Taking the bus in Tokyo

With so many buses and bus stations, how can anyone get around Tokyo by bus? Although you can get fairly near anywhere by trains, sometimes the bus is the best way to get around. Sometimes a bus takes a much more direct route between two spots. One clue is if you think two places are pretty close, but you need to transfer more than once to get there by train. Ask a bus driver or, if there is a bus ticket office in the station - many large bus areas have one - ask there. Buses cost usually between 200 and 220 yen for an adult. Get a Suica or Pasmo smart card from JR or the subway and use it to pay for the fare - it's a lot easier than searching for coins when you are getting on or off the bus.