Discover Tokyo Station
Tokyo
©Chihiro Sakai, pixabay
The central station in Tokyo
Tokyo Station is the central station in Tokyo. Shinkansen Lines go to the north and the south. JR lines will bring you all around Tokyo. The visitors will also find shops, restaurants and many services in this "station city". To navigate in the station easily have a look on our maps !
Transportation, Shopping and History
Tokyo Station is the central station in Tokyo between the Imperial Palace to the west and Ginza in the east. It welcomes around 450,000 daily users and more than 4000 trains per day. However it is very well organized.
Tokyo station is more than a station. It is a station city : there are tracks, platforms but also restaurants, shops, supermarket and an hotel at the same place. Do not miss the basement with a lot of bento 's shop, the Character Street and the Ramen Street.
New : a Japan Rail Cafe opened in march 2020 just outside the Yaesu Central Gate.
The Shinkansen area : from platform 20 to 23 for shinkansen to the north and 14 to 19 for the shinkansen to the south. It is situated on the East side, called Yaesu Side.
The JR trains departure area (including the Yamanote Line) is on the West side, called Marunouchi side and known for its historical western façade. Note the presence of an incredible underground network in place that allows to reach the neighbouring subway stations ( Marunouchi Line, Chiyoda Line, Hanzomon Line, Tozai Line, Mita Line).
Where to find lockers ?
The lockers 'location and the Luggage Storage services are detailed in the Tokyo Station City.
Where to collect your Japan Rail Pass ?
To collect your Japan Rail Pass, you can go either at the JR East Travel Service Center on the Marunouchi North side or at the JR Central Ticket Office on the Yaesu North Side.
Tokyo
©Takahiro Taguchi, unsplash
At the very beginning, in 1924, the station had only four docks : two for electric cars and two for diesel and steam. Relatively untouched by the earthquake in 1923, it was badly damaged by the bombings of World War II.Quickly rebuilt after the war it had until recently one floor less. In 1964, it welcomed the Tokaido Shinkansen, in 1991 the Tohoku line, in 2015 the Hokuriku shinkansen and in 2016 the Hokkaido Shinkansen.
The Marunouchi building was recently renovated with the reconstruction of the missing floor and the two domes as originally.
The Yaesu side became a more modern architecture glass facade in front of which there is a large bus station.
Tokyo
©zauber2011, pixabay
