Nishi-sugamo Station
I16 · Mita Line · Toshima
Nishi-sugamo Station (西巣鴨)
Nishi-sugamo was dug deeper than it needed to be. The crossing above it, where Route 17 meets Meiji-dori, was to be rebuilt with a flyover, so the station box was placed low enough to clear the foundations of a bridge that has yet to appear. I16 opened on 27 December 1968 with Toei Line 6, renamed the Mita Line in 1978, and has an island platform with two tracks.
Part of it is sealed. A second ticket gate once stood at the Sugamo end, with its own stairs and escalator to the platform; the gate has gone, the structure remains behind shutters as an emergency exit, and the western half of the first basement level is given over to a utility duct rather than to passengers. The segment from Nishi-sugamo toward Sugamo appeared in the transport ministry’s 2015 figures among the most crowded in Tokyo, and trains here run through onto Tokyu and Sotetsu tracks far beyond the subway.
Finding Nishi-sugamo 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-sugamo
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-sugamo
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| IMitaI16 towards Nishi-takashimadaira | 05:26 – 00:27 to Takashimadaira | 05:26 – 00:27 to Takashimadaira |
| IMitaI16 towards Meguro | 05:01 to Shirokane-takanawa – 00:06 to Shirokane-takanawa | 05:01 to Shirokane-takanawa – 00:06 to Shirokane-takanawa |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| IMita | 18 trains/hour (about one every 3.3 min) | 11 trains/hour |
Departures in one direction during the hour with the most trains at this station, counted in the operators’ timetable.
Next stations from Nishi-sugamo
Scheduled running time between Nishi-sugamo and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| IMita | I17Shin-itabashi | 1 min |
| IMita | I15Sugamo | 2 min |
Transfers and connections
- Tram: Tokyo Sakura Tram (Arakawa Line) (Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation). These are separate railways with their own fares.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMita | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4 |
- Mita Line: Toei: step-free “1-route” secured; 2 elevator(s) on this line. Elevator exit(s): A4. 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 Nishi-sugamo Station?
Taisho University stands about 150 m from the exits and supplies much of the daily traffic, with Takinogawa Daini elementary school roughly 240 m away and a run of temples — five of them between 140 m and 230 m — filling the blocks behind. Senkawa Josui Park is some 300 m from the station and four small playgrounds lie within 380 m. Maps also mark the station as an interchange with the Tokyo Sakura Tram at Shin-koshinzuka.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| 西方寺 | 140 m | about 2 min |
| 盛雲寺 | 190 m | about 3 min |
| 清巌寺 | 210 m | about 3 min |
| 妙行寺 | 220 m | about 4 min |
| 善養寺 | 230 m | about 4 min |
| Taisho University 大正大学 | 150 m | about 2 min |
| Senkawa Josui Park 千川上水公園 | 300 m | about 5 min |
| 西巣鴨4丁目児童遊園 | 120 m | about 2 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
Yes, on foot. Maps show Nishi-sugamo as an interchange with Shin-koshinzuka on the Tokyo Sakura Tram, Toei’s streetcar line. The two are separate stops at street level rather than one station, and the tram charges its own flat fare on boarding.
Because of a bridge. The Nishi-sugamo crossing above the station was planned to be grade-separated, with Route 17 carried over Meiji-dori, and the station was built low enough not to foul the foundations of that structure.