
Welcome back to my ongoing series exploring TÅkyÅâs Yamanote Line. Weâre pretty much in one of the most important stretches of the loop. Weâve just been to Ebisu and Shibuya and weâre bound for Shinjuku.
âSo, why are you cramming 3 train stations into 1 article?â you ask. Thatâs a good question. The reason is this: I have a pretty solid article from back in the day on Yoyogi and recently Iâve written about both Shinjuku and Harajuku. All three articles contain the historical and etymological info youâll need if you want to dig deeper. Since this article is about viewing TÅkyÅ via the Yamanote Line, Iâm going go light on the history and focus on my impressions of these areas.
Read About These Areas in Detail:
- What does Harajuku mean? (2016)
- What does Yoyogi mean? (2013)
- What does Shinjuku mean? (2016)

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Harajuku
Harajuku is one of the most famous neighborhoods in TÅkyÅ. The name is a reference to an ancient relay station where messengers could change horses in what was once one of the most remote parts of Japan. But for the last 30 some odd years, Harajuku has been a sort of ground zero for Japanese fashion. TÅkyÅ fashion is a serpentine ghost that haunts a certain space for a while and then whisks itself away to a new shelter where it settles or reinvents itself. This means that Harajukuâs flame doesnât burn as bright as it once did, but the area is still very much associated with shopping and fashion.
The station gives access to such iconic spots as:
- Meiji Jingū (shrine dedicated to the Meiji Emperor[i])
- Takeshita DÅri (an ally of stylish clothing boutiques)
- OmotesandÅ Hills (a stylish shopping mall on âroids)
- Yoyogi Park (one of TÅkyÅ big 3 âparty parks[ii])

Long time readers of JapanThis! know that Iâm not the biggest fan of the imperial family or the Meiji Coup in general. That said, ææ²»ç¥å®® Meiji JingÅ« (which means âMeiji Shrineâ) is something you should check out at least once.
Yoyogi Park is a great park and hosts a variety of events around the year. It attracts a bohemian crowd and, well, itâs just a fun park. Itâs super crowded on holidays and weekends, but so are TÅkyÅâs other huge parks on major train lines.
Further reading:

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Yoyogi
Yoyogi is most famous for ä»£ã æšå ¬å Yoyogi KÅen Yoyogi Park which I mentioned earlier. The park is a pretty awesome place to chill out in the summer and fall, but because it always draws a rather bohemian crowd. Itâs particularly fun in the spring for è±èŠ hamami cherry blossom viewing, but the pathways around the park are nice for people wanting to go for a stroll or even jog. When my friend and author Ashim Shanker got accepted to Harvard, we chose Yoyogi Park as the place to catch up over a can of beer and say goodbye before he returned to the US to make something of himself[iii]. Weâd hung out in the park a few times back in the day when we were coworkers, so it only seemed natural. I guess what Iâm saying is that great parks make great memories.
Anyhoo, the park itself is located on a plateau where some daimyÅ, notably the äºäŒå®¶ Ii-ke Ii clan had their äžå±æ· shimo-yashiki lower residence (ie; suburban palace). The name literally means âGenerations of Treesâ and most likely refers to a forest that existed here in the past. Interestingly, on the grounds of Meiji JingÅ«, there is a tree called the ä»£ã æšæïŸäžã æš Yoyogi Mura no Yoyogi Yoyogi Villageâs Generations Old Tree which marks the spot of Utagawa Hiroshigeâs famous æµ®äžçµµ ukiyo-e painting of a tree in the area. Few people know of this spot, but itâs there.

Dude, I Just RememberedâŠ
All of this talk of Yoyogi Park, just reminded me! The best access point to Yoyogi Park is not by Yoyogi Station, itâs by Harajuku Station which is located at the official entrance of the park. So, if you want to visit Yoyogi Park, go to Harajuku Station. I repeat: If you want to go to Yoyogi Park, go to Harajuku Station, not Yoyogi Station.
Why? Well, because other than the park, Iâm not sure what else to say about the Yoyogi Station area. Itâs just a bunch of companies, restaurants, and convenience stores. Youâll also have to walk quite a distance to get to the park from here because your friends are probably waiting to meet you at Harajuku Station.
Related articles:

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Shinjuku
If I had a $1.00 Patreon donation for every time I mentioned Shinjuku, I think I could quit my day job. Unfortunately, thatâs not the case so I scrape by and stay up late at night pondering how you can explore TÅkyÅ via the Yamanote Line lol.
Anyways, Shinjuku is a huge business district, a éœå¿ toshin city center, if you will. It was originally a post town for travelers going in and out of the city. Much like its modern incarnation, the old post town was a notorious destination for those hell-bent on drinking and whoring. Itâs also the capital of æ±äº¬éœ TÅkyÅ-to TÅkyÅ Metropolis.
Thatâs all Iâm going to say about Shinjuku because if you want to know more, check out my most recent and fairly definitive article on the subject below. Peace out!
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Shinjuku:
- What does Shinjuku mean? (includes further links to past articles on Shinjuku)
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[i] And his wife, ææ²ç倪å ShÅken KÅtaigÅ, usually translated as consort, empress consort, empress or dowager. Without getting into the details of the title kÅtaigÅ, which is peculiar to the imperial family, there are a few reasons why these other words are preferable to âwife.â She was married to the 倩ç tennÅ emperor, but she did not share any of his political power. If the emperor died, she could not finish out his reign until her death (as is the case in England). Just as the shÅguns and daimyÅ had concubines to ensure hereditary succession of male bloodlines, the emperors did too. ShÅken was actually barren and all 15 children of the Meiji Emperor were born by concubines. So, yeah, itâs easiest to just say she was his wife, but these other titles get thrown around to better describe her actual position in Japanese society and in the imperial court.
[ii] The other 2 being Inokashira Park and Ueno Park.
[iii] Meanwhile, Iâm stuck here just writing this trainwreck of a blog lol.
Was wondering what that last picture was. A crime scene? ð
Hahahahaha, no no no. I’d never post something like that. It’s a picture of KabukichÅ, Shinjuku’s main red light district. People get drunk as a skunk and just pass out in the street on the regular.
At night Shinjuku is a drunken mess lol.
Hahahaha! Good to know!