is a railway station on the

Yamanote Line The Yamanote Line () is a railway Circle route, loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres ...

Shinjuku, Tokyo , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

, Japan, operated by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East). Opened on November 15, 1914, it is close to the large local Korean ethnic neighborhood. Shin-Ōkubo Station has only one exit.

Lines

Shin-Ōkubo Station is served by the circular

, with trains running every four minutes during the daytime off-peak. It is one of only two stations on the Yamanote Line that does not provide a direct connection to any other line, the other being

Mejiro Station is a railway station on the Yamanote Line in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Mejiro Station is served by the circular Yamanote Line. It is one of only two stations on the Yamanote Line that doe ...

, two stops away.

Station layout

The elevated station consists of a single

island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

serving two tracks. The Yamanote Freight Line tracks used by

Saikyō Line The Saikyō Line () is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station (Saitama), Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is a portmant ...

and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line services lie to the east of the Yamanote Line tracks.

Platform edge doors Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail sy ...

were installed on the Yamanote Line platforms in 2013.

Platforms

Surrounding area

Less than a kilometer north of the sprawling

Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in Tokyo, Japan, that serves as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central/eastern Tokyo (the Special wards of Tokyo, special wards) and Western Tokyo on the inter-city rail, commuter rail, and rapid tr ...

, Shin-Ōkubo Station is located approximately 5 minutes' walk from Shinjuku's

Kabukichō is an entertainment district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Kabukichō is considered a red-light district with a high concentration of host and hostess clubs, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the . Shinjuku Golde ...

district. It is also about a 3-minute walk from Ōkubo Station on the

Chūō-Sōbu Line The is a railway line that runs through Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network, the line operates on separate tracks along the right-of-way of the Chūō Main Line ( Chūō Line (Rapid)) and ...

. Near the station, Okubo-dori (Okubo street) and surrounding side streets are lined with all kinds of small shops, most of them selling Korean food and pop-culture items. Also in the vicinity are Korean-themed bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.

History

The station opened on 15 November 1914. During the late 1940s, while

Seibu Railway is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbrevi ...

was planning the extension of the Seibu Shinjuku Line from Takadanobaba to Shinjuku, Seibu planned to open a station at Shin-Ōkubo. Among several plans considered, one option called for the existing JR station to be moved to the west and for Seibu to take over the existing station. Toyama Park, at that time under US occupation, was being considered as a location for a new freight yard, and the rerouting of the Yamanote and Seibu lines was intended to accommodate freight traffic to and from the new yard. However, the freight yard plan was later abandoned, and the Seibu extension opened in 1952 with no stop at Shin-Ōkubo.

Station numbering Station numbering is a sign system which assigns station codes consisting of a few letters and numbers to train stations. It aims to facilitate navigation for foreign travelers not familiar with the local language by using globally understood c ...

was introduced in 2016 with Shin-Ōkubo being assigned station number JY16.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2011, the station was used by an average of 42,433 passengers daily (boarding passengers only). The passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.

Incidents

On 26 January 2001, a 47-year-old photographer from Yokohama and a 26-year-old Korean student died at the station when they were hit by a Yamanote Line train while trying to save a drunken Japanese man who had fallen off the platform onto the tracks and was also killed in the accident.Funeral rites held for men killed in failed station rescue
The Japan Times, 30 January 2001 The Korean student's life story formed the basis for the film '' 26 Years Diary'', released in 2007 in Japan and in 2008 in Korea.

References

External links

JR East station information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin-Okubo Station Railway stations in Tokyo Railway stations in Japan opened in 1914 Yamanote Line Stations of East Japan Railway Company