Shibuya Station
Encyclopedia
is a train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 located in Shibuya, Tokyo
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

, Japan. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest commuter rail station in Japan (after Shinjuku
Shinjuku Station
is a train station located in Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan.Serving as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central Tokyo and its western suburbs on inter-city rail, commuter rail and metro lines, the station was used by an average of 3.64 million people per day in 2007,...

 , Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro Station
is a railway station located in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. With 2.71 million passengers on an average daily in 2007, it is the second-busiest train station in the world , and the busiest station in the Tobu, Seibu and Tokyo Metro networks. It primarily serves commuters from...

, and Ōsaka
Osaka Station
is a station on the West Japan Railway Company located in the Umeda district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is the city's main rail terminal in the north....

 / Umeda
Umeda Station
is a railway station located in Kita-ku in the northern commercial center of Osaka, Japan. It is the busiest station in Western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005.Umeda Station is served by the following railways:...

) handling a large amount of commuter traffic between the center city and suburbs to the south and west.

JR East

  • Saikyō Line
    Saikyo Line
    The is a railway line between Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is a part of the East Japan Railway Company network...

     / Shōnan-Shinjuku Line
    Shonan-Shinjuku Line
    The is a passenger railway service in Japan which commenced in December 2001. The line has no dedicated track as services run through shared sections along the Ryōmō Line, Takasaki Line, Utsunomiya Line, Yamanote Freight Line, Yokosuka Line, and Tōkaidō Main Line...

     (Yamanote Freight Line) - also used by Narita Express
    Narita Express
    , abbreviated as N'EX, is a limited express train service operated since 1991 by East Japan Railway Company , serving Narita International Airport from various Greater Tokyo Area stations. Services are approximately half-hourly in the mornings and evenings, and hourly through the middle of the day...

    trains
  • Yamanote Line
    Yamanote Line
    The is commuter rail loop line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres, including the Yūrakuchō/Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro, with all but two of its...

     - unusual platform configuration, with both train lines on the same side (east) of platform

Private railways


Subways

  • Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
    Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
    The is a subway line located in Tokyo, Japan. It is part of the of Tokyo Metro network. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō....

     - terminus
  • Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line
    Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line
    The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro located in Tokyo, Japan.-Overview:The 16.8 km line serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chūō, Kōtō and Sumida. Hanzōmon Line trains run through onto the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line from Shibuya Station and the Tōbu Isesaki Line from...

     - through service with Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line
  • Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line - terminus (through service to Tōkyū Tōyoko Line beginning in 2012)


Note that the Hanzōmon Line and the Fukutoshin Line are directly connected (without passing through ticket gates), but they are not directly connected to the Ginza Line. There is no direct connection between the two Tōkyū lines either.

Station layout

The main station building is occupied by a Tokyu
Tokyu
Tokyu may refer to:* Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered around Tokyu Corporation** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member of the group*** Tokyu Car Corporation, a Japanese railway vehicle manufacturer...

 department store. The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
The is a subway line located in Tokyo, Japan. It is part of the of Tokyo Metro network. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō....

, originally built and operated by a Tokyu keiretsu
Keiretsu
A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. It is a type of business group. The keiretsu has maintained dominance over the Japanese economy for the greater half of the twentieth century....

 company, uses platforms on the third floor. The JR lines and Tōkyū Tōyoko Line use parallel platforms on the second floor, while the Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line
Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line
The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro located in Tokyo, Japan.-Overview:The 16.8 km line serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chūō, Kōtō and Sumida. Hanzōmon Line trains run through onto the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line from Shibuya Station and the Tōbu Isesaki Line from...

 and Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line share platforms underground, and the Keiō Inokashira Line uses platforms on the second floor of the Shibuya Mark City
Shibuya Mark City
is a facility located in Shibuya, Tokyo, owned by Shibuya Mark City company. There are two buildings, "East" and "West" . It was built and opened on April 7, 2000, targeting mainly women, collaborating with Keio Corporation.-East:...

 building to the west of the main station complex. The Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, opened in 2008 is located on the fifth basement under Meiji Street, to the east of the Tōyoko Line station. The Tōyoko Line will be connected to the Fukutoshin Line station to allow through service between the two lines starting in 2012.

There are six exits from the main JR/Tōkyū/Tōkyō Metro complex. The on the west side, named for the nearby statue of the dog Hachikō
Hachiko
, known in Japanese as chūken Hachikō , was an Akita dog born on a farm near the city of Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, even many years after his owner's death.-Life:In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno,...

 and adjacent to Shibuya's famous scramble crossing, is a particularly popular meeting spot. The on the west side leads to the Keiō Inokashira Line station.

On November 17, 2008, a mural by Tarō Okamoto, "The Myth of Tomorrow", depicting a human figure being hit by an atomic bomb, was unveiled in its new permanent location at the station, in the connecting passage to the Keiō Inokashira Line entrance.

JR East

  • Yamanote Line
    Yamanote Line
    The is commuter rail loop line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres, including the Yūrakuchō/Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro, with all but two of its...

    : Two side platforms serving two tracks
  • Saikyō Line
    Saikyo Line
    The is a railway line between Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is a part of the East Japan Railway Company network...

     and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line
    Shonan-Shinjuku Line
    The is a passenger railway service in Japan which commenced in December 2001. The line has no dedicated track as services run through shared sections along the Ryōmō Line, Takasaki Line, Utsunomiya Line, Yamanote Freight Line, Yokosuka Line, and Tōkaidō Main Line...

    : One island platform serving two tracks




Tōkyū Tōyoko Line

  • Four bay platform
    Bay platform
    Bay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station that has through lines...

    s serving four tracks



Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line

  • One island platform serving two tracks



Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line

Two island platforms serving two tracks. The two platforms are connected by temporary structures bridging the currently unused two tracks between them, which will be taken into use in 2012 when through service to the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line starts.


Tokyo Metro Ginza Line

  • Two side platforms serving two tracks



Keiō Inokashira Line

  • Two bay platform
    Bay platform
    Bay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station that has through lines...

    s serving two tracks



History

Shibuya Station first opened on March 1, 1885 as a stop on the Shinagawa Line, a predecessor of the present-day Yamanote Line
Yamanote Line
The is commuter rail loop line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres, including the Yūrakuchō/Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro, with all but two of its...

. The station was later expanded to accommodate the Tamagawa Railway (1907; closed 1969), the Tōkyō Line (1927), the Teito Shibuya Line (1933; now the Inokashira Line), the Tōkyō Rapid Railway (1938; began through service with the Ginza Line in 1939 and formally merged in 1941), the Den-en-toshi Line (1977), the Hanzōmon Line (1978) and the Fukutoshin Line(2008). In 1946 the infamous Shibuya incident
Shibuya incident
The was a violent confrontation which occurred in between rival gangs near the Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan. The years after World War II saw Japan as a defeated nation and the Japanese people had to improvise in many aspects of daily life. In the chaos of the post-war recovery large and very...

, a gang fight involving hundreds of people, occurred in front of the station.

From December 2008 to March 2009, piezoelectric mats were installed at Shibuya Station as a small scale test.

Around the station

Around the station is the commercial center of Shibuya. The Tokyu Department Store is connected to the east gate of the station and several other department stores are within walking distance.

There is an underground river running under the station, to the east and parallel to the JR tracks. Unlike most other Japanese department stores, the east block of Tokyu Department Store does not have retail space in the basement because of this. An escalator in the east block built over the river stops a few steps above floor level to make space for machinery underneath without digging. Rivers are deemed public space by Japanese law, so building over one is normally illegal. It is not clear why this was allowed when it was first built in 1933.

Adjacent stations

|-
!colspan=5|JR East
|-
!colspan=5|Keiō
|-
!colspan=5|Tōkyū (Tōyoko Line)

|-
!colspan=5|Tōkyū (Den-en-toshi Line) / Tōkyō Metro (Hanzōmon Line)

|-
!colspan=5|Tōkyō Metro (Fukutoshin Line)
|-
!colspan=5|Tōkyō Metro (Ginza Line)

See also

  • Transportation in Greater Tokyo
    Transportation in Greater Tokyo
    The transport network in Greater Tokyo includes public and private rail and highway networks; airports for international, domestic, and general aviation; buses; motorcycle delivery services, walking, bicycling, and commercial shipping. While the nexus is in the central part of Tokyo, every part of...


External links

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