Turn off the big intersection into the lanes and it goes quiet; the Shinsengumi dojo is said to have stood here
Ushigome-Yanagicho Station sits directly below the Ichigaya Yanagicho intersection, with Gaien-Higashi-dori and Okubo-dori meeting overhead. The main roads are lined with shops and apartments, but a few steps into the side streets, it turns into a quiet residential area. About 1,400 people live in Ichigaya Yanagicho, while only around 300 people work there. In the alleys on both the east and west sides of the intersection are scattered historic sites, old temples, and a printing museum.
East from the intersection, in Ichigaya Yamabushicho, is the nationally designated historic site of the Hayashi family cemetery, where Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan and his family are buried. Further east in Ichigaya Kagacho, Dai Nippon Printing restored its factory office building, originally built in 1926, and in 2020 opened it as the Ichigaya Letterpress Factory (Ichigaya no Mori Hon to Katsuji-kan). The museum displays movable type and bookmaking, and also runs workshops. Heading west to Kokoku-ji Temple in Haramachi, the large ginkgo on its grounds is said to be 500 years old, the oldest ginkgo in Shinjuku Ward. Based on our street photos, the neighborhood ranks 19th out of Tokyo's 219 neighborhoods for buildings, and 26th for cleanliness, both in the upper range.
Traffic is heavy at the Ichigaya Yanagicho intersection. For daily shopping, the neighborhood ranks 118th out of Tokyo's 219 neighborhoods, in the middle range. The neighborhood has only one Oedo Line station, yet still ranks 30th for public transit. Nearby are Waseda Station on the Tozai Line and Akebonobashi Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line, and the neighboring Wakamatsu-Kawada Station is only a few minutes' walk away.
In 1839, Kondo Isami's adoptive father, Kondo Shusuke, founded the Shieikan, a dojo for the Tennen Rishin-ryu school of swordsmanship; it's said that core Shinsengumi members Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji later trained there. In 2004, Shinjuku Ward erected a monument at 25 Ichigaya Yanagicho, though the exact original location is still under research, with another theory placing it in neighboring Ichigaya Koracho. In 1970, exhaust fumes at the intersection were suspected of causing lead poisoning; a Tokyo Metropolitan Government inspection found no problems, but the incident led to a ban on trucks of 3 tons or more on residential streets across Tokyo. The Oedo Line opened in 2000, its route following that of Toden streetcar Route 13, which had been discontinued in 1970.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is widening Natsumezaka-dori (Loop Road No. 4), a 655-metre stretch running north from Haramachi 3-chome in the neighborhood to Babashitacho. The planned width is 20 metres, and the project period runs until March 31, 2027. Shinjuku Ward's information page was last updated in 2018 and does not state a completion year.
Compared with the 219 Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
Hospitals with inpatient beds (2020 data), public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area, high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, parks of 1 ha or more, and large shopping malls and department stores. Many Tokyo junior high students attend private schools, so junior high catchments are only a guide.
37 blocks · Curated boundary · Data version 2026-10-12
Compared against the Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide; metrics without enough data are not ranked. Shopping counts convenience stores plus the nearer of a supermarket or a traditional market (public and private retail markets); night markets, vendor zones and shopping-street shops are not counted. Transit is rail-first with a lower weight for buses.
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