Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Ikebukuro is a district (officially, a city) in Toshima ward in Tokyo. It is renowned as a major commercial and entertainment precinct of the metropolis.

Ikebukuro at night, as seen from Sunshine 60


At the heart of Ikebukuro is Ikebukuro Station, a massive transportation hub served by the JR East lines, the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and the Tobu Tojo Line. The station is the second busiest in Japan to only the Shinjuku Station. It is surrounded by huge department stores, office blocks, restaurants and shops.

There are three theories over how Ikebukuro got its name. These you can find on a plaque on the west exit of Ikebukuro Station. The name itself means "pond bag", and all three explanations have something to do with a lake or pond and someone holding a bag. A popular meeting place in Ikebukuro is the owl statue. It is called Ikefukuro-zo, meaning Lake Owl Statue.

Ikebukuro streetscape

How to go to Ikebukuro

By Subway
There are several subway lines that can take you to Ikebukuro Station, among them the Marunouchi Line (M-25), Yurakucho Line (Y-09), and Fukutoshin Line (F-09).

By Train
Among the trains going to Ikebukuro Station includes the JR Yamanote Line, Saikyo Line and Shonan-Shinjuku Line. Also serving the Ikebukuro Station are the two private railway lines, the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and the Tobu Tojo Line.

Ikebukuro Station at night

What to see in Ikebukuro

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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