Akihabara Station

Electric Town Exit of Akihabara Station

Akihabara Station (秋葉原駅, akihabara-eki?) is located in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. It is at the center of the famous Akihabara shopping district specializing in electronic goods.

JR Akihabara Station Showa Dori Entrance

History

Akihabara Station was opened in November 1890 as a freight terminal linked to Ueno Station station via tracks following the course of the modern day Yamanote Line.

It was opened to passenger traffic in 1925 following the construction of the section of track linking Ueno with Shinbashi via Tokyo station and the completion of the Yamanote Line. The upper level platforms were added in 1932 with the opening of an extension to the Sōbu Line from its old terminal at Ryōgoku to Ochanomizu, making Akihabara into an important transfer station for passengers from the east of Tokyo and Chiba.

 Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line Entrance

The huge growth in commuter traffic following the Second World War caused considerable congestion and was only relieved with the construction of the Sōbu line tunnel linking Kinshichō with Tokyo, bypassing Akihabara.

The Hibiya Line subway station was opened on May 31, 1962 with the line's extension from Naka-Okachimachi to Ningyōchō.

On August 24, 2005, the underground terminus of the new Tsukuba Express Line opened at Akihabara. The entire station complex, including the JR station, was also refurbished and enlarged in preparation for the opening of the Tsukuba Express.

Lines

JR East:

²  Keihin-Tōhoku Line

²  Yamanote Line

²  Chūō-Sōbu Line

Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line Entrance #3(Dec, 2006)Tokyo Metro:

²  Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line

Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company:

²  Tsukuba Express

The above-ground section of the station is cross-shaped, with the Chūō-Sōbu Line tracks running from east to west, and the Yamanote and Keihin-Tōhoku Line (and Tōhoku Shinkansen, which does not stop at Akihabara) from north to south.

Posted in: JAPAN