Learning a subway line in order: a method for Paris and Tokyo

We wrote about memorising Seoul's stations earlier. The same approach works for Paris and Tokyo, but the two networks give you different handholds, so the method has to change a little.

Tokyo: use the codes

Tokyo stations have a letter and a number. The Ginza Line runs G01 at Shibuya to G19 at Asakusa, which is 19 stations. The Marunouchi Line is M01 to M25. If you remember that Ginza is G09, you know it sits about halfway along the Ginza Line, and you know the stations either side are G08 and G10. Shared stations keep the code of the line they were first on, so Otemachi is better learned by name. Start with a short line like the Ginza and move on to the Yamanote, which is a loop of 30 stations.

Paris: use the ends and the landmarks

Paris Métro stations do not have official numbers, and the platform signs show the name of the last stop on the line. So learn the two ends of each line first, such as La Défense and Château de Vincennes for Line 1. Then split the line into chunks of five and attach each chunk to a landmark you know: the Arc de Triomphe at Charles de Gaulle - Étoile, the Louvre at Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre, the Gare de Lyon clock tower. The Paris line pages list the landmarks station by station.

Three rules for either city

Learn the line in chunks of five stations, not from the first to the last. Say the name out loud once as you type it. And repeat a chunk until you can type it without looking, then add the next. A line of 20 to 30 stations takes three or four short sessions this way. If you want a gentler start, begin with Line 11 or Line 3bis in Paris, or the Ginza Line in Tokyo. The difficulty ranking shows which lines are lightest.