Iwamotocho Station
S08 · Shinjuku Line · Chiyoda
Iwamotocho Station (岩本町)
Iwamotocho opened on 21 December 1978 as the Tokyo end of the first stretch of the Shinjuku Line, running east to Higashi-ojima; it became an intermediate station on 16 March 1980, when the line reached Shinjuku and through services with Keio began. The layout still shows its origins: two island platforms with three tracks between them, the outer pair for running and a shared middle track for trains being overtaken. Four tracks were planned and the number was cut to save money.
The middle track still earns its keep. Local trains wait there while expresses pass without stopping, and the last train in from Shinjuku terminates here and stables overnight on it, becoming the first service back the next morning. S08 also has a second name: since 16 July 2021 it has carried the subtitle Akihabara, which is the point – Akihabara is a couple of hundred metres away across the Kanda river. Toei counted 52,330 entries and exits a day in 2024.
Finding Iwamotocho 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 Iwamotocho
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 Iwamotocho
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| SShinjukuS08 towards Motoyawata | 05:13 – 00:13 to Ojima | 05:13 – 00:13 to Ojima |
| SShinjukuS08 towards Shinjuku | 05:00 – 00:15 | 05:00 – 00:15 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SShinjuku | 16 trains/hour (about one every 3.8 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 Iwamotocho
Scheduled running time between Iwamotocho and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| SShinjuku | S09Bakuro-yokoyama | 1 min |
| SShinjuku | S07Ogawamachi | 1 min |
Transfers and connections
- Walking transfer: Akihabara (Hibiya Line), an official transfer between two separately named stations, about 4 minutes on foot — our estimate from the distance, not an operator figure.
- JR: Chuo-Sobu Local Line (JR East), Keihin-Tohoku-Negishi Line (JR East), Yamanote Line (JR East). These are separate railways with their own fares.
- Other railways: Tsukuba Express Line (Metropolitan Intercity Railway). These are separate railways with their own fares.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SShinjuku | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
- Shinjuku Line: Toei: step-free “1-route” secured; 3 elevator(s) on this line. Elevator exit(s): A6. 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 Iwamotocho Station?
Akihabara’s electronics quarter begins just beyond the river, with Yodobashi Multimedia Akiba about 360 m from an exit and Akihabara Radio Kaikan roughly 390 m. Closer in, the area is wholesale textiles and offices: Yamazaki Baking’s head office, the Higashi-Kanda fabric district, and the Chiyoda ward branch office around 190 m away. Yanagimori Jinja Shrine stands about 200 m from the gates, and the site of the Genbukan, the swordsmanship school founded by Chiba Shusaku, is marked roughly 80 m off.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Yanagimori Jinja Shrine 柳森神社 | 200 m | about 3 min |
| Yodobashi Multimedia Akiba ヨドバシカメラ マルチメディアAkiba | 360 m | about 6 min |
| Akihabara Radio Kaikan 秋葉原ラジオ会館 | 390 m | about 6 min |
| EBIHARA 海老原商店 | 110 m | about 2 min |
| Yamatobashi Square 大和橋広場 | 280 m | about 5 min |
| Atre Akihabara 1 アトレ秋葉原1 | 400 m | about 6 min |
| 秋葉原公園 | 250 m | about 4 min |
| San Francisco Fillmore Wolfgang's Vault Art Museum | 280 m | about 5 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.