Nakano Station
T01 · Tozai Line · Nakano
Nakano Station (中野)
JR East and Tokyo Metro run Nakano as one place rather than two. The Tozai Line reached T01 on 16 March 1966, seventy-seven years after the Chuo Main Line station opened on 11 April 1889, and the result is four island platforms and eight tracks with no ticket barriers between the companies — you walk from a subway train to a Chuo Line train without touching a gate.
Nakano is the western end of the Tozai Line on paper only. Trains continue beyond it onto JR East’s Chuo-Sobu Local tracks, which is the reason the two railways are so tightly joined here, and services in the other direction go on past the subway to Toyo Rapid metals in Chiba. The traffic is heavy in both senses: Tokyo Metro counted 147,113 entries and exits a day in the 2025 survey, and in the transport ministry’s 2015 figures the stretch from Nakano toward Shinjuku was among the most crowded in the country.
Finding Nakano 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 Nakano
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 Nakano
| Line and direction | Weekdays first – last | Saturdays, Sundays & holidays first – last |
|---|---|---|
| TTozaiT01 towards Nishi-funabashi | 05:00 – 23:52 to Myoden | 05:00 – 23:52 to Myoden |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| TTozai | 23 trains/hour (about one every 2.6 min) | 14 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTozai | See note | Yes | Yes | 2 |
- Tozai Line: No elevator-only 1-route on this line; level differences overcome by slope/stair lift/wheelchair escalator (Tokyo Metro states the 1-route is complete at all 180 stations). 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 Nakano Station?
The station divides into two characters. On one side are Nakano Sun Plaza, about 210 m away, the arcade leading to Nakano Broadway roughly 370 m out — the building known for Mandarake, used records and collectors’ shops — the Marui store about 120 m and the ward office; on the other, Nakano Zero for concerts and exhibitions and the public library. Several small theaters, including The Pocket and Gekijo MOMO, stand 350–370 m from the exits, and Ajisai Park about 260 m.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Ajisai Park 区立 あじさい公園 | 260 m | about 4 min |
| The Pocket ザ・ポケット | 350 m | about 6 min |
| Gekijo MOMO 劇場MOMO | 370 m | about 6 min |
| マルイ中野店 | 120 m | about 2 min |
| 丘の上のひろば | 170 m | about 3 min |
| 中野駅北口商店街 | 210 m | about 3 min |
| nakano f | 300 m | about 5 min |
| テアトルBONBON | 360 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
No. There are no turnstiles between the lines inside Nakano, so the change between a Tozai Line train and a Chuo Line one is made on foot across the platforms. The gates you pass are the station’s outer ones, when you arrive or leave.
Onward, mostly. Tozai Line services run through from here onto JR East’s Chuo-Sobu Local tracks, so a subway train carries on as a suburban one; at the other end of the line they continue onto Toyo Rapid tracks in Chiba.