Ueno-hirokoji Station
G15 · Ginza Line · Taito
Ueno-hirokoji Station (上野広小路)
G15 opened on 1 January 1930, and it owes its existence to a department store. The Tokyo Underground Railway had not planned a stop barely half a kilometre from Ueno; when Matsuzakaya learned that Mitsukoshi was paying the full cost of a station outside its own Nihonbashi shop, it asked for one here too. Coming late to the table, it got poorer terms than Mitsukoshi: it could not have Matsuzakaya-mae as the station name, but it did secure a ban on other department stores advertising inside the station and a promise that no future express service would pass Ueno-hirokoji without stopping. Announcements still add Matsuzakaya-mae as a secondary name.
The station has two side platforms a single floor down. Each had its own ticket hall and, for most of its life, no link between them behind the barrier, so a passenger who entered on the wrong side had to come back out; a rebuilt passage on 3 September 2016 ended that. Improvement work between 1996 and 2001 cut the connections to the Oedo Line. In 2025 Ueno-hirokoji was used by 26,319 people on an average day, the fewest of any Ginza Line station with an interchange.
Finding Ueno-hirokoji 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 Ueno-hirokoji
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 Ueno-hirokoji
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GGinza | 27 trains/hour (about one every 2.2 min) | 20 trains/hour |
Departures in one direction during the hour with the most trains at this station, counted in the operators’ timetable.
Next stations from Ueno-hirokoji
Scheduled running time between Ueno-hirokoji and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| GGinza | G14Suehirocho | 2 min |
| GGinza | G16Ueno | 2 min |
Transfers and connections
- Walking transfer: Naka-okachimachi (Hibiya Line), an official transfer between two separately named stations, about 5 minutes on foot — our estimate from the distance, not an operator figure.
- Walking transfer: Ueno-okachimachi (Oedo Line), an official transfer between two separately named stations, about 2 minutes on foot — our estimate from the distance, not an operator figure.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GGinza | Yes | Yes | Yes | 11 |
- Ginza Line: Step-free elevator route street-gate-platform (official “1-route by elevator”). Street elevator at exit(s): 5, A1, A6. 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 Ueno-hirokoji Station?
The station comes up inside the shopping of Ueno-hirokoji. Matsuzakaya is about 40 m from the exits and PARCO_ya about 100 m, with Takeya rebuilding about 330 m away. The Suzumoto Entertainment Hall, one of Tokyo’s rakugo theatres, is about 160 m off, the Oedo Ueno-hirokoji Tei about 30 m and the Rakugo Kyokai about 250 m. Ameya-Yokocho begins about 290 m away, the Shitamachi Museum is about 270 m and Tokudai-ji about 160 m, up its stairs above the street.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Suzumoto Entertainment Hall 鈴本演芸場 | 160 m | about 3 min |
| Tokudai-ji 徳大寺 | 160 m | about 3 min |
| Shitamachi Museum したまちミュージアム | 270 m | about 4 min |
| Ameya-Yokocho アメヤ横丁 | 290 m | about 5 min |
| 箭弓稲荷神社 | 270 m | about 4 min |
| Oedo Ueno-hirokoji Tei お江戸上野広小路亭 | 30 m | about 1 min |
| Matsuzakaya 松坂屋 | 40 m | about 1 min |
| Taito Station タイトーステーション | 150 m | about 3 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
Because it paid to be heard. Mitsukoshi had funded a station outside its Nihonbashi store, and Matsuzakaya asked the Tokyo Underground Railway for the same treatment after construction had already begun. Its weaker bargaining position meant it could not put its name on the station, but it won a bar on rival stores advertising inside and a guarantee that express trains, if any ever ran, would always stop.
Passages outside the ticket gates connect Ueno-hirokoji with Ueno-okachimachi on the Oedo Line, Naka-okachimachi on the Hibiya Line and Okachimachi on the JR lines. A longer passage opened on 16 March 2009 runs under Chuo-dori as far as Ueno and Keisei Ueno, and closes late at night and early in the morning. Naka-okachimachi is far enough that the Hibiya Line change is not even announced here.