Are you coming to Japan in August? My condolences. It’s damn hot – and it probably won’t get better until October.
The sweltering heat has everyone looking for ways to cool off. The good news is that many places in Tokyo can be reached indoors—even when traveling by train. Here’s a look at some of the most remarkable underground passageways of the Tokyo train system—some of which remain well-kept secrets even among locals.
Heat means staying indoors
Every year Japan sets new heat records. This summer is no exception. In Tokyo, temperatures have been consistently between 35 and 36 degrees Celsius since the beginning of July.
(Don’t hold me to it. This is just my guess as someone who has experienced it. Hey, it’s hot – I’m allowed to be grumpy and make up statistics.)
To cool down, many people resort to products that can lower body temperature, but they don’t have to. Others spend as little time outdoors as possible.
But there is another way to escape the heat: don’t leave Tokyo’s train stations.
Tokyo train stations: oases of capitalism (and tunnels)
Tokyo’s train stations have often been rightly praised for their convenience. Used by millions of busy Japanese and tourists every day, stations are often designed to provide people with access to the goods and services they need as they travel between work and home.
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Large train stations owned and operated by both municipal and private railway companies often house entire shopping malls. Malls such as Atre, Lumine and Keio offer everything from restaurants and supermarkets to branded clothing stores.
Larger stations often have several such department stores attached to a single station, operated by different railway companies. This organic growth also means that larger stations like Shinjuku and Shibuya are quite a sprawling jumble.
However, this also means that stations are often connected in weird and wonderful ways. One of these ways is through long underground passageways that not only connect different railway companies to one station, but can even connect individual stations to each other.
Such long underground passages are not only found in Tokyo. Sapporo in Hokkaido also has a 2,300-meter-long underground passage that connects various train stations and shops.
In Sapporo, the sidewalks are designed to keep people from wading through snow in the depths of winter. Tokyo residents can also use the sidewalks to avoid icy roads in winter, but recently they have been used primarily to keep people from climbing out into the sweltering heat of summer.
Tokyo’s longest underground passages
If you spend any time in Shibuya or Shinjuku, you’ll probably notice how sprawling these stations are. Shibuya Station leads into Mark City, which spans two buildings, and also provides access to Hikarie and Scramble Square (and Scramble Square’s newest attraction, Shibuya Sky).
Shinjuku is even more sprawling, with Shinjuku Main Station connecting Shinjuku West Exit, Nishishinjuku, and Shinjuku 3-chome subway stations, as well as the popular Subnade underground shopping mall near the Kabukicho side.
(The sprawl of Shinjuku should be familiar to anyone who has played the Steam game Exit 8, which challenges you to walk from Shinjuku 3-chome to Nishishinjuku Exit E8 without getting lost.)
But other stations in Tokyo also have sprawling labyrinths where you can escape the burning sun. The Japanese website Norimono News recently offered readers a tour of four of the largest.
From Toranomon Station to Toranomon Hills Station
Toranomon Hills is one of many new developments in Midtown (like Azabudai Hills) that aim to generate more revenue from locals and tourists. A 440m subway connects both stations, making it easy to travel between them. Additionally, they are considered a single station for fee purposes, meaning transferring is free.
The only catch? There is no signage showing the connection between the two stations. It’s one of those “in the know, in the know” routes.
From Nihonbashi Station to Kayabacho Station
It’s a somewhat complicated route that requires you to pass under the Toei-Asakusa Line. It’s also another relatively unmarked line. But if you can find it, you can transfer between the two stations without ever leaving the building. (There’s apparently even a way to get to Kayabacho from the Marunouchi entrance of the Tokyo Metro.) The two stations aren’t considered transfer points, though, so you’ll have to pay to change lines here.
From Tochomae Station to Nishishinjuku Station
As if Shinjuku more labyrinthine. If you walk to the Tokyo Metro building to watch the projection mapping show, you can get to Nishishinjuku and the trendy venue I-Land Town. Those of you staying at the Hilton Tokyo or Hyatt Regency Tokyo in Nishishinjuku will find this route very convenient as it connects to each of these five-star hotels.
Ueno Station – Ueno Hirokoji Station – Ueno Toei Okachimachi Station – Ueno JR Okachimachi Station – Naka-Okachimachi Station
Now here is an underground route! The area between Ueno and Okachimachi is a popular tourist destination. Not far from Ueno Park, this strip is home to the Ameyoko restaurant and shopping district with its many small, family-run restaurants and shops.
The good news is that you can explore much of this area by taking the walkways that connect these five relatively close stations. If you exit the JR Uneo exit, you can enter the underground path near the Keisei Line. A short flight of stairs connects you to the walkway that leads to Ueno Okachimachi Station. From there, you can walk to Ueno Hirokoji and Naka-Okahimachi.
The entire route is connected via several hubs and stretches for about 1km, which is a 15-minute walk. There are exits at various points along the way, so you can access plenty of restaurants and shopping in this area while avoiding the damn sun. Good for anyone looking to escape the heat. (And vampires, I guess.)
Sources
そこ、つながってるの!? 東京の「意外なロング地下道」4選 乗換だけじゃない 酷暑を避ける“命の道”. Norimono news
地下通路直線距離日本一は札幌. 【うまうま365日】
“Exit 8” perfectly captures the surreal horror of navigating a busy subway station. Rock Paper Shotgun
