Nishi-nippori Station
C16 · Chiyoda Line · Arakawa
Nishi-nippori Station (西日暮里)
The subway was here first. C16 opened on 20 December 1969 with the first stretch of the Chiyoda Line, and the Japanese National Railways station followed on 20 April 1971, putting Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku platforms alongside; the Nippori-Toneri Liner, Toei’s automated elevated line, added its own station on 30 March 2008. Three operators now share the name.
The subway half has the split layout used along this part of the line: two side platforms on separate levels, platform 1 above platform 2, so the direction is chosen at the gates rather than on arrival. The others are conventional — two island platforms at ground level for JR East, one island platform up on the viaduct for the Liner. Tokyo Metro counted 157,202 entries and exits a day in its 2025 survey, which makes this one of the heavier stations on its network, and Chiyoda Line trains carry on past the subway onto JR East and Odakyu tracks.
Finding Nishi-nippori 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 Nishi-nippori
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 Nishi-nippori
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| CChiyodaC16 towards Ayase | 05:06 – 00:30 | 05:06 – 00:26 |
| CChiyodaC16 towards Yoyogi-uehara | 05:09 – 00:15 | 05:09 – 00:14 to Kasumigaseki |
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?
| Line | Weekdays, busiest hour | Sat / Sun / holidays, busiest hour |
|---|---|---|
| CChiyoda | 25 trains/hour (about one every 2.4 min) | 12 trains/hour |
Departures in one direction during the hour with the most trains at this station, counted in the operators’ timetable.
Transfers and connections
- JR: Keihin-Tohoku-Negishi Line (JR East), Yamanote Line (JR East). These are separate railways with their own fares.
- Automated guideway / monorail: Nippori-Toneri Liner (Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation). These are separate railways with their own fares.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CChiyoda | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
- Chiyoda Line: Step-free elevator route street-gate-platform (official “1-route by elevator”). Street elevator at exit(s): 2. Operator page (checked Oct 20, 2026).
Taken from the operators’ own accessibility pages and nothing else. Tokyo Metro: the “1-route” (step-free street-gate-platform path by elevator, slope, stair lift or wheelchair escalator) is complete at all 180 stations; a separate list shows stations with an elevator-only 1-route.
What is near Nishi-nippori Station?
Nishi-nippori sits on the edge of the Yanaka temple district, and the list of what is close is mostly religious: Shoun-ji about 160 m from the exits, Suwa shrine roughly 200 m, Jokoji around 230 m, Shushoin some 270 m and several more within 400 m, with Kohryoh Inari shrine about 260 m. Nishi-Nippori Park lies roughly 100 m away and Tabatadai Park about 370 m. Kaisei junior and senior high school is the other institution the station serves. Sendagi and Machiya are the neighboring subway stations.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Shoun-ji Temple 青雲寺 | 160 m | about 3 min |
| Jokoji 浄光寺 | 230 m | about 4 min |
| Shushoin Temple 修性院 (花見寺) | 270 m | about 4 min |
| Yofukuji 養福寺 | 340 m | about 6 min |
| 諏訪神社 | 200 m | about 3 min |
| 正覚寺 | 250 m | about 4 min |
| 法光寺 | 330 m | about 5 min |
| 南泉寺 | 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
The subway, by sixteen months. The Chiyoda Line platforms opened on 20 December 1969 and the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku platforms on 20 April 1971 — the reverse of the usual order in Tokyo, where the subway normally arrives at an existing railway station.
No. It is an automated elevated line, run by Toei, which opened its Nishi-nippori station on 30 March 2008. It shares the name and the interchange but not the network, so it has its own fares and its own platform above street level.