Kuramae Station
A17 E11 · Asakusa Line and Oedo Line · Taito
Kuramae Station (蔵前)
Kuramae is two Toei stations wearing one name. The Asakusa Line platforms, A17, opened on 4 December 1960, when the line was still called Toei Line 1; the Oedo Line platforms, E11, followed on 12 December 2000, built far enough away that no passage joins them. Changing between the two lines means going up to the street and walking, which is why the platform numbers never ran on from one line to the other: both lines use platforms 1 and 2.
The exits have their own history. A3 was shut in February 2014 because the aging Kuramae Kaikan building above it was shedding masonry, and reopened on 29 August 2020 after the site was rebuilt as a hotel; A0, with its own ticket gate, opened in March 2014. Asakusa Line trains run through onto Keisei, Keikyu, Hokuso and Shibayama tracks, which is why this modest Taito station turns up in airport access itineraries.
Finding Kuramae on the signs
Every line gives the station its own letter-and-number code. You never have to read the Japanese name to find the right platform.
Station numbers at Kuramae
Tokyo signposts every platform, exit and train door with a letter and a two-digit number. Matching the number is faster than reading the name — and it is what you will see on the map, in announcements and on the platform edge.
First and last trains at Kuramae
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| AAsakusaA17 towards Oshiage (Skytree) | 05:01 – 00:21 | 05:01 – 00:21 |
| AAsakusaA17 towards Nishi-magome | 05:05 – 00:28 to Asakusabashi | 05:05 – 00:28 to Asakusabashi |
| EOedoE11 towards Tochomae | 05:04 – 00:48 to Kiyosumi-shirakawa | 05:04 – 00:48 to Kiyosumi-shirakawa |
| EOedoE11 towards Tochomae | 05:10 – 00:11 to Shin-okachimachi | 05:10 – 00:11 to Shin-okachimachi |
Departure times come from the operators’ own GTFS timetables (ODPT GTFS Toei-Train-GTFS (version 20261009, valid 2026-03-14..2027-03-12) + TokyoMetro-Train-GTFS (version 20261008, valid 2026-09-19..2027-03-12)). Japan publishes two subway timetables: 平日 weekdays and 土休日 Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays. There is no separate Sunday timetable, and the December 30 – January 3 period runs the holiday timetable.
How often do trains run?
Departures in one direction during the hour with the most trains at this station, counted in the operators’ timetable.
Next stations from Kuramae
Scheduled running time between Kuramae and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| AAsakusa | A18Asakusa | 1 min |
| AAsakusa | A16Asakusabashi | 1 min |
| EOedo | E12Ryogoku | 2 min |
| EOedo | E10Shin-okachimachi | 1 min |
Transfers and connections
- Subway: transfer between Asakusa Line and Oedo Line.
Accessibility
- Asakusa Line: Toei: step-free “1-route” secured; 2 elevator(s) on this line. Elevator exit(s): A0, A1, A5. Operator page (checked Oct 20, 2026).
Taken from the operators’ own accessibility pages and nothing else. Toei: every station has elevators and a street-gate-platform “1-route” is secured.
What is near Kuramae Station?
The name comes from the shogunate’s rice warehouses, and the quarter is still low-rise Taito: Kuramae Shrine about 50 m from the exits, Kayadera roughly 120 m, and half a dozen smaller temples within 400 m. Kuramae Park is around 170 m away and the Sumida River terrace about 240 m. The site of the old Kuramae sumo hall, which the station served until the hall closed, now holds the Kuramae Water Treatment Center, and Torigoe Shrine is the other landmark people come out here for.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Kuramae Shrine 蔵前神社 | 50 m | about 1 min |
| Kayadera 榧寺 | 120 m | about 2 min |
| 法林寺 | 240 m | about 4 min |
| 長応院 | 260 m | about 4 min |
| 松平西福寺 | 270 m | about 4 min |
| 真行院 | 290 m | about 5 min |
| 龍寳寺 | 320 m | about 5 min |
| 厳念寺 | 370 m | about 6 min |
Places from OpenStreetMap within 400 m of the station. The walking time is an estimate (straight line plus 30 %, 80 m a minute), not a measured route. © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Frequently asked questions
No. There is no underground passage between the Asakusa Line and Oedo Line platforms, so the change is made at ground level, out of one station and into the other. Allow more time than a normal same-station transfer, especially in bad weather.
From Asakusa Kuramae, the district name when the station opened in 1960. That in turn came from the Edo period, when the shogunate’s rice warehouses, the Asakusa Okura, stood on this stretch of the Sumida River.