Tokyo has two subways, and a loop on top of them
Tokyo Metro and Toei run different lines under the same streets. Above ground, the Yamanote loop ties them together.
October 1, 2026 · 2 min read
Tokyo's subway began in 1927 with a four-station line between Ueno and Asakusa. Even that first line had a split in it. It was built and operated by two private companies, the Tokyo Underground Railway and the Tokyo Rapid Railway, with through services between them. The city has been dividing its network between operators ever since.
Metro and Toei
Today there are two subway operators. Tokyo Metro runs nine lines: Ginza, Marunouchi, Hibiya, Tozai, Chiyoda, Yurakucho, Hanzomon, Namboku and Fukutoshin. Toei, which belongs to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, runs four: Asakusa, Mita, Shinjuku and Oedo. HelloSubway has all thirteen.
The two networks overlap at many stations, and sometimes the overlap is surprising. There are two Shinjuku stations on our map. The Marunouchi Line one is M08, and the one the Toei Shinjuku and Oedo lines use is E27. They are about 470 meters apart. We gave them separate entries once we saw how far apart the two sets of platforms are.
Letters and numbers
Most stations carry a code made of a letter and a number, printed beside the name: G for Ginza, M for Marunouchi, and so on. A station shared by two lines has two codes. In the game a shared station keeps the code of the line it was first added with, so you may see M17 where the signs in Tokyo also say JY01.
The loop above
The Yamanote Line is not a subway at all. It belongs to JR East and runs on the surface. It began service between Shinagawa and Akabane in 1909, under the name Shinagawa Line, and the loop was completed in 1925 when the viaduct between Ueno and Tokyo opened. Thirty stations sit on it, and a train that never leaves the loop will pass every one of them.
Many of the Metro and Toei interchanges are at Yamanote stations such as Ueno, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Tokyo. In our data the loop adds up to about 31 kilometers between its stations, before the last stretch back to the start. At thirty stations the Yamanote Line is a good first long line, and the names will be familiar to anyone who has looked at a map of Tokyo.
The newest Yamanote station is Takanawa Gateway, which opened on March 14, 2020, the first new station on the loop in 49 years.
Sources
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