Keisei Electric Railway

Keisei Electric Railway operates trains and buses in Tokyo and Chiba. It's main line serves eastern Tokyo and several Chiba suburbs including Ichikawa and Funabashi and ends at Narita Airport. It's second most used line runs within Chiba. It also operates a variety of short lines. It uses standard gauge trains which distinguishes it from JR.

The Keisei group includes multiple subsidiaries that serve Ibaraki as well as Chiba and Tokyo. For the most part there is a subsidiary for each line. However, the Kanto Railway runs two lines and buses between Tokyo and Ibaraki while the Tsukuba Tsukuba Kanko Railway operates a cable car, a ropeway, hotels and restaurants on Mount Tsukuba. Subsidiary lines usually use old (diesel) or very new technology. Keisei will be the main operator of the Narita New Rapid Line which will have a top speed of 160km/h. That will make it the fastest third sector railway in the Tokyo area.

It also has extensive real estate holdings. Through its majority share in the Oriental Land Company, it manages Tokyo Disneyland, and it runs the Maihama Resort Line which serves the resort area.

Toride

Of Interest: one of Tokyo's bedroom communities

Lodging: no

Tourist Office: no

Lockers: small, medium, and large for only 100 yen

International ATM: In a 7-11 to the right of the station entrance

Toride is a transport hub for commuters going into Tokyo. It is only 40 minutes to Ueno Station by Joban line Express (JR East). The station is the terminus of the Joso line of the Kanto Railway (Keisei subsidiary).

The city of Toride has several train stations. It is hard to tell Toride Station is downtown or not. There is a small department store near the station, but few buildings of note.

Update: A couple of things have made me think about this city again. Someone told me that he used to live in Toride, and today I saw a request for articles about doing "special" things in "exotic" places. I really like to feel the "ordinariness" of things. Toride is very "ordinary", but it left a vivid impression on me.

Part of my challenge for this website is to express the experience of walking out of the station. Walking to end of the road that leads away from the station, walking back, seeing certain kinds of buildings near the station, seeing other (smaller) building further away, eating at the It0-yokado, going to the 7-11, very ordinary things.

Ito-yokado is like Target, and it is places like that that show you what a country is really like.

Moriya

Of Interest: a suburb of Tokyo

Lodging: one budget hotel

Tourist Office: no

International ATM: no

Lockers: small and medium

Handicapped Accessible: yes

Moriya is at the intersection of the Tsukuba Express and Joso Line of the Kanto Railway. Originally, Moriya was the intended terminus of what became the Tsukuba Express, but Ibaraki Prefecture lobbied to have line go all the way to Tsukuba.

The shops and restaurants in the station are the focal point of the immediate area, although there may be a mall in (far) walking distance.