The Complete Tokyo Station Guide｜Shinkansen Gates, Exits, In-Station Shopping and Walking Marunouchi

Many itineraries pass through Tokyo Station, whether for Shinkansen travel or transfers. But Tokyo Station is a huge station where conventional lines, the Shinkansen, underground platforms and subways overlap, and when you get off for the first time it is easy to lose track of which side you are on. This article sets out the basic way to think about the station layout, how to choose an exit, and how to get around the in-station shops and the Marunouchi area.

Start by dividing it into the "Marunouchi side" and the "Yaesu side"

The quickest way to understand Tokyo Station is to remember that the whole station is split by the tracks into the Marunouchi side to the west and the Yaesu side to the east. There are many gate and exit names, and trying to grasp them all before you are used to the station only causes confusion. It is more reliable to first decide only "Is my destination on the Marunouchi side or the Yaesu side?" and then follow the signs.

The Marunouchi side is where the red-brick station building and the plaza opening toward the Imperial Palace are. Head this way for the Marunouchi office district or to walk to the Kokyo Gaien National Garden. The Yaesu side is where commercial facilities and the highway bus hub are concentrated, and in terms of track layout the Shinkansen platforms are also located toward this side. JR East itself advises that if you cannot find the Shinkansen platforms, you should first head for the 1st floor on the Yaesu side.

Note that gate and exit names can change with construction and station improvements. For detailed routes, it is reassuring to check before you set out on the Tokyo Station floor maps published by JR East (separate maps for the 1st floor, 2nd floor, B1, the Keiyo Line, the Sobu Line and so on).

The Marunouchi station building dates from 1914 and was restored in 2012

Once you come out on the Marunouchi side, it is worth taking a look at the station building itself. Its official name is the "Tokyo Station Marunouchi Main Building," and it was designed by Tatsuno Kingo. Construction began in March 1908 (Meiji 41) and was completed in December 1914 (Taisho 3). It is a two-story steel-frame brick structure, partly three stories, and was designated a national Important Cultural Property on May 30, 2003.

What you see today is not the original building that simply survived. The domes, roof and interiors were lost in the war, and after the war it was rebuilt as a two-story building. Preservation and restoration work carried out from 2007 to 2012 returned the three-story exterior and the domes to their original appearance. The work used a seismic-isolation retrofit method, improving earthquake resistance while making use of the existing building.

Inside the north and south domes, decorations such as reliefs of the Chinese zodiac animals and eagles with outstretched wings have been restored. Even stopping by for a few minutes between transfers is well worth it.

The Shinkansen has two separate sets of platforms and gates

The Shinkansen is where people most often go wrong at Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station's Shinkansen platforms are divided into two groups run by different companies. According to JR East, Tracks 14 to 19 are for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, and Tracks 20 to 23 are for the Tohoku, Yamagata, Akita, Hokkaido, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen.

In other words, trains for Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Hakata and trains for Sendai, Morioka, Shin-Aomori, Niigata and Kanazawa leave from completely different platforms. The gates are also separate for each system, so check the train name on your ticket (Nozomi, Hikari, Kodama / Hayabusa, Yamabiko, Toki, Kagayaki and so on) and destination first, and work out which group it belongs to from the signs before proceeding. Platform numbers may change with station improvements, so on the day, always give priority to the station's signs and the official floor maps.

When transferring between Shinkansen lines, there are transfer gates between the two systems. According to JR East's standard transfer times, allow about 8 minutes as a guide between the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen and the Tohoku/Joetsu-bound Shinkansen.

Transferring from conventional lines, and guideline times

The above-ground conventional-line platforms are arranged as follows: Tracks 1 and 2 for the Chuo Line, Tracks 3 and 6 for the Keihin-Tohoku Line, Tracks 4 and 5 for the Yamanote Line, and Tracks 7 to 10 for the Ueno-Tokyo Line and Tokaido Line. From these platforms to the Shinkansen, JR East's standard transfer times give about 10 minutes from the Tokaido, Keihin-Tohoku and Yamanote lines, and about 15 minutes from the Chuo Line.

Be careful with the underground platforms. Allow about 15 minutes from the underground Sobu Line Rapid / Yokosuka Line platforms to the Shinkansen, and about 20 minutes from the Keiyo Line platforms. The Keiyo Line platforms are quite far away toward the south of the station, and you will walk a long distance along moving walkways. If you are transferring to the Shinkansen from the Disney Resort area, for example, it is reassuring to build this time into your itinerary in advance.

These figures are guidelines given by JR East, which officially notes that they "may change due to station improvement work and other reasons." If you have large luggage, are traveling with children or are moving at busy times, it is realistic to allow more than the guideline time.

The subway, and nearby stations you can walk to

Beneath Tokyo Station is Tokyo Station (station number M17) on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, connected to JR underground on the Marunouchi side. The line links the Ikebukuro and Ogikubo directions and is a convenient choice for heading to Ginza or Shinjuku.

To ride subway lines other than the Marunouchi Line, you basically walk through underground passages to adjacent stations. Otemachi Station to the north is served by Tokyo Metro's Marunouchi, Tozai, Chiyoda and Hanzomon lines, and you can also transfer to the Toei Mita Line. On the Imperial Palace side, Nijubashimae (Marunouchi) Station is on the Chiyoda Line. Both are connected by underground passages, but the passages are long with many branches, so if it is your first time, set off with plenty of time to spare.

Yurakucho Station and Nihombashi Station are also within walking distance. When a route-finder app shows a "walk" leg, it may be referring to moving between stations like these.

In-station shopping, coin lockers and luggage storage

Tokyo Station is itself a large commercial space. GRANSTA operates mainly inside the ticket gates, divided into areas such as GRANSTA TOKYO on B1 and the 1st floor, GRANSTA MARUNOUCHI on the Marunouchi side, and GRANSTA YAEKITA and GRANSTA YAESU on the Yaesu side. With ekiben, deli foods, sweets, souvenirs and cafés, it is convenient for shopping before you board. The "Gin no Suzu" (Silver Bell), a well-known meeting spot, is also inside the station.

Outside the gates, beyond the Yaesu Underground Central Exit, is Tokyo Station Ichibangai. Made up of zones such as Tokyo Ramen Street, Tokyo Character Street and Tokyo Okashi Land, it is large enough to be a destination in its own right for meals and souvenir hunting. Since it is outside the gates, it is best visited when you have time to spare between connections.

For luggage, the official Tokyo Station City guide lists coin lockers and baggage storage counters. Lockers are located in several places both inside and outside the gates, but they fill up quickly in busy seasons, and those big enough for large suitcases are especially in demand. If you cannot find a free one, consider a staffed baggage storage counter. Locations and hours may change, so check the official information.

Walking the Marunouchi area, and the Yaesu side today

If you have one to two hours, a walk on the Marunouchi side is recommended. According to the Ministry of the Environment, it takes about 9 minutes on foot from Tokyo Station to Wadakura Fountain Park in the Kokyo Gaien National Garden, and about 15 minutes to the Imperial Palace Plaza (the area overlooking Nijubashi Bridge). From Nijubashimae (Marunouchi) Station on the Chiyoda Line, it is about 9 minutes to the Imperial Palace Plaza. With the station building at your back, walk straight along Gyoko-dori Avenue and the greenery of the Imperial Palace opens up ahead of you.

In front of the station is KITTE Marunouchi, a facility that makes use of the former Tokyo Central Post Office building, with the rooftop garden "KITTE Garden" and the preserved and publicly open former Tokyo Central Post Office Postmaster's Office. From the rooftop you can look down over the station building and platforms, making it ideal for anyone who wants to photograph the Marunouchi station building. Right in front of the station is also the Marunouchi Building (Maru Biru), home to restaurants and shops.

The Yaesu side, on the other hand, is an area under ongoing redevelopment. The first phase of "Bus Terminal Tokyo Yaesu" opened on September 17, 2022, and the complex "Tokyo Midtown Yaesu" had its grand opening on March 10, 2023. It is directly connected to JR Tokyo Station on B1. The bus terminal is planned to be developed in three phases, and when complete it is expected to be one of the largest in Japan. Because walkways and routes on the Yaesu side may change as construction progresses, we recommend checking the latest information just before you visit.

Tokyo Station is complex, but if you keep in mind two forks in the road — Marunouchi or Yaesu, and which of the two Shinkansen systems — you will get lost far less often. Beyond that, just allow plenty of time for transfers. That alone makes this station much easier to use.

*The information in this article is current as of August 2026. Station layouts, gate names and store operations are subject to change. Please check official information before you go.