Shimbashi Station In Tokyo
About the Shimbashi Station Camera
This camera covers Shimbashi Station in Minato ward, on the boundary between the Ginza shopping district and the office blocks of Shiodome. JR lines, the subway and the Yurikamome all serve it.
Shimbashi has a specific claim: Japan's first railway ran from here to Yokohama in 1872. The C11 steam locomotive standing in the plaza on the west side commemorates that, and the space around it is universally known as SL Square.
The station is also shorthand for Japanese office life. SL Square is the traditional pitch for television crews collecting after-work opinions from salaried workers, to the point that the phrase is a cliche in Japanese broadcasting. The evening crowd spilling out toward the izakaya under the tracks is the thing worth watching here.
Highlights & Nearby
- •Watch for: SL Square and the steam locomotive, commuter peaks, the evening crowd under the tracks
- •Nearby: Ginza, Shiodome, Hamarikyu Gardens, the Yurikamome line
- •Note: busiest on weekday evenings as offices empty
