Items18The creator’s order
  1. 1TokyoTokyoThe benchmark. From Haneda, the Tokyo Monorail reaches Hamamatsucho in as little as 13 minutes and Keikyu's fastest trains reach Shinagawa in 11, so a visitor can be on the Yamanote loop before most taxi lines have moved. Once in town, one rechargeable IC card covers JR, the metro and the private…0
  2. 2OsakaOsakaOsaka is the better base than Kyoto for anyone planning to see several cities without a car. Trains run from Kansai Airport's own station, JR's Haruka express or Nankai's rapi:t, and the city's dense web of JR, metro and private lines means a different day trip every morning. Kyoto's temples,…0
  3. 3Hong KongHong KongFew cities make arrival this painless. The Airport Express runs from the terminal to Hong Kong Station in Central in about 24 minutes, and an Octopus card then pays for the MTR, trams, buses and the Star Ferry alike. What lifts Hong Kong onto this list is how much green and blue sits within a…0
  4. 4SeoulSeoulSeoul's subway map looks frightening and rides like a dream: every station is numbered, announcements come in English, and a T-money card covers the subway and buses citywide. From Incheon, the AREX express train runs nonstop to Seoul Station in about 43 minutes from Terminal 1, and a little longer…0
  5. 5SingaporeSingaporeSingapore is compact, clean-cut and almost impossible to get lost in. The East-West Line has a station at Changi Airport, and a contactless bank card tapped at the gate works as the ticket on trains and buses, so there is nothing to buy on arrival. The city-state cannot offer far-flung day trips,…0
  6. 6TaipeiTaipeiTaipei is the easiest big city in East Asia for a first-timer without a car. The Taoyuan Airport MRT express reaches Taipei Main Station in about 35 minutes from Terminal 1, and an EasyCard then covers the metro, city buses and even convenience-store snacks. The metro is spotless and frequent, but…0
  7. 7ZurichZurichZurich's airport has a full railway station under the terminal, with trains to the main station taking about ten minutes and leaving several times an hour, plus direct trains onward to other Swiss cities. That sets the tone for a country where the trains, buses, boats and mountain railways are…0
  8. 8ViennaViennaVienna rewards anyone who leaves the car at home. The City Airport Train runs nonstop from the airport to Wien Mitte in 21 minutes, and the cheaper S-Bahn covers the same ground a little more slowly, so the first decision of the trip is only about price. In town, the U-Bahn and the tram network…0
  9. 9MunichMunichMunich makes Germany's regional rail feel like an extension of its city transit. The S1 and S8 S-Bahn lines run from the airport into the center in about 40 minutes, and the Deutschlandticket monthly pass covers that ride along with local and regional trains across the country. That pass is what…0
  10. 10BerlinBerlinBerlin runs on transit at every hour, which suits a city whose nights start late. The FEX airport express reaches Hauptbahnhof from BER in 23 minutes, and the U-Bahn and S-Bahn keep running through the night on weekends, with night buses covering the gaps. The ABC ticket that covers the airport…0