Transit Hub · Shinjuku

Shinjuku Station 新宿駅

The world's busiest railway station, moving around three million people a day across a dozen lines and 200-plus exits. Navigating it is a rite of passage; watching it from above is pure Tokyo theatre.

HoursRoughly 4:30–1:00 (first to last train)

ClosedOpen daily

PriceFree

Getting thereShinjuku Station (JR, Odakyu, Keio, Marunouchi, Toei Shinjuku and Oedo lines)

Time needed30 min–1 hour

Best timeWeekday midday for exploring; rush hour only to watch

Address3-38-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo

About

Shinjuku is less a station than a city-sized machine. JR East, Odakyu, Keio, Tokyo Metro and Toei lines converge here, and the Guinness-certified passenger numbers translate into a ceaseless tide through concourses, malls and underground streets that link the skyscraper district in the west with Kabukicho and the department stores in the east. The station is mid-way through a decades-long rebuild: the old Odakyu department store is gone and a 260 m tower is rising on the west side, while the 25 m-wide East-West Free Passage under the JR tracks (opened 2020) finally lets you cross without a ticket. Above the south side, Busta Shinjuku is Japan's largest highway bus terminal and NEWoMan sits over the tracks. Shinjuku is also where the Odakyu Romancecar departs for Hakone, with front-row observation seats on the GSE models. Learn three landmarks (East Exit, West Exit, South Exit) and you can master it.

Highlights

East-West Free Passage: a broad underground walkway with big-screen art installations, no ticket needed
Odakyu Romancecar platforms, where the red-and-white GSE observation cars depart for Hakone
Busta Shinjuku's 4th-floor bus terminal and the Shinjuku South Exit deck over the tracks
The Yamanote, Chuo, Saikyo and Shonan-Shinjuku lines side by side in a 16-track spread
The morning crush viewed from a safe distance: one of the great human spectacles of Tokyo
Underground arcades linking to the Metropolitan Government Building, Kabukicho and Isetan

Tips

Avoid 7:30–9:30 and 17:30–19:30 on weekdays; with luggage, it is genuinely hard to move.
Before you arrive, decide your exit by destination: West for the skyscrapers and Tocho, East for Kabukicho and Omoide Yokocho, South/New South for Busta and Shinjuku Gyoen.
If you get lost, follow the yellow JR exit signs to the nearest gate, exit, and navigate above ground; it is often faster than looking for an underground link.
Romancecar seats to Hakone sell out on weekends; book observation-car seats online a month ahead.
Coin lockers near the West Exit fill early; the lockers by the Southern Terrace and Busta often have space.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

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Shinjuku Station 新宿駅

About

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