The huge “Shinjuku Station” is a labyrinth as seen from the floor plan. So, read the floor plan and try to understand it easily.
- A huge and complex Shinjuku station.
- First, from the overall view of Shinjuku Station
- Understand the JR Shinjuku station map
- JR Shinjuku Station premises is broken down into three
- Easy-to-understand map of Shinjuku Station
- About transfer at Shinjuku Station
- Shinjuku Station “South side”
- Shinjuku Station “West side”
- Shinjuku Station “East side”
A huge and complex Shinjuku station.
The number of customers per day reached 3.46 million, which is the best Guinness record in the world.
It is the enormous size that is difficult for such a strategy of Shinjuku Station.
In addition to JR, take the Toei Subway line to the metro. There are private railway terminals of Seibu, Keio, Odakyu and railway companies, and the entire station is too huge.
First, from the overall view of Shinjuku Station
First, let’s keep in mind the positional relationship between JR and private railways / subways from the overall view of Shinjuku Station.
JR Shinjuku Station is the center, and the Odakyu Line and Keio Line terminals are on the west side. The Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line is on the north side. The Toei Subway is located on the south side and the north side as Shinjuku West Exit Station.
Seibu Shinjuku Station is a little far away.JR Shinjuku Station is across the main street.
Understand the JR Shinjuku station map
Let’s start with the floor plan of JR Shinjuku Station.
Source: JR East: Station map (Shinjuku Station)
Shinjuku Station is said to be the most complicated station in Tokyo, and is called a labyrinth because of the complexity of its floor plan.
So, I will disassemble this Shinjuku station to make it easier to understand.
JR Shinjuku Station premises is broken down into three
Actually this is inside the JR Shinjuku Station. It can be broken down into three.
2.West side
3.East side
It is a huge and complex Shinjuku station, but if you classify the concourse and ticket gates by location, you can divide them into three areas.
It’s easier to understand if you simplify complicated things. Let’s take a look at the map of Shinjuku Station, which is easy to understand in these three areas.
Easy-to-understand map of Shinjuku Station
Redevelopment area across the Koshu Highway where the South Exit and New South Exit are located. There are Busta Shinjuku and Miraina Tower.
2.West side
Area with “West Exit” and “Central West Exit”. There are Odakyu and Keio terminals and department stores. High-rise buildings such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government are also on this side.
3.East side
Area with “East Exit” and “Central East Exit”. It is the nearest to the commercial area of Kabukicho and Shinjuku 3-chome. You can also transfer to Seibu Shinjuku Station here.
Knowing that all the Shinjuku Station ticket gates are also in these three areas, it will be much easier to get lost.
As a precaution, it is important not to make a mistake when going from the JR line platform to each area.
East / West side → Go down the stairs to the underground passage.
About transfer at Shinjuku Station
Transfers between JR lines are easy to understand because the passages connect each platform.
For the transfer between private railway and subway, there is a station concourse for each railway company, so check the direction of each station.
Shinjuku Station is a huge station. If you make a mistake and go in the wrong direction, it will be very difficult. It is important to check the destination and the location of the ticket gate you want to go to, so that you can not mistake each attribute.
Let’s take a look at each attribute in Shinjuku Station.
Shinjuku Station “South side”
It is a new area in Shinjuku. In the middle of the main street of Koshu Kaido, there are “Koshu Kaido ticket gate”, “New South ticket gate” and “Miraina Tower ticket gate” on the south side.
There are “South Exit” and “South East Exit” ticket gates on the other side.
The area on the south side has many commercial facilities in Shinjuku and has a new atmosphere, and there are many stylish places such as Takashimaya Times Square and Southern Terrace. The redevelopment is finally over, and Miraina Tower, an office building, and NEWoMan, a commercial facility, have been created.
Busta Shinjuku
The bus terminal “Busta Shinjuku” has also been completed and functions as a base for high-speed buses connecting the whole country.
Recommended place to meet
The best place to meet in the south area is where you left the JR Shin-minami ticket gate. It is a plaza under Busta Shinjuku, but it is a very pleasant space with a wide view of Shinjuku.
For example, there are famous pinpoint meeting places such as “Hachiko” at Shibuya Station and “Ikefukuro” at Ikebukuro Station.
At Shinjuku Station, the Suica Penguin Square at the newly created new south exit would be good.
Shinjuku Station “West side”
Shinjuku Station West Exit is a skyscraper district.
The view of the tall buildings that look up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office is exactly the skyscrapers of Tokyo. The western attribute is the entrance to these.
There are “West Exit” and “Central West Exit” ticket gates. Please note that the “Central West Gate” is only for exits.
Odakyu and Keio terminals
At the same time, Shinjuku Station West Exit is also home to Odakyu and Keio.
It is on this side that the department stores are lined up and there is a transfer terminal for the Odakyu and Keio lines.
There are also ticket gates that can be directly connected to JR lines.
Underground passage expands
In addition, Shinjuku has an underground passage that stretches in all directions, so you can go to the skyscraper district of Nishi Shinjuku without getting wet.
Since it is also connected to the east exit area on the opposite side, you can also go to Shinjuku 3-chome where Isetan head office is located.
Don’t get lost because it’s so complicated.
Shinjuku Station “East side”
There is Kabukicho on the east side of Shinjuku Station.
When you exit the “East Exit Ticket Gate” or the “Central East Exit Ticket Gate”, you can go to the passage towards Kabukicho.
There is Studio Alta in the roundabout that left the station, and this area is crowded due to a meeting at a drinking party on the weekend.
If you leave here, Kabukicho is a big entertainment district.
The large commercial area in Shinjuku 3-chome
There is also the “Shinjuku 3-chome area”, the largest commercial area in Shinjuku.
Commercial facilities such as Marui and BICQLO around Isetan Main Store. Anyway, there are a lot of shops, restaurants and pubs, and it is the most busy area in Tokyo.
