History
Ichigaya Station (JB 15 / Y 14 / N 09 / S 04) is a major interchange in central Tokyo straddling Chiyoda and Shinjuku wards, served by JR East's Chūō-Sōbu Line, Tokyo Metro's Yūrakuchō and Namboku Lines, and the Toei Shinjuku Line. JR East and Tokyo Metro use the spelling '市ケ谷' (large カ), while Toei uses '市ヶ谷' (small ヶ). The JR side opened on 6 March 1895 as a Kōbu Railway station; it was nationalised on 1 October 1906, and renamed Chūō East Line in 1909 (Chūō Main Line in 1911). The Eidan Yūrakuchō Line opened here on 30 October 1974, the Toei Shinjuku Line on 16 March 1980, and the Eidan Namboku Line on 26 March 1996. It is the only station in Japan with direct interchange ticket gates between three different railway operators — JR, Tokyo Metro and Toei.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-25.
Notes
Ichigaya is the only station in Japan with direct transfer ticket gates between three different railway operators — JR East, Tokyo Metro and Toei — connecting through coordinated automated fare adjustment machines pioneered here. The Namboku Line concourse holds an 'Edo History Walking Corner' exhibit with stones from the Edo Castle outer moat unearthed during construction.