Lost in Edogawa...

The best way to get lost in the city you live in is to board the wrong bus.

In order of ease of use in Japan:

1. taxi  (expensive)
2. subway (cheap)
3. JR trains (cheap)
4. bus (cheap)

I personally find the bus system to be the most confusing in Japan.  I've been told many times to get on a bus and just get off at xxx.  Even this which sounds easy is very difficult. 

Perhaps you read on the (very reliable) internets that bus xx gets you to xxx faster than bus yy.  You get on this bus.  This is the wrong bus.  You ride all over your city seeing things you've never seen before including Ford Tokyo.  An hour later you never arrive at your destination which should have taken less than 20 minutes.  Frustration sets in and the bus driver has to walk you to the proper bus (this is unbelievably embarrassing but a testament to how nice Japanese people can be).  You're now on the correct bus but you've gone so far out of your way that the trip which should have less than 20 minutes has taken you so much time that you don't even remember how much time it's taken you.  At this point you give up and flag down a taxi.  This is how you get lost on a bus in the city you live in.

This is also why I now get incredibly apprehensive getting on a bus now and really don't want to ever get on a bus by myself again.  Yeesh!

Last night I got on a bus with six friends and it was, of course, the correct bus which took us right to our destination.  Maybe the bus system is best operated in groups?