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Want to choose the name of Tokyo’s most important new station? Here’s your chance!

Casey Baseel Jun 6, 2018
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Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line is getting its first new station in nearly half a century, and Japan Railways wants you to give it a name.

Tokyo is crisscrossed by dozens of train and subway lines, but none is more critical for tourists and commuters than the Yamanote Line. A loop line that passes through trendy Shibuya, bustling Shinjuku, cultural Ueno, otaku Akihabara, and Shinkansen-connected Tokyo and Shinagawa Stations, the Yamanote makes 29 stops on its circuit around downtown.

However, come 2020, a 30th station will be added, positioned between currently neighboring Shinagawa and Tamachi Stations. This will be the first new Yamanote station in nearly half a century, as the last addition was Nishi Nippori in 1971.

Rail operator East Japan Railway is currently in the middle of the major construction job, but the station still doesn’t have a name. Media reports and press conferences have been referring to it as simply “Shin Shinagawa” or “Shinagawa Shin” (shin being the Japanese word for “new”), but JR East is hoping for something a little more eloquent for the final name, and now it’s turning to you for help.

▼ An artist’s rendition of the new station, which will also connect with the Keihin Tohoku Line, with its position on the Yamanote marked by a star.

As of June 5, JR East is accepting suggestions for the new station’s name through its website. If you’re looking for some inspiration, the new station’s address will be in the Konan district of Tokyo’s Minato Ward, and the preexisting names of nearby neighborhoods include Takanawa and Shibaura (although there’s already a station in Tokyo named Shirokane Takanawa). Alternatively, if you’re searching for a name evocative of the station building itself, JR East says some of the structure’s characteristic design elements will be:
● A large roof inspired by traditional origami.
● Lattice patterns and woodwork to evoke the motif of classic shoji sliding paper doors.
● An open platform at the upper level of the structure, from where the bustle of the city can be felt.
● Large windows on the building’s east and west sides, so that views of the city and station blend together.

Suggestions can be made using the online form here between now and June 30, and JR East says it plans to announce its final decision for the station’s name sometime this winter. In a previous poll, which asked high school girls for their opinions, the boring “Shin Shinagawa” and bizarre “Space Station” were the top two results, so if you’ve got a better idea than those, here’s your chance to make your voice heard.

Source: JR East (1, 2)
Top image: Wikipedia/Abezori2525
Insert image: JR East
[ Read in Japanese ]