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Ikebukuro
Town within Toshima-ku, Japan

Ikebukuro

Ikebukuro is a district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan.

Plan a trip to Ikebukuro→From Narita

Centered around Ikebukuro Station, the third-busiest railway station in Japan, it serves as one of Tokyo's major commercial and entertainment districts and is considered a primary urban hub of northern Tokyo. Notable landmarks in Ikebukuro include the Toshima Ward Office, the Sunshine City complex and the flagship department stores of Seibu and Tōbu.

Get in

Getting to Ikebukuro

The fastest way to get from Narita Airport to Ikebukuro is to take a Keisei Skyliner train to Nippori and change to a JR Yamanote Line train. This takes about 60 minutes and costs ¥2560. JR's Narita Express makes many runs to Ikebukuro, but they take longer (95 minutes) and cost more (¥4010 round-trip only, as of 2015).

See

Worth seeing

There is, quite frankly, very little in the way of attractions for tourists in Toshima.

  1. 01
    Zōshigaya Cemetery
  2. 02
    Kōgan-ji Temple
  3. 03
    Myōkō-ji Temple

    According to legend, the grave of Lady Oiwa (Oiwa-san) in Yotsuya Kaidan, Japan's best-known ghost story and a direct inspiration for the Ring horror movies, is in this temple.

  4. 04
    Honmyōji Temple
  5. 05
    Hōmyōji

    Features the statue of Kishimojin (鬼子母神像) who is a Japanese God of fertility.

  6. 06
    Sunshine 60

    Sunshine 60 was once the tallest building in Japan and it remains the most prominent building within the Sunshine City complex.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Ikefukurō

    A statue of an owl (fukurō) near the east exit.

  2. 02
    Namja Town
  3. 03
    Manten
Eat

Where to eat

Konaya (古奈屋), Sugamo 3-37-1. Mon Wed-Fri 10:00-16:30, Sat Sun 10:00-18:30. The original shop of restaurant chain renowned for its curry udon noodles. The noodles are cut by hand, the special curry stock is brewed for two days, and ¥1210 will get you some mighty fine tasting udon. Akebono Sushi, 1-9-23 Minami-Ikebukuru,. Fight Gyoza (ファイト餃子), 4-23-6 Sugamo,. Famous for deep-fried gyoza.

  1. 01
    Souten
How locals move

Getting around Ikebukuro the local way

  • Get inHitchhiking into Tokyo is pretty easy, but hitchhiking out is considerably more difficult.
  • Get inIt's definitely possible for determined cheapskates though, see Hitchhiking in Japan for a detailed list of tested escape routes from the city.
  • Get inKokusai Kogyo Bus (国際興業バス) Keisei Bus (京成バス) Keikyu Bus (京急バス) Keio Bus (Japanese Website) (京王バス) Kanto Bus (関東バス) Nishi Tokyo Bus (Japanese Website) (西東京バス) Odakyu Bus (Japanese Website) (小田急バス) Odakyu Highway Bus (小田急ハイウェイバス) Seibu Bus (西武バス) Tobu Bus (Japanese Website) (東武バス) Tohoku Kyuko Bus (東北急行バス) One of the great ports of the world, Tokyo also has domestic ferry services to other points in Japan.
  • Get inHowever, none of the regular international ferries to Japan call at Tokyo.
  • Get inThe main long-distance ferry terminal is , on an artificial island adjacent to Odaiba in Tokyo Bay.
  • Get inThe main services from this terminal are: Ferries to the Izu and Ogasawara Islands leave from Takeshiba Terminal (竹芝客船ターミナル), adjacent to Takeshiba station on the Yurikamome line.
  • Get inInternational ferries and cargo ferries that also take passengers can leave from other terminals too, enquire with your shipping company.
  • Get aroundThe private lines are useful for day trips outside the city, and are usually slightly cheaper than JR.

From Wikivoyage: Tokyo, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.