My morning travelling journey in words:

20 minute scenic walk from Urayasu Dormitary to Shin Urayasu Train station.

as I get closer to the station, I get a sudden rush to up my walking pace to match all those around me.

Use tekiken (unlimited train rides between Shin Urayasu to Tokyo for 6840 Yen) and slot in, like how SMRT used to be like before EZ link card.

Squeeze into express train heading to Tokyo, which skips 2 stations and takes about 20 minutes.

Rush to the first escalator to bring me up one level, and rush again to Exit A/B to go up one more to the main level.

The challenge truly starts here where I have to navigate the random madness of Tokyo human traffic to walk another 10-15 minutes to Maruochi North Exit. Knowing which exit to come out off is critical as each exit will bring you to an entirely different place.

From Maruochi North Exit, I can either go down to another longer underground path way or go out and take a shorter, open-air, city-view walk to Ootemachi Station which is on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line. This takes another 10 minute or 5 minute depending on which route I decide to take, which in turn depends on the weather.

The Shin Urayasu-Tokyo journey is on the Keiyo Line on the JR. JR and Tokyo Metro are operated by two different train companies and do not connect. Hence, I must exit JR Tokyo Station to Tokyo Metro Ootemachi Station. My tekiken pass is only for the JR line between Shin Urayasu and Tokyo, hence, I have to pay for ANOTHER ticket (160Yen) to travel from Ootemachi Station to Waseda Station.

So by the time I reach Ootemachi Station, 1 hour has already lapsed. From Ootemachi, I take to Waseda where I have to walk to the other end to take the Exit 3b, the nearest one to the part of Waseda University that I have to frequent. Then I have walk another 10-15 minutes to Building 22 or 19 at the north most part of the Nishi-Waseda campus.

So by the time I reach my destination, I would have taken about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, all hot and sweaty in the cold autumn, ready to contend with Japanese students who hoard the computer terminals.

And when Im done, I just reverse the entire steps to get back to my dorm. Which conveniently takes another 1 hour 15 minute to 1 hour 30 minutes.

Japan's transport system is indeed very convenient, and the train system gets you to anywhere you want to go. There are many maps and road signs to get you to where you want to go. So for those coming to Japan, the challenge lies in:
1.) knowing which stations to board and alight.
2.) knowing which stations belong to which line.
3.) checking how much you have to pay (although, if you do under or over pay, there are adjusting machines to correct your fare)
4.) knowing which exact exit to go out of and how to get to that ext/
5.) the thousands of people who zig zag in varying paces from the fast pulling of their travelling suitcases (which many do bring to work everyday) to the even faster running of OLs and salarymen.

I also suggest a good map and a fortified pair of walking shoes. Cos in Tokyo, you walk ALOT.

Oh I miss living on campus grounds in NUS... Ha...