Ikebukuro Station () is a major railway station located in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima, Tokyo, Japan, shared by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro, and the two private railway operators Seibu Railway and Tobu Railway. With 2.71 million passengers on an average daily in 2007, it is the second-busiest railway station in the world (after Shinjuku Station), and the busiest station in the Tobu, Seibu, and Tokyo Metro networks. It primarily serves commuters from Saitama Prefecture and other residential areas northwest of the city center. It is the Tokyo terminal of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and the Tobu Tojo Line.
Lines
JR East
Seibu Railway
Seibu Ikebukuro Line (Ikebukuro to Agano) - limited through service to Seibu Chichibu Line
Tobu Railway
Tōbu Tōjō Line (Ikebukuro to Yorii)
Tokyo Metro
Station layout
In Ikebukuro Station, there are two main entrances; the East exit and the West exit. There are a number of other secondary entrances such as the JR North exit, the various Seibu exits, and multiple subway exits.
The JR lines run north/south through the center. The Tobu platforms are to the northwest and the Seibu platforms are to the southeast. Both Tobu and Seibu operate department stores adjacent to their terminal stations. (Despite their names, "Seibu" (西武) starts with the kanji for "west" (西), but its platforms are in the eastern part of the station, while "Tōbu" (東武) starts with the character for "east" (東), but its platforms are in the western part of the station.)
The Marunouchi Line and Yurakucho Line run east/west two stories underground, while the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line is four stories underground to the west of the main station complex. The latter line runs south toward Shinjuku and Shibuya along Meiji-dori, and offers through services to Motomachi-Chūkagai Station in Yokohama via the Tokyu Toyoko Line and Minatomirai Line.
Tokyo Metro's Echika underground mall is also located inside the station.
JR East
Chest-high platform edge doors were introduced on the Yamanote Line platforms on 2 March 2013.
Tobu Railway
Platforms
The Tobu station has three terminating tracks served by platforms 1 to 5, arranged as shown in the diagram on the right.
Platforms 3 and 5 are normally used for disembarking passengers, although platform 5 is also used for passengers boarding the evening TJ Liner services, which require payment of a supplementary fare. From 14 June 2015, the departure melodies used when trains are about to depart from the station are to be changed to classical themes, with "Allegro" from "Divertimento in D major, K. 136" by Mozart used for platforms 1/2, "Menuetto" from "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" by Mozart used for platforms 3/4, and "Allegro ma non troppo" from the "Pastoral Symphony" by Beethoven used for TJ Liner services departing from platform 5.
Chest-high platform edge doors are scheduled to be added by the end of fiscal 2020. Platform doors protecting platform 1 are in use since 21 April 2018. It is planned to have platform doors protecting platforms 2 and 3 in operation from 2 March 2019.
Ticket barriers
There are three sets of ticket barriers giving access to the platforms: the "South Gate" at ground level (signposted in red), and the "Central Gate" (signposted in blue) and "North Gate" (signposted in green) on the first basement level.
Seibu Railway
Platforms 1, 4, and 6 are normally used for disembarking passengers only.
Tokyo Metro
Platform
This station consists of three separate island platforms for the Marunouchi Line, Yurakucho Line, and Fukutoshin Line.
Station layout
The Tokyo Metro platforms are equipped with chest-height platform edge doors.
History
The station was opened on April 1, 1903 by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR). The Tōjō Railway Line (present-day Tobu Tojo Line) station opened on 1 May 1914 with the opening of the 33.5 km line to in Saitama Prefecture (located between the present stations of Kawagoeshi and Kasumigaseki). As the Tokyo terminus of the line was originally planned to be at Shimo-Itabashi, Ikebukuro Station is to this day marked by km post "-1.9" (the distance from Shimo-Itabashi Station where the "0 km" post for the line is located).
Tobu opened a department store adjoining its station on 29 May 1962. Around the same time, the Tobu station platforms were expanded with three tracks.