Yotsuya Station
M12 N08 · Marunouchi Line and Namboku Line · Shinjuku
Yotsuya Station (四ツ谷)
Yotsuya is one of the few places where a subway platform is in the open air and the main-line platforms are below it. The Marunouchi Line station, M12, opened on 15 March 1959 and is elevated, with two side platforms crossing the old moat cutting in which the JR tracks sit; the Namboku Line, N08, arrived on 26 March 1996 and is properly underground, with one island platform. The JR station is older than both, opened on 9 September 1894 on the Kobu Railway.
For eighteen months N08 was the southern end of the Namboku Line, until the opening of Tameike-sanno in 1997; it lies 7.8 km from the line’s other end at Meguro, while the Marunouchi platforms are 13.7 km from Ikebukuro. The direction signs reward a second look. All four lines run north to south through the station, but the Chuo and Chuo-Sobu lines and the Marunouchi Line are both east–west railways, and they point opposite ways: northbound Chuo trains are for Tokyo and southbound for Shinjuku, while northbound Marunouchi trains are for Shinjuku and southbound for Tokyo. In 2025 the Tokyo Metro station was used by 122,461 people on an average day.
Finding Yotsuya 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 Yotsuya
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 Yotsuya
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| MMarunouchiM12 towards Ikebukuro | 05:07 – 00:01 | 05:07 – 00:01 |
| MMarunouchiM12 towards Ogikubo | 05:28 – 00:23 to Shinjuku | 05:28 – 00:23 to Shinjuku |
| NNambokuN08 towards Akabane-iwabuchi | 05:17 – 00:14 | 05:17 – 00:14 to Komagome |
| NNambokuN08 towards Meguro | 05:13 to Shirokane-takanawa – 00:23 | 05:13 to Shirokane-takanawa – 00:23 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MMarunouchi | 27 trains/hour (about one every 2.2 min) | 15 trains/hour |
| NNamboku | 17 trains/hour (about one every 3.5 min) | 12 trains/hour |
Departures in one direction during the hour with the most trains at this station, counted in the operators’ timetable.
Next stations from Yotsuya
Scheduled running time between Yotsuya and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| MMarunouchi | M13Akasaka-mitsuke | 3 min |
| MMarunouchi | M11Yotsuya-sanchome | 2 min |
| NNamboku | N09Ichigaya | 2 min |
| NNamboku | N07Nagatacho | 3 min |
Transfers and connections
- Subway: transfer between Marunouchi Line and Namboku Line.
- JR: Chuo Rapid Line (JR East), Chuo-Sobu Local Line (JR East). These are separate railways with their own fares.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMarunouchi | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
| NNamboku | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
- Marunouchi Line: Step-free elevator route street-gate-platform (official “1-route by elevator”). 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 Yotsuya Station?
Sophia University occupies most of the ground on one side, its faculties about 250 m from the exits, and the Kojimachi St Ignatius Church stands about 130 m away. Atre Yotsuya is attached to the station, about 120 m from the Marunouchi Line gates, and Yotsuya Mitsuke Park and Wakaba Higashi Park follow the line of the moat at about 260 m and 230 m. Shimpo-ji is about 310 m off. The Akasaka Palace, Kioi Hall and the Hotel New Otani are all within walking distance.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Kojimachi St. Ignatius Church 麹町聖イグナチオ教会 | 130 m | about 2 min |
| Sophia University 上智大学 | 260 m | about 4 min |
| Shimpo-ji Temple 心法寺 | 310 m | about 5 min |
| Atré Yotsuya アトレ四谷 | 120 m | about 2 min |
| Wakaba Higashi Park 若葉東公園 | 230 m | about 4 min |
| Yotsuya Mitsuke Park 四谷見附公園 | 260 m | about 4 min |
| 上智大学（国際教養学部） | 250 m | about 4 min |
| 上智大学（外国語学部） | 250 m | about 4 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 the line crosses the old castle moat here. The cutting that carries the JR tracks is deep enough that the subway, climbing out of its tunnel to cross it, ends up on a viaduct above them. The Namboku Line, built thirty-seven years later and on a different alignment, stayed underground.
All four lines at Yotsuya run north to south, but two of them are east–west routes passing through. Northbound Chuo Line trains head for Tokyo and southbound ones for Shinjuku; on the Marunouchi Line it is the other way round, northbound for Shinjuku and southbound for Tokyo. Read the destination rather than the compass.