Japan is famous for its world-class public railways. From ultra-high-speed shinkansen (bullet trains) to reliable local services, Japan’s trains are celebrated for good reason. As the nation’s capital, Tokyo is the nexus of Japan’s vast rail network and home to its biggest and busiest stations. That said, which is the worst train station in Tokyo?
Most stations in Japan are crowded, with seven of the world’s ten busiest among them. They’re also infamous for confusing layouts. Winding passageways intermeshed with department stores, restaurants and shopping arcades are characteristic of Tokyo stations. Even locals can get lost in them. Opinions are divided, however, on which is the worst station in Tokyo. And even the best train lines for living in Tokyo.
Read on to learn about five of the worst stations in Tokyo, and you can be the judge.
Shinjuku Station
Whether you’re a first-time tourist or a seasoned commuter, navigating the world’s busiest train station is an overwhelming experience. Ask any Japanese or foreign traveler to describe it, and they’ll likely compare Shinjuku station to a maze.
Shinjuku station houses eight department stores, over two hundred exits, twelve lines and thirty-five platforms. Add a backdrop of seemingly endless construction work, and you will have a recipe for getting well and truly lost.
The redevelopment is nearing an end, and designs for the improved Shinjuku Grand Terminal aim to make navigation much smoother. Unfortunately, the projected completion date is 2046, so Shinjuku station will likely stay on this list for a few decades.
- Passengers Per Day: 3.6 million
- Lines: 12
- Platforms: 35
Shibuya Station
Shibuya is another major station caught in construction upheaval. The result is constantly shifting transfer routes between the station’s fragmented train lines, along with increased congestion and confusion. Entrances to the JR station are especially packed, and narrow platforms mean Shibuya is the least well-equipped for demand of all major stations on the Yamanote line.
Yet more serious complaints come from parents with strollers, wheelchair users, and anyone else who cannot use Shibuya station’s many staircases and escalators. The dearth of elevators represents an unacceptable lack of accessibility for Tokyo’s second-busiest station.
The saving grace? Shibuya’s redesign is set to be completed by the end of the decade, and it should make the station one of Tokyo’s most attractive and easy to use.
- Passengers Per Day: 3 million
- Lines: 9
- Platforms: 14
Ikebukuro Station
Tokyo’s third-busiest station is a divisive entry on this list. Some passengers appreciate the straightforward grid-like floor plan. The station is indeed easy to navigate compared to Shinjuku and Shibuya. But detractors say it isn’t getting around the station, and that’s the issue – it’s getting out.
Ikebukuro has eight major exits, but getting to the right one takes a long time. Following the station’s signposting is the best way to orient yourself since almost everything inside looks the same. Unfortunately, many signs don’t include exit numbers, meaning it’s easy to get sucked into one of the station’s surrounding department stores if you’re not careful. Retail therapy, anyone?
- Passengers Per Day: 2.7 million
- Lines: 8
- Platforms: 26
Tokyo Station
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14 Comments
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dagon
I see, these stations which are the largest undergoing years of renovation.
Obnoxious crowds and narrow maze like passages are easy to see, I have used Shibuya Station since I moved to Tokyo.
It is pretty low hanging fruit though, I though they were going to go after some place like Osaki, with the likelihood of getting stranded there after the last train and a dearth of things to do around the station.
sakurasuki
Basically, the bigger it is, the worst it is.
TokyoLiving
Any Tokyo subway station is safer, more efficient, cleaner and more aesthetic than any US / Europe subway station.
Mr Kipling
Shinjuku station is a construction site at the moment but will be fine when it is finished. The worst station is Meidaimae. But this will be going underground after the rebuild is finished hopefully in my lifetime. They started about 20 years ago.
DanteKH
You have to remember those stations are very old, and we're build in a period when the passenger traffic was less than half of what is it today. I personally find the lack of proper exit signaling and information the major issue, which can be easily solved if really wanted.
Also the phone zombie walkers are also a main issue, because you have to make slalom through them in very crowded areas inside the station.
I think the biggest nuisance so far is the last trains schedule or the lack of night transportation, which is ridiculous for a city like Tokyo.
Daninthepan
Misleading signs are all part of Japan inc. : confused tourists mean more money for taxi drivers.
Ikebukuro: looking for the south east exit... there's the sign... (walk 3 mins)... there's the next sign... (walk 3 mins)... no more signs... no exits... go back to last sign... no I was right... sod it - get me above ground and a taxi.
virusrex
The list is quite on point, of course that does not make the station terribly bad, just that the rest are much better. Faster traffic, easier to navigate, without unnecessary complications and less crowded. But even so a small to medium station with few lines can become hell when one of those lines stops and thousands of people become instantly stranded and without an easy access to alternative routes.
mb96768
And not a trash bin to be found...except inside the turnstiles, on the quays, of the Shinkansen, if you look for them.
grund
In terms of safety and cleanliness all of the stations above are way better than any big european station.
That being said though I am always afraid to get lost when I am at big stations in Tokyo. It is like walking in the forrest - one step in the wrong direction and you might never find your way out.
John
Just try Umeda, Osaka. Travellers disappear in there and never seen again.
Gaijinjland
@TokyoLiving
Your pro-Japan/ anti-Western agenda has been well known for some time lol. Efficiency aside, can you name me one station in Japan that is prettier than the Grand Central Terminal in NYC? Or possibly any of the stations in Paris?
kohakuebisu
I use trains only occasionally but find the new abbreviations that come up on Google Maps more confusing than it was before. The last time I went to Kanto, to buy a car in Saitama, I exited a transit station on the JR because the line I needed to change to was marked with an abbreviation "JU Utsunomiya". Before these abbreviations were brought in, the advice would have been "JR Utsunomiya line" which is obviously a JR line you can take from inside the same station. My impression of "JU" was that it must mean a private train line, not a JR one, and so I left JR thinking I needed whatever private train company was "JU".
wanderlust
Kanda, Shinagawa, Gotanda are all quite user-unfriendly, but if you include subway lines, I would include Sengakuji, Higashi-Ginza and Kayabacho.