Sugamo Station
I15 · Mita Line · Toshima
Sugamo Station (巣鴨)
For three and a half years Sugamo was the southern end of Toei’s Line 6. The line opened on 27 December 1968 running from here out to Shimura — the station now called Takashimadaira — and only on 30 June 1972 was the southern half, to Hibiya, added; the Mita Line name followed in 1978. The subway island platform at I15 sits beneath a station JR East has served since 1 April 1903, and the atré vie building above it opened in March 2010.
The name is old and its origin uncertain. The area was once marshy, and the usual explanations involve ducks nesting around its ponds or sandbanks standing among the reeds; old documents write it with several different sets of characters. Sugamo is also the base of the Toei district office that manages the stretch from Hakusan to Hon-Hasunuma. Toei counted 88,108 passengers a day in 2024.
Finding 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 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 Sugamo
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| IMitaI15 towards Nishi-takashimadaira | 05:24 – 00:25 to Takashimadaira | 05:24 – 00:25 to Takashimadaira |
| IMitaI15 towards Meguro | 05:05 to Shirokane-takanawa – 00:08 to Shirokane-takanawa | 05:05 to Shirokane-takanawa – 00:08 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 Sugamo
Scheduled running time between Sugamo and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| IMita | I16Nishi-sugamo | 2 min |
| IMita | I14Sengoku | 1 min |
Transfers and connections
- JR: Yamanote Line (JR East). These are separate railways with their own fares.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMita | Yes | Yes | Yes | — |
- Mita Line: Toei: step-free “1-route” secured; 2 elevator(s) on this line. 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 Sugamo Station?
Jizo-dori, the long shopping street that earned Sugamo its nickname of “Harajuku for Grannies”, runs north from the station, with Kogan-ji — the temple of the Togenuki Jizo — about 320 m away and Shinshoji about 160 m. The atré vie building sits on top of the JR station about 110 m from the subway exits. Three vocational colleges stand within about 250 m, along with an elementary school and the Mitsubishi Yowa sports ground, so the street mixes pilgrims with students.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Shinshoji Temple 真性寺 | 160 m | about 3 min |
| Kogan-ji Temple とげぬき地蔵尊 高岩寺 | 320 m | about 5 min |
| Live House Shishio LIVE HOUSE 獅子王 | 70 m | about 1 min |
| atré vie | 110 m | about 2 min |
| 江戸橋公園 | 250 m | about 4 min |
| 巣鴨一丁目 児童遊園 | 370 m | about 6 min |
| Tully's Coffee タリーズコーヒー | 100 m | about 2 min |
| SoftBank Shop ソフトバンクショップ | 170 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
Nobody is certain. The area was once marshland, and the usual explanations are that ducks nested around its ponds or that sandbanks stood among the reeds. Old documents write the name with several different sets of characters before the present pair settled into use.
It was the end of the line. When Toei’s Line 6 opened on 27 December 1968 it ran from Sugamo out to Shimura, the station now called Takashimadaira; the section onwards to Hibiya did not open until 30 June 1972, and the line was renamed the Mita Line in 1978.