Waseda Station
T04 · Tozai Line · Shinjuku
Waseda Station (早稲田)
A station at Waseda was drawn on a government plan for Line 5 as far back as 1925; it took until 23 December 1964 for the Tozai Line to open it. T04 has two side platforms, and the entrance at the Waseda University end feeds straight into a ticket hall of its own, which is why so much of the traffic here moves in one direction at the start and end of lectures. Departure melodies were introduced on 26 May 2015.
The name is shared and the stations are not. The Tokyo Sakura Tram, the old Arakawa Line, has its own Waseda stop about 600 m away along Shin-mejiro-dori, and the two are not connected: no transfer is recognized and no passage runs between them. Nor is the subway station the one for the whole university, whose campuses spread across several blocks either side of it. Use collapsed and then rebounded with the teaching timetable, from 41,634 people a day in 2020 to 82,301 in 2025.
Finding Waseda 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 Waseda
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 Waseda
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) | 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 Waseda
Scheduled running time between Waseda and the stations either side of it.
| Line | Next station | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| TTozai | T05Kagurazaka | 2 min |
| TTozai | T03Takadanobaba | 3 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 | Not listed | 4 |
- Tozai Line: Step-free elevator route street-gate-platform (official “1-route by elevator”). Street elevator at exit(s): 3a, 3b. 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 Waseda Station?
Waseda is a university station and little else. The Waseda campus begins about 190 m from the exits, with the Okuma Auditorium about 370 m away, the Aizu Museum about 360 m and Waseda University Junior and Senior High School nearby. The Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum is about 350 m from the station. Small temples fill the streets between — Shohoji, Sosei-ji, Ryuzenji, Raikoji and others — and Tsurumaki Minami Park is about 160 m away. Takadanobaba is the next stop.
| Place | Distance (straight line) | On foot, estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum 漱石山房記念館 | 350 m | about 6 min |
| Okuma Auditorium 大隈講堂 | 370 m | about 6 min |
| 龍善寺 | 110 m | about 2 min |
| 来迎寺 | 240 m | about 4 min |
| 宗参寺 | 250 m | about 4 min |
| 亀鶴山 易行院 誓閑寺 | 270 m | about 4 min |
| 宝祥寺 | 320 m | about 5 min |
| 大龍寺 | 400 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. The Tokyo Sakura Tram, formerly the Toden Arakawa Line, has a Waseda stop about 600 m from the subway station, on Shin-mejiro-dori. It is a separate railway and the two are not treated as a transfer, so a change between them means a walk and a new fare.
Since 1925, when a Home Ministry notice set out the route of what was then Line 5 and listed a station at Waseda. Nearly forty years passed before it was built: the Tozai Line reached the site on 23 December 1964.