Meguro Station 目黒駅
Calm in the heart of Tokyo
Meguro Station is located on the Yamanote in southern Tokyo, between Ebisu and Gotanda stations. Opened in 1881, it still serves quiet neighborhoods today, a few steps from the busiest places in the city.
The four-station lines
The JR station is one of the oldest in the city since it was inaugurated on March 16, 1885. In addition to the Yamanote line operated by the JR East company, the station hosts three other lines opened much more recently: the Namboku line of Tokyo Metro, the Mita line of the Toei company, and the Tokyu Meguro Line. This Yamanote station sees more than 100,000 passengers pass through every day.
The station is divided into two parts: one dedicated to the Yamanote line on level -1 (B1F), and another on the 4th basement (B4F), accommodating the other three lines of the Tokyo Metro, the Toei, and the Tokyo. Since Meguro is the terminus of these last three lines, they only have two shared platforms for departures and arrivals. The Mita and Namboku lines both run through Tokyo towards the north of the city, where they recross the Yamanote at Sugamo and Komagome stations respectively.
On the Yamanote platform, Pier 1 will take you directly to Shibuya and Shinjuku, while Pier 2 will take you east of the city to Shinagawa and Ueno. Meguro is thus a very practical station, being only two stations from Shibuya and its animation.
- To read: Using the subway in Tokyo
The different outputs
The station has three exits: the main exit, the west exit, and the east exit. These three exits are all very close, the station occupying only two small blocks.
It is installed in the basement and is thus complemented by an Atré shopping center which occupies the upper floors of the building.
To take a walk along the Meguro River or visit Daien-ji Temple, take the main exit. To explore the Metropolitan Teien Art Museum or the large park of the Institute for Nature Study instead, choose the East exit.
A quiet and family neighborhood
The district of Meguro is often underestimated and thus little visited by tourists. If the direct surroundings of the station have few attractions, apart from the usual shops and cafes, it is interesting to move away a little to discover real nuggets.
Not far from the station is first the Institute for the Study of Nature, which is a large botanical garden offering 200,000 m2 of green space where you will feel like you are in a forest. This large park also includes a beautiful museum: the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, housed in a magnificent Art Deco building.
Another point of interest in the district, located less than 200 meters from the station: is the Daien-ji temple, famous for its 519 statues of disciples of the Buddha.
Continuing your way, you will then come across the Gajo-en, a huge and extravagant building built in the 1920s and housing a hotel and free gardens.
But the most famous attraction of the Meguro district is undoubtedly its river and its hundreds of sakura.
If the walk along this canal is pleasant all year round, it is during March and April, on the occasion of the hanami, that it is the most spectacular.
The banks of this small river in the city then become a highly prized place to enjoy and photograph the cherry blossoms.
Once you arrive along the river, head north towards the equally charming Naka-Meguro district. This long walk under the branches of the cherry trees laden with flowers, stopping at the small independent cafes and shops along the shore is particularly refreshing.
Discover the Yamanote, Tokyo's iconic subway line:
- Tokyo station
- Nippori Station
- Uguisudani station
- Ueno Station
- Okachimachi Station
- Akihabara Station
- Kanda Station
- Yurakuchō Station
- Shimbashi Station
- Hamamatsucho Station
- Tamachi Station
- Ebisu Station
- Shibuya Station
- Harajuku Station
- Yoyogi Station
- Shinjuku Station
- Shin-Okubo Station
- Takadanobaba station
- Ikebukuro Station
- Otsuka Station
- Komagome Station
- Tabata station