TX Commuter Pass, Teikiken 定期券 (ていきけん）

Let’s face facts. During my time here in Japan I haven’t been a heavy train user. If I need to run to Tokyo for an event, or if I want to meet someone, I usually just pay my train fare normally. But now, I will be using the train far more often…nearly everyday. The company will reimburse me for transportation costs, which is great.

However, I was trying figure out a way to get to Moriya as often as I like (mainly for the gym), even on weekends, and keep the fees reasonable. So I found out about the Tekiken, 定期券/ていきけん, or commuter pass. This perfect for people who ride trains very often; it’s a great way to save money as well. For a trip to Moriya it would cost 1000 yen per day (round trip) x 5 times a week=5000 yen per week x 4 weeks a month= 20,000 yen per month. This wouldn’t include weekend trips if I wanted to go to the gym on the weekends.

So I decided to purchase a commuter pass. For one month I pay 18,000 yen for unlimited trips to Moriya and back. So that means I can go to Moriya anytime I want and I’m saving my company 2000 yen in the process. It’s a win win! The only drawback is that the card seems like it could be easy to misplace. But there’s even a fix for that. When filling out the forms you can choose to have the commuter pass put on a Pasmo or Suica card.

For those of you who travel to certain places VERY often, regardless of it’s the TX of one of the Tokyo lines, etc.. It might be worth your while to check on a Teikiken prices. It doesn’t hurt to save money, right? Just walk up to your local station attendant and say Teikiken ga hoshii, or teikiken wo onegaishimasu (I would like a commuter pass). You may be happy you did.

Donald Ash