Takanawa Gateway Station

Takanawa Gateway Station—the urban renewal project

Highlight: Takanawa Gateway Station (高輪ゲートウエイ駅)

The green Yamanote Line arrives into the platform. You got on this train at Tokyo Station aiming south for Shinagawa Station. You hear the announcement, “The next station is Takanawa Gateway”. This is when you see a station with a different kind of feel. Everything is clean, open, modern, and wooden. This is the Takanawa Gateway Station, a brand new station of the Yamanote Line (the green loop) opened at the same time as the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It is the only station of the Yamanote Line that uses an English word in its name.

Map of JR Yamanote Line (in light green)

Map of JR Yamanote Line (in light green)

As of November 2022, the outside view from the station is quite odd. The main thing you see is either the railyard with different trains run by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), or a massive construction site on the other side. These two views are the key elements in answering the question: why build a new station here?

View of the rail yard from the station's second floor

View from the station’s second floor

Construction site in front of the station

Construction site in front of the station

Takanawa Gateway Station was built as a centerpiece of a new urban renewal project. JR East initiated this project to develop this area to become “a laboratory for an affluent life 100 years in the future” by creating a “Global Gateway“. This notion of gateway originates from the Edo Period where the Takanawa Okido once stood. It was a checkpoint or a gate that welcomed merchants and travelers from the south into Edo (Tokyo). It was built using stone walls and wooden doors to maintain public order and control traffic of Edo from the outside in 1710. The gate was closed at night. Areas around here had amazing views of the bay which was popular for moon-spotting. There were multiple temples and many teahouses nearby.  By the way, Tadataka Ino, the first person to accurately survey the whole of Japan, started his survey from this very checkpoint.

Given the historical significance of this area as a gateway, and the fact that this is where the first railway ran using Japanese and Western technology, JR East proposes to open a new gateway for innovation connecting Japan and the international in terms of business and culture. After all, the station is close to Haneda International Airport. The company is planning to build several office, commercial and residential complexes partnering with Marriott International, Tokyo International School other major institutions. The construction site we saw earlier is the first phase of this grand project aiming an opening in 2024.

Artwork by Utagawa Hiroshige depicting Takanawa Okido

Trees outside the window

Changing Satellite view of Takanawa (4 images)

The slideshow above shows the transformation of the Takanawa and bay area from 1945 to 2019. Takanawa Gateway Station (the white rectangle in the 2019 map) is located right in the middle of the massive railyard. You notice that in 1945-1950, there are a lot of train cars parked on the rails. This contrasts with 2019. This area was used to be Tamachi Rolling Stock Center, a massive train yard owned by JR East. The slideshow also shows how the bay area has expanded over the years. You could imagine how close Takanawa Okido was to the ocean compared to the present.

Shinagawa Depot in 1911

Shinagawa Depot in 1911

Front entrance gate

Front entrance gate

The front entrance gate looks similar to other JR stations except that it is clean and has a wooden floor. The major difference is the font used to display the station name. Most JR stations use the Gothic Typeface as default because it is known for its readability to all kinds of passengers. Therefore, some people argue that the use of the Mincho font for the new Takanawa Gateway Station lacks that accessibility, given the rather slim and detailed font type. The primary reason why JR East chose this font to align with the overall Japanese style of the station; it is after all a historically common body font in Japan. Architecture is another element. “Yamatobari” (大和張り) contributes to that style. It is a traditional method of placing wooden plates while creating alternate uneven ridges. The wooden pillar in the photograph above is one example.

Roof with wooden touches

Wooden pillar and roof

Takanawa Gateway station is yet to be a new hub for tourism, commerce and new place for urban development. Soon, it will be.

Article updated on August 20, 2024