Tokyo's Ginza Line in fifteen photographs, from Shibuya to Asakusa

The Ginza Line is the orange line, and it is the oldest subway line in Tokyo. The first stretch opened on December 30, 1927, between Ueno and Asakusa. It was only 2.2 kilometres long, with four stations, and it was the first subway in East Asia. The line reached Shimbashi in 1934. A second company, the Tokyo Rapid Railway, built its own subway from Shibuya to Shimbashi, which was finished in 1939, and the two companies were merged in 1941.

Today the line runs from Shibuya (G01) to Asakusa (G19), 19 stations with no branches. Measured in straight lines between the stations it is about 13.6 kilometres long. The stops are close together: Ueno-hirokoji to Ueno is about 520 metres and Nihombashi to Mitsukoshimae about 550. The longest gap, from Aoyama-itchome to Akasaka-mitsuke, is about 1.3 kilometres. Eleven of the 19 stations are shared with other lines, and Shibuya has four. In HelloSubway it is a level 1 line, about 194 keystrokes, which makes it a good first ride in Tokyo. Here is the line from west to east, with a photograph for fifteen of the stops.

The cover photograph shows Omotesando Avenue, the boulevard that was laid out as an approach to Meiji Shrine. Rows of tall zelkova trees form a leafy tunnel over it. The avenue draws visitors all year for its fresh greenery, its autumn colours and its winter illuminations.

West: Shibuya to Akasaka-mitsuke

Shibuya is the western end of the line. Miyashita Park is an elevated park along the Shibuya River, with a rooftop lawn and a skate area, and with shops and a hotel stacked beneath it. It stands for the recent redevelopment of the area.

At Omote-sando, Omotesando Hills is a shopping complex designed by Tadao Ando, with a gently sloping spiral ramp that winds around a central atrium. The next stop, Gaiemmae, is the stop for the outer garden of Meiji Shrine. Its Ginkgo Avenue is a row of ginkgo trees laid out to give a long perspective view, and the leaves turn golden in November and December. Meiji Jingu Stadium, a ballpark opened in 1926, is in the same park and is home to the Yakult Swallows.

Aoyama-itchome is the stop for Aoyama Cemetery, one of the first public cemeteries in Japan, established in the Meiji era. In spring its cherry trees form a tunnel of flowers. At Akasaka-mitsuke, Benkei Moat was built as part of the outer defences of Edo Castle, and it now holds a pond where visitors can hire rowing boats.

Tameike-sanno to Ginza

Hie Shrine, at Tameike-sanno, was deeply revered by the Tokugawa shoguns as the guardian deity of Edo Castle, and its vermilion buildings stand against the skyscrapers behind them. One stop on, Toranomon has Kotohira-gu, founded in 1660 inside a feudal lord's Edo residence and now surrounded by office towers.

In the plaza outside Shimbashi Station stands a preserved steam locomotive, a C11-292, installed in 1972 to mark the centennial of the railway. It has long been a well-known meeting spot and a symbol of this office-worker district. Then comes Ginza. GINZA SIX opened in 2017 on the former site of the Matsuzakaya Ginza department store and has a rooftop garden, a bookstore and a Noh stage. The Wako building on the corner of the Ginza 4-chome intersection, completed in 1932 as the Hattori Clock Store, is another of Ginza's defining landmarks.

Nihombashi to Kanda

Nihombashi Bridge was first built in 1603, when Edo was founded as the capital of the shogunate, and it has long been the starting point of Japan's five great highways. The current stone double-arch bridge, the 20th version, dates from 1911, and an expressway runs directly overhead. The next stop is named for the Mitsukoshi department store. Its Renaissance-style main building was completed in 1914, and a pair of lion statues guard the main entrance.

At Kanda, mAAch ecute is built into the red-brick viaduct of the former Manseibashi Station. The arches date from 1912 and have been kept intact, and a deck on the old platform gives a close view of passing trains. Suehirocho is the stop for Yushima Seido, a Confucian shrine built in 1690 by the fifth Tokugawa shogun, Tsunayoshi, which later became the shogunate's official school.

East: Ueno to Asakusa

Ueno was one end of the first stretch in 1927. Ueno Park spreads out from the station's west exit, about 53 hectares of it, with museums and a zoo. Ueno Zoo opened in 1882 and is the oldest in Japan. Ueno Toshogu, a shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu, is nicknamed the Golden Shrine for its gilded hall.

Near Tawaramachi is Kappabashi-dori, a street between Ueno and Asakusa lined with shops that supply restaurants, from knives and tableware to plastic display food. It is nicknamed Kitchen Town, and a giant chef's head sits on top of the Niimi tableware building.

The line ends at Asakusa, beside Sensoji, Tokyo's oldest temple. Its outer gate, the Kaminarimon, has a giant lantern 3.9 metres tall. Beyond it, the inner gate, the Hozomon, has temple treasures on its upper floor and giant straw sandals hanging on the lower level. Hanayashiki, an amusement park said to have opened in 1853, is claimed to be the oldest in Japan.

Type it yourself

The Ginza Line is one of the lightest lines in the game. The longest names are Aoyama-itchome, Akasaka-mitsuke and Mitsukoshimae at 13 letters each, and the shortest is Ueno at four. In Japanese mode the kanji name sits above the romaji you type, and the hyphens in names like Omote-sando are optional. Turn your Japanese input method off before you start, as the romaji guide explains. For the other half of the story, read why Tokyo has two subways, or ride the Yamanote loop.