The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20170422213423/https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/the-51-busiest-train-stations-in-the-world-all-but-6-located-in-japan
travel

The 51 busiest train stations in the world– All but 6 located in Japan

12 Comments
by master blaster

A couple of days ago, a graph surfaced online displaying some interesting statistics. It’s a bar chart of the busiest train stations in the world, measured by the number of people who pass through them each year.

Perhaps coming as no surprise to those who have experienced its mind-numbingly complex transport complexes, Japan tops the list. What is surprising is the degree to which Japan dominates this list, with all but six stations residing here, and about half of them in the Tokyo area alone.

The following are the five busiest train stations in the world.

#5 Yokohama Station (Kanagawa) – Approx. 760,000,000 people per year

Located in Yokohama city near the border of Kanagawa Prefecture and Tokyo, this was one one of Japan’s first great stations. A few moves and destruction caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake left it in its current location now.

The station is the nucleus to a vertically and horizontally sprawling commercial area hosting most if not all of Japan’s major chain stores like Takashimaya and Yodobashi Camera.

#4 Umeda Station (Osaka) – Approx. 820,000,000

As a resident of Osaka, this station is my own slice of nightmare. Every time I go there it tends to end with me huddled in a corner crying. This multilevel serpentine station hosts ever running rivers of people bumping into one another walking in every direction at the same time.

Remember one of those typical video game levels where you constantly walk through one door only to find yourself in the same room until you throw your controller at your little brother? It’s kind of like that.

#3 Ikebukuro Station (Tokyo) – Approx. 910,000,000

Located in the heart of Tokyo, it’s no wonder Ikebukuro station is so heavily used. As a result it’s home to a bevy of attractions like gourmet hotdogs, penguins on waterslides, alleged teenage girl viewing clubs, and the occasional Cornman sighting.

#2 Shibuya Station (Tokyo, Japan) – Approx. 1,090,000,000

Also in the center of Tokyo, Shibuya station has a kind of nice atmosphere to it that can almost distract an agoraphobe from the hordes of commuters passing through. The station also features large, eye-catching artwork from Taro Okamoto.

There’s also a statue to Hachiko near one of the exits. Hachiko was the dog immortalized in Japanese and (to a lesser extent) American movies as the dog who faithfully waited for his dead master outside of Shibuya station for nine years.

#1 Shinjuku Station (Tokyo, Japan) – Approx. 1,260,000,000

Many people are often in awe of Shinjuku Station’s massive size or complain about its complexity, built to handle over one million daily commuters.

Here’s the full list of 51 stations.

1 Shinjuku (Tokyo, Japan)

2 Shibuya (Tokyo, Japan)

3 Ikebukuro (Tokyo, Japan)

4 Umeda (Osaka, Japan)

5 Yokohama (Kanagawa, Japan)

6 Kita-Senju (Tokyo, Japan)

7 Nagoya (Aichi, Japan)

8 Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan)

9 Shinagawa (Tokyo, Japan)

10 Takadanobaba (Tokyo, Japan)

11 Namba (Osaka, Japan)

12 Shinbashi (Tokyo, Japan)

13 Tennoji (Osaka, Japan)

14 Akihabara (Tokyo, Japan)

15 Kyoto (Kyoto, Japan)

16 Sannomiya (Kobe, Japan)

17 Omiya (Saitama, Japan)

18 Yurakucho-Hibiya (Tokyo, Japan)

19 Nishi-Funabashi (Chiba, Japan)

20 Meguro (Tokyo, Japan)

21 Daimon-Hamamatsucho (Tokyo, Japan)

22 Ueno (Tokyo, Japan)

23 Oshiage (Tokyo, Japan)

24 Paris Nord (Paris, France)

25 Taipei Railway Station (Taipei,Taiwan)

26 Machida (Tokyo, Japan)

27 Gare de Chatelet (Paris, France)

28 Kawasaki (Kanagawa, Japan)

29 Roma Termini Railway Station (Rome, Italy)

30 Tamachi-Mita (Tokyo, Japan)

31 Kyobashi (Osaka, Japan)

32 Funabashi (Chiba, Japan)

33 Ayase (Tokyo, Japan)

34 Hamburg Central Station (Hamburg, Germany)

35 Yoyogi-Uehara (Tokyo, Japan)

36 Kamata (Kamata, Japan)

37 Gotanda (Tokyo, Japan)

38 Kichijoji (Tokyo, Japan)

39 Kanayama (Aichi, Japan)

40 Musashikosugi (Kanagawa, Japan)

41 Fujisawa (Kanagawa, Japan)

42 Oimachi (Tokyo, Japan)

43 Nakano (Tokyo, Japan)

44 Tachikawa (Tokyo, Japan)

45 Iidabashi (Tokyo, Japan)

46 Kashiwa (Chiba, Japan)

47 Hakata (Fukuoka, Japan)

48 Tsuruhashi (Osaka, Japan)

49 Nishi-Nippori (Tokyo, Japan)

50 Nakameguro (Tokyo, Japan)

51 Zurich Main Station (Zurich, Switzerland)

Source: Himasoku (Japanese)

Read more stories on RocketNews24. -- Man Offers to Cover His Body in Advertisements, Rides Japan’s Busiest Train All Day -- Finally, an Udon Museum Where You Can Taste the Difference -- Sakhalin as Seen From a Japanese Tourist in 42 Points

© RocketNews24


  • Sort by
  • Oldest
  • Latest
  • Popular

12 Comments
Login to comment

crazy!!but trains are part of the daily life here.

0

No Chorley?

-1

Japan makes nice cars but look like moving people in trains is more economical and makes journey faster. Train don't get speeding ticket and can go very fast , not like a car which is limited to allowable speed limit. May be also is cheaper to ride train and possibly that is why people choose to live their cars at home.

-1

Mods,

39 should be Kanayama, not Kaneyama.

Moderator: Thanks for pointing that out.

2

I'm surprised India and China weren't on this list.

1

I use Umeda Station (#4 on the list) every single working day of my life, and it never gets less traumatic.

-2

Remember one of those typical video game levels where you constantly walk through one door only to find yourself in the same room until you throw your controller at your little brother? It’s kind of like that.

Hahaha! Brilliant. I don't envy people having to go through that every morning.

1

My first time in Umeda station was my first day in Osaka in 1986. I checked into a small hotel near the station and then went wandering in the underground. I neglected to get a meishi from the hotel and it took hours to find my way back. About a week later I spend an afternoon going all over the underground and at various points went up to street level to see where I was. I also wandered around at street level. When I was finished I had a good understanding of the underground and all the associated stations (3 trains and 3 subways) and never had any trouble with it since.

0

Umeda can be insane, especially during the holidays. Glad they are making it more spacious now though. The (re)new (ed) Hankyuu and JR stations are very nice.

0

Wonder how much truth there is to this list. We all know that Japanese like to be special and this being a list in a Japanese publication, I kinda doubt its autheticity. But fair enough...

I used to like riding trains in Japan and even thought it was interesting to watch how everybody manages to navigate all the train lines. Not so much anymore. Sure, compared to most other countries it works, but the crowds... People everywhere. The worst time of all is during holidays when Japanese en masse need to do everything together. I know a few companies use flex time but more should. It had also been proposed "Golden Week" and other big holidays be held different times for different prefectures which I think would be great.

All in all transportation works pretty well in Japan and you can usually ride trains without getting maimed. It's really amazing so many people can be in one place without getting on each other's nerves (most of the time).

-2

Ha! NYC's Penn Station isn't even in the top 50. Tell you what though- I'll go through Shinjuku or Shibuya any day over Penn Station....

0

Ahhhh, Ikebukuro. Love that station.

0

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration