Takadanobaba Station

JY15 SS02 T03 Takadanobaba Station 高田馬場駅
Waseda entrance, October 2020
General information
Location	Shinjuku, Tokyo Japan
Operated by	JR East Seibu Railway Tokyo Metro
Line(s)	JY Yamanote Line Seibu Shinjuku Line T Tozai Line (T-03)
History
Opened	15 September 1910; 114 years ago (15 September 1910)
Services
Preceding station JR East Following station Shin-Ōkubo JY16 Next counter-clockwise Yamanote Line Mejiro JY14 Next clockwise Preceding station Seibu Following station Higashi-Murayama SS21 towards Hon-Kawagoe Koedo Seibu-Shinjuku SS01 Terminus Kodaira SS19 towards Haijima Haijima Liner Tanashi SS17 towards Hon-Kawagoe Shinjuku Line Rapid Express Saginomiya SS09 towards Hon-Kawagoe Shinjuku Line Commuter Express Express Semi Express Shimo-Ochiai SS03 towards Hon-Kawagoe Shinjuku Line Local Preceding station Tokyo Metro Following station Ochiai T02 towards Nakano Tozai Line Rapid Commuter Rapid Local Waseda T04 towards Nishi-Funabashi
Location Takadanobaba Station Location within Special wards of Tokyo Show map of Special wards of Tokyo Takadanobaba Station Takadanobaba Station (Tokyo Bay and Bōsō Peninsula) Show map of Tokyo Bay and Bōsō Peninsula Takadanobaba Station Takadanobaba Station (Tokyo) Show map of Tokyo Takadanobaba Station Takadanobaba Station (Japan) Show map of Japan

Takadanobaba Station (高田馬場駅, Takadanobaba-eki) is a railway station in the Takadanobaba area of Tokyo's Shinjuku ward, situated between the commercial districts of Ikebukuro and Shinjuku.

The station is a major commuting hub, linking the Seibu Shinjuku Line, Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line and Yamanote Line. It also serves the surrounding Takadanobaba area, known as a popular student district, and is linked by bus to nearby Waseda University. It is the busiest station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line, and the second-busiest in the Seibu Railway network after Ikebukuro Station. It is the ninth-busiest station in the Tokyo Metro network and the eleventh-busiest station in the JR East network.

Lines

Takadanobaba Station is served by the following lines:

• East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
  • Yamanote Line
• Seibu Railway
  • Seibu Shinjuku Line
• Tokyo Metro
  • Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line

Station layout

Platforms

Yamanote and Seibu Shinjuku Line

The Yamanote Line island platform and two Seibu Shinjuku Line platforms are located parallel to each other, and are connected by an overhead transfer concourse, as well as transfer gates at ground level by the main Waseda exit.

1	JY Yamanote Line (Clockwise)	for Ikebukuro, Ueno, and Tokyo
2	JY Yamanote Line (Anti-clockwise)	for Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Shinagawa
3	Seibu Shinjuku Line	for Tanashi, Tokorozawa, Haijima, and Hon-Kawagoe
4	Seibu Shinjuku Line	Spare arrival platform used for Seibu-Shinjuku bound trains on weekday mornings only
5	Seibu Shinjuku Line	for Seibu-Shinjuku

The theme music from Astro Boy is played prior to each train departure from the Yamanote Line platform, a homage to the series being set in the Takadanobaba area. Chest-high platform edge doors were brought into use on the Yamanote Line platform on 21 December 2013.[1]

The Yamanote Freight Line tracks (used by Saikyo Line and Shonan-Shinjuku Line services) pass Takadanobaba running between the Yamanote Line and Seibu Shinjuku Line tracks.

• 
  Yamanote line platforms, 2016
• 
  Seibu platform 5 with platform 3/4 on the left in March 2016

Tozai Line

1	T Tozai Line	for Ōtemachi, Tōyōchō, Nishi-Funabashi JB Chuo-Sobu Line for Tsudanuma TR Toyo Rapid Railway Line for Tōyō-Katsutadai
2	T Tozai Line	for Nakano JB Chuo-Sobu Line for Mitaka

• 
  The Tozai Line subway platforms in October 2020

History

The Yamanote Line station opened on 15 September 1910.[2]

Seibu Railway opened a temporary station perpendicular to the Yamanote Line in April 1927, followed by a permanent station parallel to the Yamanote Line in April 1928. The original station buildings were burned to the ground during the bombing of Tokyo in April 1945. Takadanobaba was the Tokyo terminal of the Seibu Railway Murayama Line (now Seibu Shinjuku Line) until it was extended to Seibu-Shinjuku Station in 1952.

The Tozai Line began service to Takadanobaba in December 1964 under the auspices of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority. Takadanobaba was the western terminus of the Tozai Line until the connection to Nakano Station and the Chuo Main Line opened in March 1966.

The station facilities of the Tozai Line were inherited by Tokyo Metro after the privatization of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) in 2004.[3]

Station numbering was introduced on all Seibu Railway lines during fiscal 2012, with Takadanobaba being assigned station number SS02.[4] Numbering was expanded to the JR East platforms in 2016 with the Yamanote Line station being assigned station number JY15.[5][6]

The Big Box building, 2021

Surrounding area

The surrounding area of Takadanobaba is often referred to as "Baba". It lacks the history of nearby Waseda and Mejiro, often conjuring up images of a student spot with its many cheap bars and izakaya serving the needs of students at nearby Waseda and Gakushuin universities.

The symbol of Takadanobaba is the monolithic and appropriately named Big Box building next to the station. Big Box houses a sports gym, swimming pool, Uniqlo clothing store, cafe, bowling alley, arcade, and a fast food restaurant. It has recently been reopened after an extensive renovation.

Passenger statistics

Daily average passenger figures for each operator are as shown below.

Fiscal year	Seibu	JR East	Tokyo Metro
2000		211,761[7]
2005	274,488[8]	201,936[9]
2009	299,736[10]	204,527[11]
2010	295,689[10]	202,396[12]
2011	287,513[13]	199,741[14]
2012	292,612[15]	201,765[16]	186,629[17]
2013	292,694[18]	201,513[19]	189,308[20]

• Note that JR East figures account for boarding passengers only.[16]

In online news in the middle of 2024, Takadanobaba is one of the 50 busiest train stations in the world with an average number of 900,000 people using the station everyday.[21][22]

See also

• List of railway stations in Japan
• Transportation in Greater Tokyo

References

1. 山手線高田馬場駅で可動式ホーム柵の使用開始 [Platform edge doors brought into use at Yamanote Line Takadanobaba Station]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
2. Kawashima, Ryozo (March 2011). 日本の鉄道 中部ライン 全線・全駅・全配線 第１２巻 東京都心北部 [Railways of Japan - Chubu Line - Lines/Stations/Track plans - Vol 12 Northern Central Tokyo]. Japan: Kodansha. p. 54. ISBN 978-4-06-270072-6.
3. "「営団地下鉄」から「東京メトロ」へ" [From "Teito Rapid Transit Authority" to "Tokyo Metro"]. Tokyo Metro Online. 2006-07-08. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
4. 西武線全駅で駅ナンバリングを導入します [Station numbering to be introduced at all Seibu stations] (PDF). News Release (in Japanese). Japan: Seibu Railway. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
5. "⾸都圏エリアへ 「駅ナンバリング」を導⼊します" [Introduce “station numbering” to the Tokyo metropolitan area] (PDF). jreast.co.jp (in Japanese). 6 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
6. Kusamachi, Yoshikazu (7 April 2016). "JA・JK・JT・AKB…JR東日本、首都圏で駅ナンバリングなど導入へ" [JA, JK, JT, AKB … JR East to introduce station numbering in the Tokyo metropolitan area]. Response Automotive Media (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
7. 各駅の乗車人員 （2000年度） [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2000)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
8. 駅別乗降人員 2005（平成17）年度 1日平均 [Average daily station usage figures (fiscal 2005)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: Seibu Railway. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
9. 各駅の乗車人員 （2005年度） [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
10. 駅別乗降人員 2010（平成22）年度 1日平均 [Passenger usage statistics by station (Fiscal 2010)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: Seibu Railway. June 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-26. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
11. 各駅の乗車人員 （2009年度） [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2009)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
12. 各駅の乗車人員 （2010年度） [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2010)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
13. 駅別乗降人員 2011（平成23）年度 1日平均 [Passenger usage statistics by station (Fiscal 2011)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: Seibu Railway. May 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-01. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
14. 各駅の乗車人員 （2011年度） [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2011)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
15. 駅別乗降人員 2012（平成24）年度 1日平均 [Average daily station usage figures (fiscal 2012)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: Seibu Railway. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
16. 各駅の乗車人員 （2012年度） [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2012)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
17. "各駅の乗降人員ランキング｜東京メトロ".
18. 駅別乗降人員 2013（平成25）年度 1日平均 [Average daily station usage figures (fiscal 2013)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: Seibu Railway. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
19. 各駅の乗車人員 （2013年度） [Station passenger figures (Fiscal 2013)] (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
20. 各駅の乗降人員ランキング [Station usage ranking] (in Japanese). Tokyo Metro. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
21. "Japanese Train Stations - Japan By The Numbers". Samurai Tours. 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
22. "The Biggest and Busiest Train Stations In Japan". JRPass.com. Retrieved 2024-08-12.

External links

• JR East station information (in English)
• Seibu station information (in Japanese)
• Tokyo Metro station information (in English)

35°42′46″N 139°42′14″E