buses. A stored-value balance is a way to pay fares; loading money does not by itself buy unlimited subway travel. If you already have a suitable IC card, compare the fares deducted with the pass price, rather than treating the whole top-up amount as a day's spending.
For an airport journey, check the entire route and the exact product. Tokyo Metro lists airport-and-subway bundles separately, including a Skyliner ticket combined with a subway pass. That is different from the standalone subway pass. Do not subtract the full airport transfer fare from your break-even calculation unless your purchased product covers it.
Three quick questions
Does a 72-hour pass mean three calendar days?
It uses an hourly window from first use. Note your activation time and the product's expiry conditions, and plan the covered journeys inside that window.
Is nine journeys always the break-even point?
No. Nine is the first cheaper count only in our ¥250-per-journey example for the ¥2,000 adult pass. The reliable comparison is the sum of your actual covered fares.
Should I buy a national rail pass instead?
That addresses a different network and itinerary. Start with our Japan Rail Pass comparison for intercity travel; do not treat the two products as interchangeable.
Put the saving in the whole-trip budget
A small transport saving should not drive an expensive hotel move or a worse itinerary. Use the Tokyo budget worked example to keep accommodation, meals and transport separate, or explore our Tokyo city guide. The trip budget planner helps structure the wider trip; it does not quote individual rail fares.
Sources and method: Tokyo Metro and Toei operator pages linked above were checked on 15 October 2026. This is a current planning guide, not a claim of a fare change announced today. All break-even figures are TripDip calculations using published pass prices and the explicitly assumed ¥250 fare. Prices are in Japanese yen; no exchange-rate quote or guaranteed saving is implied.