Station Layout
Ikebukuro Station has two main entrances, the East exit and the West exit. There are a number of other secondary entrances such as the JR North exit, the various Seibu exits. and multiple subway exits.
The JR lines run north/south through the center. The Tobu platforms are to the northwest and the Seibu platforms are to the southeast. Both Tobu and Seibu operate department stores adjacent to their terminal stations. (Ironically, "Seibu" (西武) starts with the kanji for "west" (西), but its platforms are in the eastern part of the station, while "Tōbu" (東武) starts with the character for "east" (東), but its platforms are in the western part of the station.)
The Marunouchi Line and Yūrakuchō Line run east/west two stories underground, while the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line is four stories underground to the west of the main station complex. The latter line currently runs south toward Shinjuku and Shibuya along Meiji-dori, and by 2012 will offer through service to Motomachi-Chūkagai Station in Yokohama via the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line and Minatomirai Line.
Tokyo Metro's Echika underground mall is also located inside the station.
The surrounding Ikebukuro district is a major commercial center. Sunshine City, Parco, Mitsukoshi, and Bic Camera are located to the east of the station, while the Metropolitan Plaza is located to the west.
Read more about this topic: Ikebukuro Station
Famous quotes containing the word station:
“How soon country people forget. When they fall in love with a city it is forever, and it is like forever. As though there never was a time when they didn’t love it. The minute they arrive at the train station or get off the ferry and glimpse the wide streets and the wasteful lamps lighting them, they know they are born for it. There, in a city, they are not so much new as themselves: their stronger, riskier selves.”
—Toni Morrison (b. 1931)