Takebashi Station
T08 · Tozai Line · Chiyoda
Takebashi Station (竹橋)
T08 opened on 16 March 1966 as the Tozai Line crept east from Kudanshita. The station had no reversing track of its own, so trains worked back over the crossover at Kudanshita until the line was carried on to Otemachi on 1 October the same year. The name comes from Takebashi, the bridge over the Shimizu moat of the old Edo Castle, a few steps from the exits.
There are two side platforms with a row of central pillars, and two separate concourses at B1, one towards each end of the station. They are not linked to one another outside the ticket gates, so the exit you choose at street level decides which side of the moat road you come out on. Directly overhead is the Palace Side Building, home of the Mainichi Shimbun, and the station still carries Mainichi Shimbun-mae as a secondary name on its signs. Departure melodies were introduced on 27 May 2015. In 2025 Takebashi was used by 43,426 people on an average day.
Finding Takebashi 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 Takebashi
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 Takebashi
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 | 25 trains/hour (about one every 2.4 min) | 15 trains/hour |
Departures in one direction during the hour with the most trains at this station, counted in the operators’ timetable.
Next stations from Takebashi
Scheduled running time between Takebashi and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| TTozai | T07Kudanshita | 2 min |
| TTozai | T09Otemachi | 2 min |
Transfers and connections
Only the Tozai Line stops here, and no other railway serves this station, so there is nothing to transfer to inside the station.
Accessibility
| Line | Step-free by elevator | Accessible toilet | Escalator | Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTozai | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
- Tozai Line: Step-free elevator route street-gate-platform (official “1-route by elevator”). Street elevator at exit(s): 2, 3a. 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 Takebashi Station?
Takebashi is the station for the northern edge of the Imperial Palace grounds. The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is about 270 m from the exits, the Ninomaru garden about 330 m and the walls of Edo Castle about 370 m, with the site of the Ooku about 400 m. The Palace Side Building sits directly above, and Kyoritsu Women’s University, Hitotsubashi Hall, the Tokagakudo Concert Hall, Josuikaikan Hall and Gakushi Kaikan are all within a few minutes. Government offices fill most of the rest of the block.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 東京国立近代美術館 | 270 m | about 4 min |
| Kyoritsu Auditorium 共立講堂 | 310 m | about 5 min |
| Edo Castle 江戸城 | 370 m | about 6 min |
| Site of Ōoku 大奥跡 | 400 m | about 6 min |
| SOKENDAI 総合研究大学院大学 | 230 m | about 4 min |
| Hitotsubashi Hall 一橋講堂 | 230 m | about 4 min |
| Kyoritsu Women's University 共立女子大学（国際文化学部） | 300 m | about 5 min |
| Tokagakudo Concert Hall 桃華楽堂 | 300 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.
Frequently asked questions
From the bridge of that name over the Shimizu moat, part of the inner moat system of the old Edo Castle, which stands just outside the station. The remains of the Takebashi gate are about 170 m from the exits.
The two concourses at B1, one at the Takebashi end for exits 1a and 1b and one at the Otemachi end for exits 2 to 4, are not joined outside the ticket gates. Once you are through the barrier the platforms connect, but on the street side they behave almost like two small stations.