Motoyawata Station
S21 · Shinjuku Line · Ichikawa, Chiba
Motoyawata Station (本八幡)
Every other Toei Subway station is in Tokyo; this one is not. S21 is the terminus of the 23.5 km Shinjuku Line and stands in the city of Ichikawa in Chiba prefecture, where the line reached on 19 March 1989. Railways got here long before that: the Sobu Main Line station above opened on 1 September 1935 and is now JR East’s Moto-Yawata on the Chuo-Sobu Local Line.
Three stations with three names now sit end to end. The JR platforms are elevated and the subway’s island platform is underground, their concourses joined by a passage outside the ticket gates; at the other end of the subway station the passage reaches Keisei-Yawata on the Keisei Main Line. Nothing is formally one station, which is why the maps show three names in one place. Shinjuku Line trains from this terminus run through onto Keio tracks at the far end of the line, so a single train can cross Tokyo from Chiba into the western suburbs.
Finding Motoyawata 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 Motoyawata
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 Motoyawata
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| SShinjukuS21 towards Shinjuku | 05:00 – 00:09 to Ojima | 05:00 – 00:09 to Ojima |
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 | 15 trains/hour (about one every 4 min) | 12 trains/hour |
Departures in one direction during the hour with the most trains at this station, counted in the operators’ timetable.
Transfers and connections
- JR: Chuo-Sobu Local Line (JR East). These are separate railways with their own fares.
- Private railways: Keisei Main Line (Keisei Electric Railway). These are separate railways with their own fares.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SShinjuku | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
- Shinjuku Line: Toei: step-free “1-route” secured; 1 elevator(s) on this line. Elevator exit(s): A4a, 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 Motoyawata Station?
Motoyawata is the civic center of Ichikawa: the city hall is the main institution the station serves, with the Patio Moto-Yawata shopping complex about 180 m from the exits and Zennikkei Hall roughly 390 m. Tall apartment towers stand within 100 m of the gates, a hospital about 230 m away, and a primary school and a girls’ high school some 340 m. The JR station entrance is roughly 200 m from the subway’s.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Zennikkei Hall 市川市八幡市民会館 | 390 m | about 6 min |
| パティオ本八幡 | 180 m | about 3 min |
| 日本アートギャラリー | 380 m | about 6 min |
| Moto-Yawata Station 本八幡駅 | 200 m | about 3 min |
| ガレリア・サーラ | 50 m | about 1 min |
| グランドターミナルタワー本八幡 グランドターミナルタワー本八幡 住宅棟 | 90 m | about 1 min |
| 私立不二女子高等学校 | 340 m | about 5 min |
| 市川市立八幡小学校 | 340 m | about 6 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. It is the only Toei Subway station in Chiba prefecture, standing in the city of Ichikawa, and the Shinjuku Line ends here. The Toei fare system still applies, so the prefectural boundary makes no difference to the ticket.
Keisei’s station carries a different name — Keisei-Yawata — and sits at the opposite end of the subway station from JR East’s Moto-Yawata. Both connections are made outside the ticket gates, through the passage that links the three concourses.