Shibuya Station


Shibuya Station is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company, Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest commuter rail station in Japan and the world handling a large amount of commuter traffic between the center city and suburbs to the south and west.

Lines

JR East

Note that the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and Fukutoshin Line are directly connected, but they are not directly connected to the Ginza Line.

Station layout

In 2013 and 2014, Shibuya station underwent major renovations as a part of a long-term site redevelopment plan. While all rail and subway lines continued to operate, some station exits and entrances were subject to change. As of March 2013, the east side of the main station was transformed due to the provision of through train services between the Tokyu Toyoko Line and the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line. While much of the main station building, previously housing the Tokyu department store, had been closed and was set for demolition, the west building of the Tokyu department store continued to operate as before. The Shibuya Hikarie building, also owned by the Tokyu Group, opened in 2012 and has featured department store retail, restaurants, and offices.
The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, originally built and operated by a Tokyu keiretsu company, continues to use platforms on the third floor of the station building. The JR lines are on the second floor in a north-south orientation. The Tokyu Toyoko Line originally used parallel platforms on the second floor of the same building, but effective on 16 March 2013, the Toyoko Line moved underground to provide through service with the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line. The Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and Tokyu Den-en-Toshi Line share platforms underground in a different part of the station. The Keio Inokashira Line uses platforms on the second floor of the Shibuya Mark City building to the west of the main station complex.
The main JR/Tokyu/Tokyo Metro complex has six exits. The Hachikō Exit on the west side, named for the nearby statue of the dog Hachikō, and adjacent to Shibuya's famous scramble crossing, is a particularly popular meeting spot. The Tamagawa Exit on the west side leads to the Keiō Inokashira Line station.
On, 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 Keio Inokashira Line entrance.

JR East

Platforms

The Yamanote Line is served by two side platforms with two tracks. The Saikyo Line and Shonan-Shinjuku Line is served by one island platform with two tracks. Until 30 May 2020, the Saikyo Line platform was located to the south of the Yamanote Line platforms, approximately 350 m away.

Tokyo Metro/Tokyu

Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line

Platforms
On the third basement level, a single underground island platform serves two tracks.
Adjacent stations

Tokyu Toyoko Line and Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line

Platforms
Two underground island platforms on the fifth basement level serve four tracks.
Adjacent stations

Tokyo Metro Ginza Line

Platforms
As of January 2020, one island platform serves two tracks. Until December 2019, two side platforms each served one track, with one platform for terminating services and one for services departing towards Asakusa.

Keio Inokashira Line

Platforms

The Keio station consists of two bay platforms serving two tracks.

Adjacent stations

History

On, Shibuya Station first opened as a stop on the Shinagawa Line, a predecessor of the present-day Yamanote Line.
The station was later expanded to accommodate the Tamagawa Railway, the Toyoko Line, and the Teito Shibuya Line.
Between 1925 and 1935, an Akita dog named Hachiko waited for his deceased owner, appearing at the station right when his train was due.
In 1938, the station added the Tōkyō Rapid Railway, which began through service with the Ginza Line in 1939 and formally merged in 1941.
In 1946, the infamous Shibuya incident, a gang fight involving hundreds of people, occurred in front of the station.
More recently, the station began servicing the Den-en-toshi Line, the Hanzōmon Line, and the Fukutoshin Line.
Between December 2008 and March 2009, piezoelectric mats were installed at Shibuya Station as a small scale test.
From 22 February 2013, station numbering was introduced on Keio lines, with Shibuya Station becoming "IN01".
On 3 January 2020, the Ginza Line platforms were shifted about 50 meters east of the old platforms.
On 1 June 2020, the Saikyo Line platforms were shifted about 350 meters north of the old platforms and now sits right next to the Yamanote Line platforms.

Former Toyoko Line station

The former above-ground Tokyu Toyoko Line terminal station platforms were taken out of use after the last train service on 15 March 2013. From the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013, Toyoko Line services used the underground platforms 3-4 shared with Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line services.

Platforms

The station had four 8-car long bay platforms numbered 1 to 4, serving four tracks.

Adjacent Stations

Future developments

JR East is in the process of rebuilding the station, with reconstruction work starting in earnest in fiscal 2015. When completed, the Yamanote Line will be served by an island platform instead of the current separated side platform arrangement, and the Saikyo Line platforms, currently approximately 350 m away, will be moved alongside the Yamanote Line platforms to make interchanging easier.
Tokyu Corporation plans to develop a 47-story commercial building atop the relocated Toyoko Line platforms to the east of the station, which will become the tallest building in Shibuya upon its opening in 2019. Tokyu also plans to open a 16-story commercial/residential complex at the station in 2018, followed by a 35-story building on the site of the former Toyoko Line terminal in 2020.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2013, the JR East station was used by 378,539 passengers daily, making it the fifth-busiest JR East station. Over the same fiscal year, the Keio station was used by an average of 336,957 passengers daily, making it the busiest station on the Inokashira Line. In fiscal 2013, the Tokyo Metro Ginza station was used by an average of 212,136 passengers daily and the Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon and Fukutoshin stations were used by an average of 731,184 passengers daily. Note that the latter statistics consider passengers who travel through Shibuya station on a through service as users of the station, even if they did not disembark at the station. In fiscal 2013, the Tokyu Toyoko Line station was used by an average of 441,266 passengers daily and the Den-en-toshi Line station was used by an average of 665,645 passengers daily. The daily passenger figures for each operator in previous years are as shown below.
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.
The Shibuya River flows directly 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 closed in 2013 and due for demolition as a part of the Shibuya Station redevelopment plan did not have basement retail space due to the river passing directly underneath. An escalator in the east block of the store was constructed over the river stops a few steps above floor level to make space for machinery underneath without the need for further excavation. Rivers are deemed public space under Japanese law, so building over one is normally illegal. It is not clear why this was allowed when the store buildings were first constructed in 1933.