Tokyo

Stations worth a stop

• Shibuya 渋谷

  Ginza LineHanzomon LineFukutoshin Line

  Shibuya is a major hub where the Ginza Line arrives on an upper floor and the Hanzomon and Fukutoshin lines run deep underground. The scramble crossing and the statue of the dog Hachiko are just outside, and the Shibuya Sky observation deck sits on the roof of Shibuya Scramble Square above the station.

• Omote-sando 表参道

  Ginza LineChiyoda LineHanzomon Line

  Omote-sando lies under the zelkova-lined avenue that runs from Aoyama to Harajuku, known for flagship stores in buildings by well-known architects, including Omotesando Hills by Tadao Ando. The Nezu Museum, with its Japanese garden, is about ten minutes' walk south-east.

• Ginza 銀座

  Ginza LineMarunouchi LineHibiya Line

  Ginza station sits under the main shopping district of central Tokyo, where three lines meet. Department stores and flagship shops line Chuo-dori, and the Wako building with its clock tower stands at the Ginza 4-chome crossing just above the exits.

• Nihombashi 日本橋

  Ginza LineTozai LineToei Asakusa Line

  Nihombashi is named after the bridge over the Nihonbashi River, the starting point of Japan's old highways; the present stone bridge dates from 1911 and still marks the zero point of the national road network. Department stores, including Takashimaya and the Mitsukoshi main store, are close by.

• Ueno 上野

  Ginza LineHibiya Line

  Ueno is the gateway to Ueno Park, which holds the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art designed by Le Corbusier, and Ueno Zoo. Ameya-Yokocho, a busy market street running under and beside the railway tracks, starts just south of the station.

• Asakusa 浅草

  Ginza LineToei Asakusa Line

  Asakusa is the eastern terminus of the Ginza Line, whose first section to Ueno opened in 1927 as the first subway in Asia. Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple, is reached through the Kaminarimon gate and the Nakamise shopping street a few minutes from the exits, and Tokyo Skytree is visible across the Sumida River.

• Shinjuku 新宿

  Marunouchi LineToei Shinjuku LineToei Oedo Line

  Shinjuku is the busiest railway station in the world by passenger numbers, with the Marunouchi, Toei Shinjuku and Oedo lines among many others. Skyscrapers, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, stand on the west side, while the east side has department stores, the Kabukicho entertainment district and the narrow bar alleys of Omoide Yokocho.

• Shinjuku-gyoemmae 新宿御苑前

  Marunouchi Line

  Shinjuku-gyoemmae on the Marunouchi Line is the nearest station to Shinjuku Gyoen, a national garden that combines Japanese landscape, English landscape and French formal gardens. The garden is popular in spring for its many cherry trees, and its Okido Gate is a few minutes' walk from the station.

• Tokyo 東京

  Marunouchi Line

  The Marunouchi Line stops beneath Tokyo Station, the city's main rail terminal for the shinkansen and JR lines. The red-brick Marunouchi building, completed in 1914 and restored in 2012, faces a wide plaza and the Gyoko-dori avenue, which leads west towards the Imperial Palace. The East Gardens of the palace are about ten to fifteen minutes on foot.

• Otemachi 大手町

  Marunouchi LineTozai LineChiyoda LineHanzomon LineToei Mita Line

  Otemachi is a business district served by five subway lines, with long underground passages linking it to Tokyo Station. The Otemon Gate of the Imperial Palace East Gardens, once the main gate of Edo Castle, is about five minutes' walk west across the moat.

• Hongo-sanchome 本郷三丁目

  Marunouchi LineToei Oedo Line

  Hongo-sanchome, on the Marunouchi and Oedo lines, is the usual station for the Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo. The red Akamon gate, a former daimyo residence gate from 1827, and Sanshiro Pond inside the campus are about five to ten minutes' walk away.

• Korakuen 後楽園

  Marunouchi LineNamboku Line

  Korakuen, on the Marunouchi and Namboku lines, serves Tokyo Dome, the home ground of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, and the amusement rides of Tokyo Dome City around it. Koishikawa Korakuen, an Edo-period strolling garden built by the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family, is about ten minutes' walk west.

• Ikebukuro 池袋

  Marunouchi LineYurakucho LineFukutoshin Line

  Ikebukuro is a major terminal in north-west Tokyo served by the Marunouchi, Yurakucho and Fukutoshin lines, with large department stores built over the station. Sunshine City, a complex with an aquarium, a planetarium and an observation deck, is about ten minutes' walk east.

• Roppongi 六本木

  Hibiya LineToei Oedo Line

  Roppongi, on the Hibiya and Oedo lines, is home to two large mixed-use complexes: Roppongi Hills, with the Mori Art Museum near the top of Mori Tower, and Tokyo Midtown, with the Suntory Museum of Art and a park. The area is also known for its international restaurants and nightlife.

• Higashi-ginza 東銀座

  Hibiya LineToei Asakusa Line

  Higashi-ginza is connected directly to the Kabukiza, the main theatre for kabuki in Tokyo, rebuilt in 2013 with its traditional facade in front of an office tower. Single-act tickets let visitors watch one part of a programme.

• Tsukiji 築地

  Hibiya Line

  Tsukiji station's exit 1 opens beside Tsukiji Hongwanji, a Buddhist temple completed in 1934 in an ancient Indian architectural style. The Tsukiji Outer Market, with its seafood shops and small restaurants, is a few minutes' walk away; the wholesale market itself moved to Toyosu in 2018.

• Akihabara 秋葉原

  Hibiya Line

  Akihabara on the Hibiya Line serves the district known for electronics stores and for shops selling anime, manga and games along Chuo-dori. Kanda Myojin, a shrine with a long history, is about ten to fifteen minutes' walk west.

• Kagurazaka 神楽坂

  Tozai Line

  Kagurazaka station on the Tozai Line sits at the top of the Kagurazaka slope, a former geisha quarter whose stone-paved side lanes hold traditional restaurants alongside French bistros. Akagi Shrine, rebuilt in 2010 to a design by Kengo Kuma, is a minute from the exit.

• Kudanshita 九段下

  Tozai LineHanzomon LineToei Shinjuku Line

  Kudanshita is an interchange of the Tozai, Hanzomon and Shinjuku lines at the foot of Kudanzaka slope. Yasukuni Shrine is about five minutes up the slope, and Kitanomaru Park, which contains the Nippon Budokan arena, is next to the station; the Chidorigafuchi moat nearby is lined with cherry trees.

• Monzen-nakacho 門前仲町

  Tozai LineToei Oedo Line

  Monzen-nakacho, on the Tozai and Oedo lines, grew up as the town in front of Tomioka Hachimangu shrine, which stands a few minutes from the station next to the Fukagawa Fudo-do temple. The surrounding streets keep an old downtown feel, with small izakaya and shops selling traditional sweets.

• Meiji-jingumae (Harajuku) 明治神宮前〈原宿〉

  Chiyoda LineFukutoshin Line

  Meiji-jingumae, at Harajuku, is served by the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin lines. The forested grounds of Meiji Jingu, the shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji in 1920, begin a few minutes away, and Takeshita-dori, a narrow street of youth fashion shops, is across from the JR station.

• Nogizaka 乃木坂

  Chiyoda Line

  Nogizaka on the Chiyoda Line has an exit leading directly into the National Art Center, Tokyo, designed by Kisho Kurokawa with an undulating glass facade; it hosts large temporary exhibitions rather than a permanent collection. Nogi Shrine is next to the station.

• Nijubashimae (Marunouchi) 二重橋前〈丸の内〉

  Chiyoda Line

  Nijubashimae on the Chiyoda Line is the closest station to the Imperial Palace Outer Garden, a broad expanse of gravel and pine trees in front of the palace. From the plaza you can see the Nijubashi stone bridge and the palace walls across the moat, about ten minutes' walk from the station.

• Nezu 根津

  Chiyoda Line

  Nezu on the Chiyoda Line is part of the Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi area, a district of old wooden houses, temples and small shops that survived much of the twentieth century's redevelopment. Nezu Shrine, with its tunnel of red torii gates and azalea garden, is about five minutes' walk from the station.

• Tsukishima 月島

  Yurakucho LineToei Oedo Line

  Tsukishima, on the Yurakucho and Oedo lines, is known for Nishinaka-dori, a shopping street lined with dozens of restaurants serving monjayaki, a runny griddle dish of the area. The old fishing quarter of Tsukudajima, with its small shrine and shops selling tsukudani, is a few minutes north.

• Jimbocho 神保町

  Hanzomon LineToei Mita LineToei Shinjuku Line

  Jimbocho is Tokyo's book town, with a large concentration of second-hand and specialist bookshops along Yasukuni-dori. The neighbourhood is also known for its curry restaurants and old coffee houses, and several universities are nearby.

• Kiyosumi-shirakawa 清澄白河

  Hanzomon LineToei Oedo Line

  Kiyosumi-shirakawa, on the Hanzomon and Oedo lines, is next to Kiyosumi Garden, a strolling garden with a large pond, stepping stones and stones gathered from around Japan. The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo is about fifteen minutes' walk east, and several coffee roasters work out of converted warehouses in the area.

• Oshiage (Skytree) 押上〈スカイツリー前〉

  Hanzomon LineToei Asakusa Line

  Oshiage, on the Hanzomon and Asakusa lines, is connected directly to Tokyo Skytree, the 634-metre broadcasting tower with two observation decks. The Tokyo Solamachi shopping complex and an aquarium occupy the base of the tower.

• Sengakuji 泉岳寺

  Toei Asakusa Line

  Sengakuji on the Toei Asakusa Line takes its name from the temple a short walk away, where Lord Asano Naganori and the 47 ronin of Ako, who avenged him in 1703, are buried. Incense is still offered at their graves, and a small hall displays related objects.

• Onarimon 御成門

  Toei Mita Line

  Onarimon on the Mita Line is beside Zojoji, the head temple of the Jodo sect and the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns, with Tokyo Tower rising behind its main hall. The Sangedatsumon gate, built in 1622, faces the main road at the temple's front.

• Tochomae 都庁前

  Toei Oedo Line

  Tochomae on the Oedo Line sits beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the twin-towered city hall designed by Kenzo Tange and completed in 1991. Observation rooms on the 45th floor give views across the city and, on clear days, to Mount Fuji.

• Ryogoku 両国

  Toei Oedo Line

  Ryogoku on the Oedo Line is in the traditional home of sumo; the Ryogoku Kokugikan arena, which hosts three of the six annual grand tournaments, is a short walk away. The Sumida Hokusai Museum, devoted to the ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai, is about five minutes from the station.

• Akabanebashi 赤羽橋

  Toei Oedo Line

  Akabanebashi on the Oedo Line is the closest station to Tokyo Tower, the 333-metre red and white lattice tower completed in 1958, about five minutes' walk away. Shiba Park, which surrounds the tower's base, is next to the station.