Shinjuku Station is a sprawling complex housing the world’s busiest train station as well as a collection of satellite stations, department stores, shopping centers and underground passageways. To find your way around Shinjuku Station and understand the layout, check out our article Shinjuku Station Map – Finding Your Way. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the facilities in Shinjuku Station.
The West Exit at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station
General Orientation
Shinjuku Station is aligned along a north-south axis. It straddles the Yamanote Line, which forms a loop through central Tokyo and is one of the busiest railways in the nation.
Aerial view of Shinjuku Station
Operator East Japan Railway Company (known as JR East) runs the main station at Shinjuku, so it’s sometimes distinguished as “JR Shinjuku Station”. Other stations within Shinjuku Station complex include Odakyu and Keio stations, as well as several subway stations. See Shinjuku Station Map – Finding Your Way for information about the satellite stations surrounding the JR complex.
Commuters file past the famous ShinjukuEye mural by the West Exit
Shinjuku Station has hundreds of exits and many platforms spread out over a large area, along with department stores covering nearly all sides. The main entrances and exits are at the west, south, and east gates. The east and west gates are surrounded by department stores. See Shinjuku Station area map for information about places of interest surrounding the station.
Information
If you’re looking for information about travel in Japan or on JR railways, head to the southern end of Shinjuku Station – the recently built complex overlooking the Shinjuku Southern Terrace shopping area. If you’re arriving on a train such as the Narita Express, head for the southern end of the platform and follow the signs for the New South Gate exit. For Odakyu railway information, go to the West Gate exit area.
Staff at a booth by the South Exit ticket gates help direct passengers
Aside from the tourist information centers and police boxes (koban) below, railway staff at ticket gates can usually point you in the right direction if you have a simple query.
Tokyo Tourist Information Center
Staff and tablets are on hand to provide information at the Tokyo Tourist Information Center
One of the best places to get travel information is the newly opened Tokyo Tourist Information Center in the Basuta Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, located on the south side of Shinjuku Station. The center is on the third floor of the building beside a taxi bay and has kimono-clad staff, a large LCD screen showing travel destinations, as well as a money exchange ATM and the Sagawa Cloak and Delivery Luggage Storage and Delivery service run by Sagawa Express. There’s also a travel and ticket booking counter here run by JTB.
Open: 6:30 – 23:00
JR East Travel Service Center
The JR East Travel Service Center can issue Japan Rail Passes
For Japan travel information as well as info related to JR railways, the JR East Travel Service Center is a good option. Visitors can exchange vouchers for Japan Rail Passes here and get regional JR passes (such as the JR East Pass or JR Tokyo Wide Pass) as well as tickets for Shinkansen bullet trains and other services. There’s also a money exchange ATM here. The center is located next to the New South Gate exit on the south side of Shinjuku Station.
Open: 8:00 – 19:00
Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center
A Travelex booth by the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center above the West Exit
This tourist information booth is operated by Odakyu Electric Railway, which runs trains to the Hakone area on the Odawara Line from Shinjuku. Staff here give out travel information and sell tickets for Odakyu’s Romancecar Limited Express for Hakone-Yumoto Station. The booth is located on the ground floor at Shinjuku Station’s West Gate area.
Open: 8:00 – 18:00
Popular Hotels near Shinjuku Station
Lost and found
There’s a lost and found office operated by JR East near the East Gate at Shinjuku Station.
Open: 10:00 – 18:00
Currency exchange
A currency exchange machine at the Tokyo Tourist Information Center
Aside from the foreign exchange ATMs mentioned in the tourist information centers above, you can change money at the following locations at Shinjuku Station:
- Travelex: Located right next to the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center on the ground floor above and outside the West Exit gates. Another branch is located to the west of the South Exit on the south side of Koshu-Kaido Street, less than a block from the intersection fronted by the Lumine 1 department store.
- Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank West Shinjuku Branch: Across the taxi bay from the West Exit. Take the underground passage on the north side of the taxi bay.
- SMBC Bank Shinjuku Foreign Exchange Corner: About 160 meters to the east of the East Exit on Shinjuku-dori Street next to Kinokuniya bookstore. Look for the lime-green SMBC flag logo.
ATM Cash Machines at Shinjuku Station
ATMs are plentiful at Shinjuku Station but beware: most ATMs in Japan do not accept credit, debit and cash cards issued outside Japan. However, they are accepted at ATMs in Japan Post offices, 7-Eleven convenience stores and SMBC Trust Bank branches, which are also under the Prestia brand. ATM locations at Shinjuku Station that take overseas cards include:
- Shinjuku Post Office: About two blocks west of Keio Department Store on the west side of Shinjuku Station
- SMBC Trust Bank: On the south side of Koshu Kaido Street across from the Lumine 1 department store on the south side of Shinjuku Station
- 7-Eleven Shinjuku Station Yasukuni-dori Branch: Located on the north side of Yasukuni-dori street north of Shinjuku Station’s East Exit and one block east of the overhead train tracks
Police box (koban)
The Shinjuku Station West Exit Koban can help with directions
Police in Japan often help give directions to locals and tourists alike. There are several police boxes (koban) at Shinjuku Station. Some staff can speak English, but everyone should be able to point you in the right direction to landmarks, large hotels and addresses. Look for a red light, the star-shaped sunburst insignia of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the word koban above police box doors. You can find koban at Shinjuku Station at the following locations:
- Shinjuku Station West Exit Koban: Exiting the ticket gates, go straight for about 50 meters, heading toward the underground taxi bay, and look to the right.
- Shinjuku Station East Exit Koban: From the East Exit, get to the street level and turn left. You’ll see the koban on the corner of the Lumine Est building, overlooking the square in front of the Studio Alta building and its large video screen.
- Shinjuku Station East Exit Railway Police: While this small office inside the East Exit on the B1 (first basement floor) is dedicated to railway affairs and isn’t actually a koban, staff can help with directions.
Shinjuku Station Lockers – Luggage Storage and Delivery
Plazas & walkways
The view of the Shinjuku Southern Terrace shopping area and the NTT DoCoMo Yoyogi Tower from the New South Exit plaza
There’s little room for open spaces at the world’s busiest train station, but Shinjuku does have a few spots where you can relax and do some people-watching and trainspotting.
- New South Exit area: By the New South Exit gates, there’s a 2,000-square-meter plaza and promenade deck overlooking the Shinjuku Southern Terrace shopping area and the NTT DoCoMo Yoyogi Tower. Trains can be seen coming and going on the tracks below.
- NEWoMAN mall: This new shopping mall on the south side of Shinjuku Station is built into the 170-meter-tall Miraina Tower. The fifth, sixth and seventh floors feature outdoor plazas with greenery and views of the Basuta Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal below.
- Alta Shinjuku: This scruffy plaza on the east side of Shinjuku Station faces the Alta Shinjuku building, a popular meeting spot because of its large video screen.
Article by Tim Hornyak. All rights reserved.
