Yurakucho Station 有楽町駅

Published on : 27/03/2019
by : S.R.

In the heart of Tokyo

Yurakucho Station is located on the Yamanote Line, between Shimbashi Station and Tokyo Station. Stuck right in the very center of the country's capital, it offers an intimate look that contrasts with the Marunouchi and Ginza districts that surround it.

The station in a nutshell

Yurakucho station was put into service in 1910, on the line that would become the Yamanote line. In 1974, it will also become a metro station. The three lines that cross the station are:

The Yamanote Line, circles the city of Tokyo.
The Keihin-Tohoku line crosses the metropolis from north to south, from Omiya in the prefecture of Saitama to Yokohama and Kanagawa.
The Yûrakuchô Subway Line, runs through Tokyo from the far northwest to the southeast, at Shin-Kiba.

Every day more than 344,000 people use the station's three lines, making it the 14th largest JR station and the 16th largest Tokyo Metro station.

This is a fairly high ranking for a station of relatively modest size, with only 6 platforms and 2 entrances.

The station is also located a 5 min walk from the major Tokyo and Ginza stations, making it a convenient alternative to these two major stations when you want to avoid traffic.

Read also: The 3 best terraces in the capital

The gado-shita

In Japan, the spaces located under the railway tracks are not abandoned. Galleries, called " gado-shita " ("under the safety rails" in French) where small restaurants follow one another are often installed there.

That Yurakucho station, which is the largest and best known in the country, is directly under the Yamanote railway.

It is particularly popular, especially with neighborhood salarymen, who come to smell the aroma of yakitori, feast in an izakaya, or even simply have a drink standing up in one of the micro-bars in the area.

This gallery stretches over 700 meters and has an old-fashioned charm that attracts many tourists.

Gado-shita de Yurakucho — Yurakucho's Gado-shita
IoT

The Tokyo International Forum

Leaving by the Hibiya-guchi (or "Hibiya exit"), and continuing straight, the visitor will have access in a few minutes to the Hibiya park as well as to the park of the imperial palace.

If he turns right, he'll come right into the Tokyo International Forum, a huge, elongated glass and steel exhibition center that has several concert halls, restaurants, and shops.

This center also hosts the Oedo flea market on the first and third Sunday of the month, where more than 250 exhibitors display their wares!