Ikebukuro Station ( ja, 池袋駅, ) is a major railway station located in the

Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits. It is considered the second larges ...

district of

Toshima, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku, ...

, Japan, shared by the

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

(JR East), Tokyo subway operator

Tokyo Metro The is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.84 million passengers, the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the two subway operators in the city; the other being the Toe ...

, and the two

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

operators

Seibu Railway is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbrevia ...

and

Tobu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

. With 2.71 million passengers on an average daily in 2007, it is the second-busiest railway station in the world (after

Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in the Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan. In Shinjuku, it is part of the Nishi-Shinjuku and Shinjuku districts. In Shibuya, it is located in the Yoyogi and Sendagaya districts. It is the world's busiest ...

), and the busiest station in the Tobu, Seibu, and Tokyo Metro networks. It primarily serves commuters from

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

and other residential areas northwest of the city center. It is the Tokyo terminal of the

Seibu Ikebukuro Line The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway operator Seibu Railway. It originates at Ikebukuro Station, a large railway junction in north-western Tokyo, extending to northwest suburbs as far as Tokorozawa, Saitama, and nominally t ...

and the

Tobu Tojo Line is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

Lines

JR East

Seibu Railway

(Ikebukuro to Agano) - limited through service to

Seibu Chichibu Line The is a railway line in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by Seibu Railway. It is an extension of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, and connects Agano Station and Seibu-Chichibu Station. Stations All trains go via Agano Station to the Seibu Ikeb ...

Tobu Railway

Tōbu Tōjō Line The is a 75.0 km suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred t ...

(Ikebukuro to Yorii)

Tokyo Metro

Station layout

In Ikebukuro Station, there are two main entrances; the East exit and the West exit. There are a number of other secondary entrances such as the JR North exit, the various Seibu exits, and multiple subway exits. The JR lines run north/south through the center. The Tobu platforms are to the northwest and the Seibu platforms are to the southeast. Both Tobu and Seibu operate department stores adjacent to their terminal stations. (Despite their names, "Seibu" (西武) starts with the ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

'' for "west" (西), but its platforms are in the eastern part of the station, while "Tōbu" (東武) starts with the character for "east" (東), but its platforms are in the western part of the station.) The

Marunouchi Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The line runs in a U-shape between Ogikubo Station in Suginami and Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, with a branch line between Nakano-Sakaue Station and Hōnanchō Station. The offic ...

and Yurakucho Line run east/west two stories underground, while the

Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,65 ...

is four stories underground to the west of the main station complex. The latter line runs south toward

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

and

Shibuya Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

along Meiji-dori, and offers through services to

Motomachi-Chūkagai Station is an underground railway station on the Minatomirai Line subway in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third-sector railway operating company Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Company. It is numbered "MM06", and its offi ...

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

via the

Tokyu Toyoko Line Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle ...

and

Minatomirai Line The Minatomirai 21 Line (みなとみらい21線 ''Minato-mirai-21-sen''), commonly known as the Minatomirai Line (みなとみらい線 ''Minatomirai-sen''), is a subway line in Yokohama, Japan that runs from Yokohama Station to Motomachi-Chū ...

. Tokyo Metro's Echika underground mall is also located inside the station.

JR East

Chest-high

platform edge doors Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail s ...

were introduced on the Yamanote Line platforms on 2 March 2013. File:Ikebukuro station Metropolitan entrance.jpg, The Metropolitan Exit on the second-floor level File:Ikebukuro Station Metropolitan concourse 20160323.JPG, The Metropolitan concourse in March 2016 File:Ikebukuro-Sta-JR-Centralgate2.JPG, The Central No. 2 Gate ticket barriers in June 2016 File:Ikebukuro Station platform 1-2 20140824.JPG, Platform 1/2 (with Saikyo Line on the right) in August 2014

Tobu Railway

Platforms

The Tobu station has three terminating tracks served by platforms 1 to 5, arranged as shown in the diagram on the right. Platforms 3 and 5 are normally used for disembarking passengers, although platform 5 is also used for passengers boarding the evening ''

TJ Liner The is a limited-stop "Home Liner"-style service to and from Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo on the Tobu Tojo Line operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway in Japan since June 2008. Service outline ''TJ Liner'' services operate in the ...

'' services, which require payment of a supplementary fare. From 14 June 2015, the departure melodies used when trains are about to depart from the station are to be changed to classical themes, with "Allegro" from "Divertimento in D major, K. 136" by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

used for platforms 1/2, "Menuetto" from " Eine kleine Nachtmusik" by Mozart used for platforms 3/4, and "Allegro ma non troppo" from the "

Pastoral Symphony The Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the ''Pastoral Symphony'' (German: ''Pastorale''), is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and completed in 1808. One of Beethoven's few works containing explicitly programmatic con ...

" by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

used for ''TJ Liner'' services departing from platform 5. File:Tobu-Ikebukuro-STA Home1-2.jpg, Platform 1 and 2 in July 2021 File:Tobu-Ikebukuro-STA Home3-4.jpg, Platform 3 and 4 in July 2021 File:Tobu-Ikebukuro-STA Home5.jpg, Platform 5 in July 2021 Chest-high

are scheduled to be added by the end of fiscal 2020. Platform doors protecting platform 1 are in use since 21 April 2018. It is planned to have platform doors protecting platforms 2 and 3 in operation from 2 March 2019.

Ticket barriers

There are three sets of ticket barriers giving access to the platforms: the "South Gate" at ground level (signposted in red), and the "Central Gate" (signposted in blue) and "North Gate" (signposted in green) on the first basement level. File:Tobu-Ikebukuro-STA South-Gate in.jpg, The ground-level south entrance and ticket barriers in July 2021 File:Ikebukuro Station north gate 20140419.JPG, The north gate ticket barriers in April 2014 File:Ikebukuro Station platform 5 stairs 20140419.JPG, The stairs leading from the central gate to platform 5 for TJ Liner passengers in April 2014

Seibu Railway

Platforms 1, 4, and 6 are normally used for disembarking passengers only. File:西武池袋線池袋駅 2016 (29337760873).jpg, The basement entrance and ticket barriers in 2016 File:Seibu-ikebukuro-sta 1st-floor.JPG, The Seibu Ikebukuro Line platforms in July 2014 File:Rail Tracks map Seibu Ikebukuro Station.svg, Seibu track and platform layout

Tokyo Metro

Platform

This station consists of three separate island platforms for the

, Yurakucho Line, and

Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,654 ...

Station layout

The Tokyo Metro platforms are equipped with chest-height

. File:Ikebukuro-Sta-Yurakucholine-Platform.JPG, The Yurakucho Line platforms in June 2016 File:TokyoMetro-F09-Ikebukuro-station-platform.jpg, The Fukutoshin Line platforms in June 2008

History

The station was opened on April 1, 1903 by the

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan R ...

(JGR). The Tōjō Railway Line (present-day

) station opened on 1 May 1914 with the opening of the 33.5 km line to in

(located between the present stations of Kawagoeshi and

Kasumigaseki Kasumigaseki (霞が関, 霞ヶ関 or 霞ケ関) is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda Special wards of Tokyo, Ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is the location of most of Japan's Cabinet of Japan, cabinet ministry offices. The name is often used ...

). As the Tokyo terminus of the line was originally planned to be at Shimo-Itabashi, Ikebukuro Station is to this day marked by km post "-1.9" (the distance from Shimo-Itabashi Station where the "0 km" post for the line is located). Tobu opened a department store adjoining its station on 29 May 1962. Around the same time, the Tobu station platforms were expanded with three tracks. In March 1992, automatic ticket barriers were installed at the north exit of the Tobu Station, and in June of the same year, the Tobu Department Store was expanded with the addition of the Metropolitan Plaza annex located on the south side. The station facilities of the Marunouchi and Yurakucho Lines were inherited by

after the privatization of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) in 2004. In June 2008, the Tobu station ticket barriers were colour-coded into three "zones": North, Central, and South. Chest-height

were installed on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line platforms in January 2011.

Passenger statistics

The figures below are the official number of passengers entering and exiting each day released by each train operator. Annual passenger figures for the station between fiscal 1903 and 1965 are as shown below. Note that the figures only consider boarding passengers and a blank indicates that no data is available. The daily passenger figures for the JR East, Seibu, Tobu, and Tokyo Metro station after fiscal 2000 are as shown below. Note that the JR East figures only consider boarding passengers whereas the Seibu, Tobu, and Tokyo Metro figures consider both entering and exiting passengers.

Surrounding area

The surrounding

district is a major commercial centre. The Seibu department store, Sunshine City, Parco, and

Bic Camera is a consumer electronics retailer chain in Japan. Currently, it has 41 stores in Japan. Bic Camera has a 50% ownership of former rival store Kojima and full ownership of computer store chain Sofmap. As of 2018, Bic Camera is the third largest ...

are located to the east of the station, while the Tobu department store and Metropolitan Plaza are located to the west.

Schools

Rikkyo University , also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Rikkyo is known as one of the six leading universities in the field of sports in Tokyo (東京六大学 "Big Six" — Rikkyo University, University of ...

Tokyo College of Music is a private music school in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It was founded as in Kanda, Tokyo, in 1907. History The college moved to Toshima in Tokyo in 1924 after the original campus was destroyed by the Great Kantō earthquake. Some notable gradu ...

* Teikyo Heisei University (Ikebukuro Campus) * Tokyo University of Social Welfare (Ikebukuro Campus) * Shukutoku University (Ikebukuro Satellite Campus) * Tokyo College of Transport Studies * Toshimagaoka-joshigakuen Junior and Senior High School

Retail

* Seibu Department Store * Parco Department Store * Tobu Department Store * Sunshine City

Hotels

* Hotel Metropolitan * Centurion hotel Ikebukuro

Civic

* Toshima Tax Office * Toshima Civic Centre * Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre * Ikebukuro Library * Ikebukuro Fire Station

Other stations

* Higashi-Ikebukuro Station, on the Subway TokyoYurakucho

Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

References

External links

JR Ikebukuro Station map

(Seibu)

(Tobu)

(Tokyo Metro) {{Navboxes , title= Articles and topics related to Ikebukuro Station , list1= {{Yamanote Line {{Saikyo Line {{Shonan-Shinjuku Line {{Tōbu Tōjō Line {{Seibu Ikebukuro Line {{Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line {{Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line {{Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line {{Tokyo transit {{Toshima Yamanote Line Saikyō Line Shōnan-Shinjuku Line Akabane Line Seibu Ikebukuro Line Tobu Tojo Main Line Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line Stations of East Japan Railway Company Stations of Seibu Railway Stations of Tobu Railway Stations of Tokyo Metro Railway stations in Tokyo Railway stations in Japan opened in 1903 Ikebukuro Buildings and structures in Toshima

Lines

JR East

Seibu Railway

Tobu Railway

Tokyo Metro

Station layout

JR East

Tobu Railway

Platforms

Ticket barriers

Seibu Railway

Tokyo Metro

Platform

Station layout

History

Passenger statistics

Surrounding area

Schools

Retail

Hotels

Civic

Other stations

See also

References

External links