Tokyo Station


Tokyo Station is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The original station is located in Chiyoda's Marunouchi business district near the Imperial Palace grounds. The newer eastern extension is not far from the Ginza commercial district. Due to the large area covered by the station, it is divided into the Marunouchi and Yaesu sides in its directional signage.
Served by the high-speed rail lines of the Shinkansen network, Tokyo Station is the main inter-city rail terminal in Tokyo. It is the busiest station in Japan, with more than 4,000 trains arriving and departing daily, and the fifth-busiest in Eastern Japan in terms of passenger throughput; on average, more than 500,000 people use Tokyo Station every day. The station is also served by many regional commuter lines of Japan Railways, as well as the Tokyo Metro network.

Lines

Trains on the following lines are available at Tokyo Station:
The station is linked by underground passageways to the Ōtemachi underground station complex served by the Tōzai, Chiyoda, Hanzōmon, and Mita subway lines.
It is also possible to walk to the Nijūbashimae, Hibiya, Yūrakuchō, Ginza, and Higashi-ginza Stations completely underground, but these stations can usually be reached more quickly by train.
Tokyo Station is also a major intercity bus terminal, with regular midday service to several cities in the Kantō region and overnight service to the Kansai and Tōhoku regions.

Station layout

The main station façade on the western side of the station is brick-built, surviving from the time when the station opened in 1914. The main station consists of 10 island platforms serving 20 tracks, raised above street level running in a north–south direction. The main concourse runs east–west below the platforms.
The Shinkansen lines are on the east side of the station, along with a multi-storey Daimaru department store.
Underground are the two Sōbu/Yokosuka line platforms serving four tracks to the west of the station; the two Keiyō Line platforms serving four tracks are four stories below ground some hundreds of meters to the south of the main station with moving walkways to serve connecting passengers.
The whole complex is linked by an extensive system of underground passageways which merge with surrounding commercial buildings and shopping centres.

JR

Main-level platforms

JR East
JR Central
Originally, platforms 3 to 10 were numbered as platforms 1 to 8 and additional platforms were numbered sequentially from west to east through the opening of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964. Platforms 9 to 13 were used for the Tōkaidō Main Line and Yokosuka Line but were removed in 1988, and platforms 12 and 13 were then used for the new Tōhoku Shinkansen from 1991 to 1997. The current Chūō Main Line platform opened in 1995 as platforms 1 and 2, and other platforms were renumbered accordingly, leaving platforms 10 and 11 unused. The current platform numbering became effective in 1997, when one of the Tōkaidō Main Line platforms was repurposed for the Jōetsu Shinkansen as platforms 20 and 21. The existing Tōhoku Shinkansen platforms were simultaneously renumbered as 22 and 23.

Yokosuka/Sōbu Line platforms

Keiyo Line platforms

Tokyo Metro

History

In 1889, a Tokyo municipal committee drew up plans for an elevated railway line connecting the Tōkaidō Main Line terminal at Shinbashi to the Nippon Railway terminal at Ueno. The Imperial Diet resolved in 1896 to construct a new station on this line called Central Station, located directly in front of the gardens of the Imperial Palace.
Construction was delayed by the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, but finally commenced in 1908. The three-story station building was designed by architect Tatsuno Kingo as a restrained celebration of Japan's costly victory in the Russo-Japanese War. The building is often rumored to be fashioned after Amsterdam Centraal station in the Netherlands, although there is little evidence to support the opinion. Terunobu Fujimori, a scholar of Western architecture, denies the rumor, having studied Tatsuno's styles as well as the building itself.
Tokyo Station opened on December 20, 1914 with four platforms; two serving electric trains and two serving non-electric trains. The Chūō Main Line extension to the station was completed in 1919 and originally stopped at the platform now used by northbound Yamanote/Keihin–Tōhoku trains. During this early era, the station only had gates on the Marunouchi side, with the north side serving as an exit and the south side serving as an entrance. The Yaesu side of the station opened in 1929.
Much of the station was destroyed in a B-29 firebombing raid on May 25, 1945. The bombing shattered the impressive rooftop domes and the entire third floor of the building. The station was quickly rebuilt within a year, but the restored building had only two stories instead of three, and simple angular roofs were built in place of the original domes. These postwar alterations were blamed for creating the mistaken impression that the building was based on the Centraal station in Amsterdam. Plans in the 1980s to demolish the building and replace it with a larger structure were derailed by a preservation movement.
The Yaesu side was also rebuilt after the war, but the new structure was damaged by fire in 1949, and this side of the building was then significantly upgraded with a contemporary exterior and large Daimaru department store. The new Yaesu side facilities opened in 1953, including two new platforms for Tōkaidō Main Line services. Two more platforms opened in 1964 to accommodate the first Shinkansen services. The Yaesu side was partially rebuilt again in 1991 to accommodate the Shinkansen extension from Ueno.
A plan was finalized in 1971 to build a Narita Shinkansen high-speed line connecting Tokyo Station to Narita International Airport. The line was envisioned as extending underground from Tokyo to Shinjuku Station, and the plan was to build the platforms underneath Kajibashi-dori to avoid the need to run the line under the Imperial Palace. Construction of the Narita Shinkansen was halted in 1983 due to difficulties acquiring the necessary land to build the line, but the area set aside for its platforms was eventually used for the Keiyō Line and Musashino Line terminals, which opened in 1990.
From July 1987, the station hosted a series of regular free public concerts referred to as "Tokyo Eki Kon". These were first held as a celebration of the launch of Japan Railways Group as the privatized successor to the state-owned Japanese National Railways. Altogether 246 concerts were performed, but the event was discontinued when its popularity waned and the last concert took place in November 2000. The event returned in 2004 as the "Aka Renga Concerts" but it was again suspended, after 19 concerts, when redevelopment of the station started in earnest. In 2012, as the reconstruction was nearing completion, there were calls for the concerts to resume.
The Tokyo Station complex has undergone extensive development, including major improvements to the Marunouchi and Yaesu sides of the station. The Marunouchi side underwent an extensive five-year renovation, completed in October 2012, in which the historic 98-year-old façade on this side of the station was restored to its pre-war condition. The restoration work included recreating the two domes according to their original design. The surrounding area was converted into a broad plaza extending into a walkway toward the Imperial Palace, with space for bus and taxi ranks. In contrast, the Yaesu side of the station is very urban in appearance. The North and South GranTokyo towers are connected to the terminal by the GranRoof, a new commercial facility with a large canopy representing a "sail of light" which covers the outdoor areas. The high-rise towers include multi-story shopping areas and the offices of a number of leading companies and universities. This part of the project was completed in 2013.

Assassinations

Tokyo Station has been the site of two assassination attempts on Japanese prime ministers. On November 4, 1921, Hara Takashi was stabbed to death by a right-wing railroad switchman in front of the south wing as he arrived to board a train for Kyoto. On November 14, 1930, Osachi Hamaguchi was shot by a member of the Aikokusha ultra-nationalist secret society. He survived the attack but died of his wounds in August the following year.

Proposed developments

There was a proposal to build a spur to Tokyo Station from the nearby Toei Asakusa Line, which would provide another connection to the subway network, and also possibly provide faster connections from the station to Tokyo's airports, Haneda and Narita. The plan has yet to be formally adopted. Authorities are re-considering a similar plan as part of the infrastructure improvements for the 2020 Summer Olympics; the proposed line would cut travel time to Haneda from 30 minutes to 18 minutes, and to Narita from 55 minutes to 36 minutes, at a total cost of around 400 billion yen.
There are also plans to extend the Tsukuba Express from Akihabara to Tokyo. In September 2013, a number of municipalities along the Tsukuba Express line in Ibaraki Prefecture submitted a proposal to complete the extension at the same time as the new airport-to-airport line.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2018, the JR East station was used by an average of 467,165 passengers daily, making it the third busiest station on the JR East network. Over the same fiscal year, the Tokyo Metro station was used by an average of 218,275 passengers daily, making it the ninth-busiest Tokyo Metro station. The passenger figures for the JR East station in previous years are as shown below.
Fiscal yearAnnual total
1914553,105
19194,879,042
192415,953,910
192924,926,502
193424,119,757

Fiscal yearDaily average
1960331,275
1971352,109
1984338,203
2000372,611
2005379,350
2010381,704
2011380,997
2012402,277
2013415,908
2014417,822
2015434,633
2016439,554
2017452,549
2018467,165

Surrounding area

Districts

Other stations within walking distance of Tokyo station include the following.
NicknameDestinationMajor stopsOperation
La ForetAomori StationDirectJR Bus Tōhoku
TsugaruAomori StationAomori Kenko LandKōnan Bus Company
SiriusShichinohe-Towada StationHachinohe Station, Towadashi StationKokusai Kogyo
Towada Kankō Electric Railway
Dream Akita/YokohamaAkita UniversityAkita StationJR Bus Tohoku
Dream ChokaiUgo-Honjō StationKisakata Station, Konoura Station, Nikaho StationJR Bus Tohoku
Ugo Kotsu
Dream Morioka"Rakuchin"Morioka Bus CenterMorioka StationJR Bus Tohoku
Kokusai Kogyo
Iwateken Kotsu
Dream SasanishikiFurukawa StationSendai Station, Izumi-Chūō Station, TaiwaJR Bus Tohoku
Dream Fukushima/YokohamaFukushima StationKōriyama StationJR Bus Tohoku
Yume Kaidou AizuAizu-Wakamatsu StationInawashiro StationJR Bus Kanto
IwakiIwaki StationKitaibaraki, Nakoso, Yumoto, Iwaki ChuoJR Busu Kanto
Tobu Bus Central
Shin Joban Kotsu
Tokyo YumeguriKusatsu OnsenDirectJR Bus Kanto
Marronnier TokyoSano Shintoshi Bus TerminalSano Premium OutretJR Bus Kanto
HitachiTakahagi StationHitachi-Taga Station, Hitachi StationJR Bus Kanto
Hitachi Dentetsu
Hitachi-Ota LineHitachi-ŌtaNaka IC, Naka City Office, Nukata-MinamigouJR BUs Kanto
Ibaraki Kotsu
Hitachi-Daigo LineHitachi-DaigoNaka IC, Hitachiōmiya, Fukuroda FallsIbaraki Kotsu
Katsuta/TokaiJapan Atomic Energy AgencyHitachinaka, Katsuta Station, Tōkai StationIbaraki Kotsu
MitoMito StationIshioka, Akatsuka Station, Ibaraki UniversityJR Bus Kanto
Ibaraki Kotsu
Kantō Railway
Ibaraki Airport LineIbaraki AirportDirectKanto Railway
TsukubaUniversity of TsukubaNamiki 2, Namiki 1, Tsukuba CenterJR Bus Kanto
Kanto Railway
Joso RouteIwaiShin-Moriya Station, Mitsukaidō StationKanto Railway
Kantetsu Purple Bus
KashimaKashima ShrineSuigo-Itako, Kashimajingū Station, Kashima Soccer StadiumJR Bus Kanto
Keisei Bus
Kanto Railway
HasakiHasakiSuigo-Itako, KamisuJR Bus Kanto
Kanto Railway
The Access NaritaNarita International AirportDirectJR Bus Kanto
Heiwa Kotsu
Aska Kotsu
Yokaichiba RouteSōsa City OfficeTomisato, Tako, Yōkaichiba StationJR Bus Kanto
Chiba Kotsu
Boso NanohanaTateyama StationKazusa-Minato, Chikura, Awa-ShirahamaJR Bus Kanto
Nitto Kotsu
Yoshikawa Matsubushi LineMatsubushiMisato, Yoshikawa StationJR Bus Kanto
Skytree ShuttleTokyo SkytreeEdo-Tokyo Museum, Tobu Hotel Levant TokyoJR Bus Kanto
Tobu Bus Central
Midnight Arrow KasukabeKasukabe StationSōka, Shin-Koshigaya, Koshigaya, SengendaiTobu Bus Central
Midnight ExpressKabe StationHaijima, Kumagawa, Fussa, Hamura, OzakuNishi Tokyo Bus
Midnight ExpressTakao StationNishi-Hachiōji StationNishi Tokyo Bus
Midnight ArrowŌfuna StationYokohama Station, Higashi-Totsuka StationKanagawa Chuo kotsu
Midnight ArrowHiratsuka StationTotsuka Station, Kōnandai Station, Fujisawa StationKanagawa Chuo kotsu
Midnight ArrowHon-Atsugi StationMachida Station, Sagami-Ōno Station, Ebina StationKanagawa Chuo kotsu
Tokyo Hakone LineHakone-TōgendaiGotemba Station, SengokuharaJR Bus Kanto
Odakyu Hakone Kosoku Bus
Tokyo Kawaguchiko LineKawaguchiko StationGotemba Station, Lake Yamanaka, Fuji-Q HighlandJR Bus Kanto
Fujikyu Yamanashi Bus
Willer ExpressNagano StationNagano, Nagano-OjimadaWiller Express Hokushinetsu
Hakuba Snow MagicHakuba CortinaHakuba Goryu, Hakuba HappoAlpico Kōtsū
Sansan Numazu TokyoNumazu GarrageNumazu StationFujikyu City Bus
Kaguyahime ExpressTakaoka GarrageShin-Fuji Station, Fuji StationFujikyu Shizuoka Bus
Yakisoba ExpressFujinomiya GarrageFujinomiya City Office, Fujinomiya StationFujikyu Shizuoka Bus
Shimizu LinerMiho no MatsubaraShimizu Station, Shin-Shimizu StationJR Bus Kanto
Shizutetsu Justline
Tomei Highway BusNagoya StationShizuoka Station, Hamamatsu StationJR Bus Kanto
JR Bus Tech
JR Tokai Bus
Dream Shizuoka/HamamatsuHamamatsu StationShizuoka Station, Kakegawa StationJR Tokai Bus
Chita　SeagullChita Handa StationChiryū Station, Kariya StationJR Bus Kanto
Dream NagoyaNagoya StationNisshin Station, Chikusa, Sakae Station, Gifu StationJR Bus Kanto
JR Tokai Bus
Dream KanazawaKanazawa Institute of TechnologyToyama Station, Kanazawa StationJR Bus Kanto
West JR Bus
Dream FukuiFukui StationTsuruga, Takefu, SabaeJR Bus Kanto
Keifuku Bus
Fukui Railway
Dream / HirutokkyuŌsaka StationKyōto Station, Sannomiya Station, Nara StationJR Bus Kanto
West JR Bus
Dream Nanba/SakaiSakaishi StationKyōtanabe, Osaka City Air Terminal, Namba StationNankai Bus
Dream TokushimaAnan StationNaruto, Matsushige, Tokushima Station, KomatsushimaJR Bus Kanto
JR Shikoku Bus
Dream TakamatsuKannonji StationTakamatsu Station, SakaideJR Bus Kanto
JR Shikoku Bus
Dream KochiHarimayabashi StationKōchi StationJR Bus Kanto
JR Shikoku Bus
Dream MatsuyamaMatsuyama StationMishima-Kawanoe, Kawauchi, Matsuyama IC, OkaidoJR Bus Kanto
JR Shikoku Bus
Keihin Kibi DreamKurashiki StationSanyo IC, Okayama StationChugoku JR Bus
New BreezeHiroshima Bus CenterHiroshima Station, Kure StationChugoku JR Bus
Odakyu City Bus
Dream Okayama/HiroshimaHiroshima Bus CenterOkayama Station, Hiroshima StationChugoku JR Bus
Tokubetsu BinUbe-Shinkawa StationHiroshima, Shin-YamaguchiChugoku JR Bus
SusanooIzumo-taishaTamatsukuri, Shinji, Hishikawa IC, Izumoshi StationIchibata Bus
Chugoku JR Bus
Hagi ExpressHagi Bus CenterIwakuni Station, Tokuyama Station, HōfuBocho Kotsu

Sister stations

Tokyo Station has "sister station" agreements with Amsterdam Centraal station in the Netherlands, Grand Central Terminal in New York, USA, Beijing railway station in China, Hsinchu Station in Taiwan, and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in Germany.