Yamanote Line (inner loop)

One full counter-clockwise circuit of Tokyo's green loop line, calling at all 30 stations from Tokyo through Ueno, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Shinagawa.

The route

The Yamanote Line is the 34.5 km loop that rings central Tokyo, run by JR East with 30 stations. Its oldest part opened in 1885 between Shinagawa and Akabane, a private line built to link the Tōkaidō railway in the south with lines heading north without passing through the crowded city centre. The circle only closed in 1925, when an elevated, double-track electric section between Kanda and Ueno was finished.

Officially the Yamanote Line is just the 20.6 km western arc from Shinagawa to Tabata via Shinjuku. The rest of the circle borrows the Tōhoku and Tōkaidō Main Lines, which is why the eastern side runs so close to other railways: the Keihin-Tōhoku Line keeps it company on parallel tracks, and the Shinkansen runs alongside between Tokyo and Ueno. The Yamanote Line only got tracks of its own on this side in 1956.

Today trains come every few minutes and as often as every two minutes at peak, all eleven-car E235 series sets in the line's light green. A full loop takes between 59 and 65 minutes. JR East has been testing automatic train operation here since 2022, with driverless running planned for later in the decade. The newest station, Takanawa Gateway, opened in 2020 on former rail yard land.

What you will see

The inner loop runs counter-clockwise, so from Tokyo the train heads north on elevated track, with the Keihin-Tōhoku Line beside it and the Shinkansen viaducts close by. Akihabara, the electronics and anime district, passes on the left, and at Ueno the busy terminus sits below the wooded park. Beyond Ueno the line runs along the foot of a low ridge to Nippori, then, between Nippori and Nishi-Nippori, covers the shortest gap on the loop, about 500 m.

From Tabata the train is on the Yamanote Line proper, turning west and then south through quieter residential districts in cuttings and on embankments. Ikebukuro and Shinjuku are huge interchanges where the platforms seem to go on for ever; look for the Saikyō and Shōnan-Shinjuku trains on the separate pair of tracks alongside. South of Shinjuku, Harajuku sits beside the woods of Meiji Jingū before the line drops into Shibuya.

The last stretch runs through Ebisu, Meguro and Gotanda to Ōsaki and Shinagawa, where the line meets the Tōkaidō corridor again. Takanawa Gateway follows, then the train turns north past Tamachi, Hamamatsuchō and Shimbashi, with the office towers of central Tokyo crowding in, and arrives back at Tokyo Station almost exactly where it began.

Riding it for real

The Yamanote Line is the easiest railway in Tokyo to ride. No reservations are needed: tap in with an IC card such as Suica or buy a ticket, and take the next train, which is seldom more than a few minutes away. The Japan Rail Pass and JR East's Tokyo-area passes are valid. Inner-loop and outer-loop trains use separate tracks, so check the direction signs before boarding.

Riding the whole loop is a cheap way to see the city's districts in about an hour, though the line is extremely crowded in the morning and evening rush, so mid-morning or early afternoon is more comfortable. Check JR East for current timetables and fares.

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