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The is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important commuter lines. Running as a circle, it connects most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres including the Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro with all but two of its 29 stations connecting with other railway or underground (subway) lines.
It is operated by JR East.

Contents

Service

History

Name

Trains

Stations

"Rapid" Services

Ridership

Trivia

References

External links

Service

Trains run from about 4:30 am to about 1:20 am at intervals
of 2.5 minutes at peak time. A complete loop takes 61
to 65 minutes. All trains stop at each station.
Trains are put into and taken out of service at Ōsaki
(which for timetabling purposes is the line's start and terminus)
and sometimes Ikebukuro, Shinagawa or Tamachi.
Trains which run clockwise are known as "soto-mawari"
(外回り, outer circle) and counter-clockwise as "uchi-mawari"
(内回り, inner circle). (Rail traffic in Japan mirrors road traffic, with trains traveling on the left.)
The Yamanote Line is the only major line in Tokyo which does not have any through-running services to other lines.
The line also acts as a fare zone destination for JR tickets from locations outside Tokyo, permitting travel to any JR station on or within the loop.
The line colour used for all of the rolling stock, station signs and diagrams is Yellow Green #6 ■ (Munsell code 7.5GY 6.5/7.8).

History

The Yamanote Line originated in 1885 with the construction of the Shinagawa line between Shinagawa and Akabane, bypassing the then built up areas and providing the first north-south rail link through Tokyo. The top part of the loop between Ikebukuro and Tabata was completed in 1903 (known as the Toshima line, 豊島線) and in 1909 following electrification both lines were merged to become the Yamanote Line. The loop was not complete at this time, so trains generally inter-operated with the Chuo Main Line and Keihin-Tōhoku Line, traveling from Nakano to Tokyo Station, south to Shinagawa, then clockwise around the Yamanote Line to Tabata.
The loop was completed in 1925 with the opening of the section of track between Kanda and Ueno, providing a north-south link via Tokyo station through the city's centre. A parallel freight line, also completed in 1925, ran along the west side of the loop between Shinagawa and Tabata.
During the prewar era, the
Ministry of Transport did not give permits for new lines managed by private suburban railway companies to cross the Yamanote from their terminal stations to the central districts of Tokyo. This policy led to the development of "new urban centers" around the major transfer points on the Yamanote Line, most notably Shinjuku and Ikebukuro (which are now the two busiest passenger railway stations in the world).
The contemporary Yamanote Line came into being in 1956 when it was separated from the Keihin-Tōhoku Line and was given its own set of tracks along the eastern side of the loop between Shinagawa and Tabata. However, Yamanote Line trains continued to periodically use the Keihin-Tohoku tracks, particularly on holidays and during off-peak hours, until rapid service trains were introduced on the Keihin-Tohoku Line in 1988.
A major explosion on the Yamanote Freight Line in Shinjuku in 1967 led to the diversion of freight traffic to the more distant Musashino Line. To address severe undercapacity, the freight line was repurposed for use by Saikyo Line and Shonan-Shinjuku Line trains, as well as certain express trains such as the ''Narita Express''. Likewise, there are currently plans to extend the Tohoku Main Line to Tokyo Station to provide further relief on the busiest portion of the Yamanote Line today, the southbound segment between Ueno and Okachimachi.
As of 2005, the Yamanote Line carries on average 3.55 million passengers a day, or 1.3 billion a year. [1]

Name

"Yamanote" literally means "hand of the mountain" and in many Japanese cities is used to refer to inland, hillier districts or foothills (as opposed to areas close to the sea). In Tokyo "Yamanote" - as opposed to the lower lying "Shitamachi" (下町 - "downtown," literally "lower-town") - lies along the western side of the Yamanote Line loop.
''Yamanote-sen'' is officially written without the kana "no" (の or ノ), which makes its pronunciation ambiguous in print. 山手 may also be pronounced ''yamate'', as in Yamate-dōri (Yamate Street) which runs parallel to the west side of the Yamanote Line. The Seishin-Yamate Line in Kobe and the Yamate area of Yokohama also use this pronunciation.
After World War II, SCAP ordered all train placards to be romanized, and the Yamanote Line was romanized as "YAMATE LINE." It was thus alternatively known as "Yamanote" and "Yamate" until 1971, when the Japanese National Railways changed the pronunciation back to "Yamanote." Some older people still refer to the line as the "Yamate Line."
The 1971 change began with the opening of the Agatsuma Line (吾妻線). To avoid the name "Agatsuma" being read as "Azuma", the usual reading ("ga" is another kana functioning in the same way as the "no" in "Yamanote"), it was decided that the readings of all JNR train lines would be specified. Another reason to name "Yamanote" with a "no" is the existence of a "Yamate Station" on the Negishi Line in Yokohama, very close to the Yamanote Line.

Trains

Services are provided by E231-500 series 11-car EMUs introduced from 2003 onwards. These replaced the previous 205 series trains, which were introduced in 1985 and phased out in April 2005. Earlier services consisted of 103 series trains, which were eventually phased out in 1988.
The E231 series trains include two 6-door cars (Japanese "roku-tobira-sha") in which the bench seats are folded up to provide standing room only during the morning rush hour (until 10 a.m.). All the other cars have four sets of doors on each side.
The E231 series supports a new type of traffic control system, called digital ATC (Automatic Train Control), which will help reduce one round trip to a very short 58 minutes. The series also has a more modern design and has two 15" LCD monitors above each door, one of which is used for displaying commercials, news and weather; and another which is used for displaying information on the next stop (in both Japanese and English) along with notification of delays on the Yamanote and other lines.

Stations

Only two of the Yamanote Line's 29 stations do not connect with other railway or subway lines.
Listed clockwise:

★ "Dis.(1)" Distance from previous station (km)


★ "Dis.(2)" Distance from Shinagawa Station (km)

Station (Japanese)	Dis.(1)	Dis.(2)	Transfers
Ōsaki (大崎)	2.0	2.0	JR East: Shonan-Shinjuku Line (southbound) Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit: Rinkai Line
Gotanda (五反田)	0.9	2.9	Tokyu Corporation: Tokyu Ikegami Line Toei subway: '○'Asakusa Line (A-05)
Meguro (目黒)	1.2	4.1	Tokyu Corporation: Tokyu Meguro Line Tokyo Metro: '○'Namboku Line (N-01), Toei subway: '○'Mita Line (I-01)
Ebisu (恵比寿)	1.5	5.6	Tokyo Metro: '○'Hibiya Line (H-02)
Shibuya (渋谷)	1.6	7.2	Keio Corporation: Keio Inokashira Line, Tokyu Corporation: Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line Tokyo Metro: '○'Ginza Line (G-01), '○'Hanzomon Line (N-01), '○'''Fukutoshin Line'' (scheduled to open in June 2008)
Harajuku (原宿)	1.2	8.4	Tokyo Metro: '○'Chiyoda Line ''(at Meiji-jingūmae, C-03)'', '○'''Fukutoshin Line'' (scheduled to open in June 2008)
Yoyogi (代々木)	1.5	9.9	JR East: Chūō-Sōbu Line (eastbound) Toei subway: '○'Oedo Line (E-26)
Shinjuku (新宿)	0.7	10.6	JR East: Chūō Main Line, Chūō-Sōbu Line (westbound) Keio Corporation: Keio Line, Keio New Line, Odakyu Electric Railway: Odakyu Odawara Line, Seibu Railway: Seibu Shinjuku Line ''(at Seibu-Shinjuku Station)'' Tokyo Metro: '○'Marunouchi Line (M-08), Toei subway: '○'Toei Shinjuku Line (S-01), '○'Toei Oedo Line (for Shinjuku Station (E-27) from south gate, or ''Shinjuku Nishiguchi Station'' (E-01) from north gate)
Shin-Ōkubo (新大久保)	1.3	11.9
Takadanobaba (高田馬場)	1.4	13.3	Seibu Railway: Seibu Shinjuku Line Tokyo Metro: '○'Tozai Line (T-03)
Mejiro (目白)	0.9	14.2
Ikebukuro (池袋)	1.2	15.4	JR East: Saikyo Line (northbound), Shonan-Shinjuku Line (northbound) Seibu Railway: Seibu Ikebukuro Line, Tobu Railway: Tōbu Tōjō Main Line Tokyo Metro: '○'Marunouchi Line (M-25), '○'Yurakucho Line (Y-09), '○'Tokyo Metro Yurakucho New Line[1] (Y-09)
Ōtsuka (大塚)	1.8	17.2	Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation: Toden Arakawa Line (Tram system)
Sugamo (巣鴨)	1.1	18.3	Toei subway: '○'Mita Line (I-15)
Komagome (駒込)	0.7	19.0	Tokyo Metro: '○'Namboku Line (N-14)
Tabata (田端)	1.6	20.6	JR East: Keihin-Tohoku Line (nouthbound, also rapid)
Nishi-Nippori (西日暮里)	0.8	21.4	JR East: Keihin-Tōhoku Line Tokyo Metro: '○'Chiyoda Line (C-16), Tokyo Metropolitan Subway Construction Company: Nippori-Toneri Liner (automated guideway transit, scheduled to open in March 2008)
Nippori (日暮里)	0.5	21.9	JR East: Jōban Line (nouthbound), Keihin-Tōhoku Line Keisei Electric Railway: Keisei Main Line Tokyo Metropolitan Subway Construction Company: Nippori-Toneri Liner (scheduled to open in March 2008)
Uguisudani (鶯谷)	1.1	23.0	Keihin-Tōhoku Line
Ueno (上野)	1.1	24.1	JR East: Shinkansen (northbound of Tōhoku, Jōetsu, Hokuriku (Nagano), Yamagata, Akita), Keihin-Tōhoku Line (also rapid), Jōban Line (terminus, expresses) Keisei Electric Railway: Keisei Main Line ''(at Keisei Ueno Station)'' Tokyo Metro: '○'Ginza Line (G-16), '○'Hibiya Line (H-17)
Okachimachi (御徒町)	0.6	24.7	JR East: Keihin-Tōhoku Line
Akihabara (秋葉原)	1.0	25.7	JR East: Chūō-Sōbu Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line (also rapid) Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company: Tsukuba Express '○'Hibiya Line (H-15)
Kanda (神田)	0.7	26.4	JR East: Chūō Main Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line, '○'Ginza Line (G-13)
Tokyo (東京)	1.3	27.7	JR East: Shinkansen (terminus, Tōhoku, Jōetsu, Hokuriku (Nagano), Yamagata, Akita), Keihin-Tōhoku Line (also rapid), Tōkaidō Main Line, Chūō Main Line, Yokosuka Line, Keiyo Line, Sōbu Main Line, JR Central: Tōkaidō Shinkansen (terminus) Tokyo Metro: '○'Marunouchi Line (M-17)
Yūrakuchō (有楽町)	0.8	28.5	JR East: Keihin-Tōhoku Line Tokyo Metro: '○'Yurakucho Line (Y-18), '○'Hibiya Line ''(at Hibiya Station H-07)'', '○'Chiyoda Line ''(at Hibiya Station, C-09)'', Toei subway: '○'Mita Line ''(at Hibiya Station, C-09)''
Shimbashi(Shinbashi) (新橋)	1.1	29.6	JR East: Tōkaidō Main Line, Yokosuka Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line Tokyo Metro: '○'Ginza Line (G-08), Toei subway: '○'Asakusa Line (A-10), Yurikamome (automated guideway transit)
Hamamatsuchō (浜松町)	1.2	30.8	JR East: Keihin-Tōhoku Line (also rapid) Tokyo Monorail Toei subway: '○'Asakusa Line ''(at Daimon Station, A-09)'', '○'Toei Oedo Line ''(at Daimon Station, E-20)''
Tamachi (田町)	1.5	32.3	JR East: Keihin-Tōhoku Line (also rapid)
Shinagawa (品川)	2.2	34.5	JR East: Tōkaidō Main Line (southbound), Yokosuka Line (southbound), Keihin-Tōhoku Line (southbound, also rapid), JR Central: Tōkaidō Shinkansen (westbound) Keihin Electric Express Railway: Keikyu Main Line

Since the distance between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations is 2.2km, making it the longest stretch of track on the Yamanote line, there are plans for a new station between those two stations with completion in or around 2010.

"Rapid" Services

There are only local trains on Yamanote Line. But because of demand, JR East provides "rapid" services on the adjacent so-called "Yamanote Freight Line" which is used by the Saikyō & Shōnan-Shinjuku services.

★ The list of "Rapid" service lines, and its stations

★
★ On Yamanote Freight Lines (Osaki - Komagome)
::Saikyō Line : (from Rinkai Line) Osaki - Ebisu - Shibuya - Shinjuku - Ikebukuro (to its individual line)
::Shōnan-Shinjuku Line (from Yokosuka Line) Osaki - Ebisu - Shibuya - Shinjuku - Ikebukuro (- Komagome, but no train stops)

★
★ On their individual lines
::Keihin-Tōhoku Line: Tabata - Ueno - Akihabara - Tokyo - Hamamatsucho - Tamachi - Shinagawa ^[2]
::Jōban Line: Nippori - Ueno
::Tōkaidō Line: Tokyo - Shinbashi - Shinagawa
::Yokosuka Line: Tokyo - Shinbashi - Shinagawa (underground line)

Ridership

An estimated 3.5 million passengers ride every day on Tokyo's Yamanote Line, with its 29 stations. For comparison, the New York City Subway carries 5.08 million passengers per day on 26 lines serving 468 stations.^[3]

Trivia

★ The ''City Hunter'' movie Goodbye My Sweetheart references the opening of the new "Yamate Line", which is the nickname of the Yamanote Line. However, the events in this movie depict the opening as in 1997 whereas the complete loop was completed in 1925.

★ One way of describing the central part of Tokyo is "the area within the Yamanote Line."

References

1. it's scheduled to rename Fukutoshin Line in June 2008.
2. only between around 10:20AM to 3:30PM, with shared platforms at stations between Tabata and Tamachi.
3. http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffsubway.htm

External links

★ japan-guide.com: JR Yamanote Line

★ Information on each of the Yamanote station (includes sound recordings of the platform melodies)

★ Platform melodies (Japanese web site)