Getting Your Bearings
Shinjuku is one of Tokyo's major secondary centers, a commercial and administrative hub that grew up around Shinjuku Station. The station is the anchor of the whole area: it houses the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building stands nearby in the skyscraper district of Nishi-Shinjuku. For a visitor, almost everything begins and ends at the station.
One useful thing to understand early: "Shinjuku" is popularly used to mean the whole area around Shinjuku Station, but the ward boundaries are more complicated than that. Some areas west of the station and south of Kōshū Kaidō actually belong to the neighboring ward of Shibuya. In practice this rarely matters for getting around, but it explains why signs sometimes point you toward Yoyogi or Sendagaya when you thought you were in Shinjuku.
How Visitors Move Around
Trains and the subway are the backbone of getting around Shinjuku and the rest of Tokyo. The rail network is dense, frequent, and well signed in English, and it connects Shinjuku to essentially everywhere a visitor is likely to go. Buses fill in the gaps, taxis cover short or late-night trips, and much of central Shinjuku is genuinely walkable once you are above ground.
The single most important practical skill is learning to navigate Shinjuku Station itself. It is effectively a giant multi-level warren of department stores, restaurants, commercial buildings, railway facilities, and underground shopping malls that radiate out for kilometers beneath the surrounding streets. Getting lost is normal for visitors, and helpful locals regularly approach and assist travelers who seem lost.
Rail, Metro and Tram Network
Shinjuku Station is served by several different railway companies, and this is the key to understanding the station. JR lines include the Yamanote, Chuo, Sobu, Saikyo, and Shonan-Shinjuku lines. Subway service is provided by the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi and Fukutoshin lines and the Toei Shinjuku and Ōedo lines. Shinjuku is also a terminal for the Keio, Odakyu, and Seibu Shinjuku private railway lines, which is why the complex feels like several stations stitched together.
Because multiple separate stations are operated by different companies, transfers work in a specific way:
- When transferring between lines owned by the same company, you can walk directly to your next platform without passing through ticket gates.
- If you cannot find signs for your next line, exit the current company's ticket gates, stay inside the main building, and then look for signs directing you to your next line. You will enter the next line's station through the ticket gates of a different railway company.
When in doubt, head towards the East Exit gates. Most things of tourist interest are located to the east of the station.
If it is raining, you can bypass the street level entirely by using the Metro Promenade. Look for yellow overhead signs pointing to this massive underground walkway running directly east from the station, which lets you walk completely indoors straight into major department stores. If you arrived on an above-ground railway line such as any of the JR lines, you will need to go below ground to find the promenade. Follow signs to the Marunouchi line, but don't enter its ticket gates.
Buses and Other Public Transport
Bus routes used to stop at various locations around Shinjuku, but most routes, especially highway buses, have been consolidated into the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, abbreviated SEBT or Busta Shinjuku (バスタ新宿), which opened above the JR tracks at Shinjuku Station. If you are catching a long-distance or highway bus, this is where you go.
Airport limousine buses also stop at the station and at all major hotels in Shinjuku, but they are prone to traffic delays, so allow extra time if you are relying on one to catch a flight.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are a practical option for short hops, late nights, or when you are carrying luggage, and they can be hailed on the street or picked up at taxi stands around the station.
Walkability
Central Shinjuku is very walkable, and many of its best-known districts sit close together east of the station. Kabukichō, the red-light district known for its bars, restaurants, and nightlife, lies near Seibu-Shinjuku Station. Golden Gai, a small block east of Kabukichō, is an area of tiny shanty-style bars and clubs where musicians, artists, journalists, actors, and directors used to gather. Shinjuku Ni-chōme is Tokyo's best-known gay district. Shinjuku Gyo-en, a large park blending Japanese traditional, English landscape, and French formal style gardens, offers a green escape within walking distance.
West of the station, Nishi-Shinjuku is home to Tokyo's largest concentration of skyscrapers, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Other neighborhoods worth knowing include Ōkubo, around Okubo and Shin-Okubo stations, which is Tokyo's historic ethnic Korean neighborhood, and Takadanobaba, a major residential and nightlife area for students and a commuter hub.
Walking is also the easiest way to move between the station and the surrounding department stores and underground malls, especially via the Metro Promenade when it rains.
Getting from the Airport into the City
Shinjuku is served by two airports, Narita and Haneda, and each has several options.
From Narita Airport:
- The fastest option is the Keisei Skyliner train, changing at Nippori to the JR Yamanote Line. Be aware that the Yamanote Line can be very crowded at peak hours, which makes hauling luggage inconvenient.
- JR's Narita Express offers a one-seat ride to Shinjuku, but it takes longer and costs more. Foreigners can reduce the cost by purchasing an N'EX Tokyo Round-Trip Ticket.
- Budget travelers can use the Keisei Narita Skyaccess – Shinjuku Line, which involves one station transfer between Higashi-Nihombashi Station and Bakuroyokoyama Station, a short walk between the two stations. In the evenings, faster Access Tokkyu trains from Narita Airport to Nippori shave time off the overall journey for an extra charge. The JR Yokosuka-Sōbu Line also has stations at both Narita terminals.
- Limousine buses run frequently from Narita Airport to Shinjuku Station's west exit and to area hotels.
From Haneda Airport:
- You can take trains on the Keikyu and Yamanote lines, changing at Shinagawa.
- Limousine buses also run on this route.
Whichever airport you use, the limousine buses stop at the station and at all major hotels in Shinjuku, but remember that they are prone to traffic delays.
Practical Tips
- Learn the East Exit. Most things of tourist interest are east of the station, so it is a reliable default when you are disoriented.
- Expect to get lost inside the station at least once. It is normal, and locals often help.
- Remember that transfers between different railway companies require exiting one set of ticket gates and entering another.
- Use the Metro Promenade on rainy days to walk indoors toward the department stores.
- For highway and long-distance buses, head to Busta Shinjuku above the JR tracks.
- Allow extra time for airport limousine buses because of traffic.