Have you just decided to stay in Shinjuku? Or are you still making up your mind?
Step out on the east side of the station, and you’re in a lively neighborhood where shops stay open at night. Step out on the west side, and there’s the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory, which you can go up for free.
Shinjuku Station is a big station where JR, private railway and subway lines meet. It has lots of ticket gates and lots of exits.
But if you’re staying here, you’ll use only a few of them every day. Decide on one ticket gate near your accommodation, and you can use it as your base on the day you arrive and on the morning you head back to the airport. For nights when you come back late, you also keep in mind one ticket gate that stays open until the last train.
Times, fares and opening hours can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article (as of October 2026).
Here’s the answer up front.
- The day you arrive: from Narita, take the Narita Express (N’EX) or an airport bus. Airport buses also stop in front of several hotels in Nishi-Shinjuku
- Heading back at night: JR’s station information lists 4 ticket gates as open from the first train to the last: South, West, East and Central East. Keep one of these in mind, too
- To the airport in the morning: airport buses leave from Shinjuku Station (Keio Department Store) or Busta Shinjuku. To get to Busta Shinjuku, go out through JR’s New South Gate and take the escalator right there. Early in the morning, before the New South Gate opens at 5:45, use the South Gate instead
Shinjuku Station: east, west and south take you out to different places
The east side of Shinjuku Station is the gateway to shopping, dining and entertainment. On the west side, skyscrapers line the streets, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is on this side too. Head south and you’ll find “Busta Shinjuku,” the terminal for highway buses and airport buses.
So first, check which side of the station your accommodation is on. Then write down the name of the ticket gate nearest your accommodation, right down to its English spelling.
| Ticket gate | English | Floor |
|---|---|---|
| 東改札 | East Gate | B1F |
| 中央東改札 | Central East Gate | B1F |
| 中央西改札 | Central West Gate | B1F |
| 西改札 | West Gate | B1F |
| 南改札 | South Gate | 2F |
| 東南改札 | South East Gate | 2F |
| 甲州街道改札 | Koshu-kaido Gate | 2F |
| 新南改札 | New South Gate | 2F |
| ミライナタワー改札 | MIRAINA TOWER Gate | 2F |
The English names follow the maps made by Shinjuku City and others (JR’s station map spells them Southeast Gate and Kōshū-kaidō Gate).
The differences between East Gate, East Square and East Concourse, the size of luggage you can bring on JR trains, and how to send your luggage ahead to your accommodation are covered in the “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip” article.
For maps, you can use the “Shinjuku Terminal Map” (新宿ターミナルマップ) and the “Elevator and Stairs Map” (エレベーター・階段マップ), made jointly by the railway companies at Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku City and others (as of November 2025). There’s a Japanese-and-English version, and a Chinese (Simplified) and Korean version.
The Elevator and Stairs Map shows where the elevators are, and for some of them it also gives the hours they run. Exits with brown numbers are basically stairs, so with a suitcase, exits with other numbers are easier.
The maps also show where the tourist information centers are. JR’s “Eki-tabi Concierge Shinjuku (New South)” (駅たびコンシェルジュ新宿（新南） in Japanese) has a counter for overseas visitors, open from 8:00 to 19:00.
Once you’ve settled on one ticket gate near your accommodation, you just come and go through it every day.
The day you arrive — from the airport to Shinjuku
The times in this article come from the timetables we checked on October 10, 2026.
From Narita, by N’EX
The N’EX arrives at Tracks 5 and 6 at Shinjuku Station. Inside the New South Gate, there’s an elevator to Tracks 5 and 6.
From Narita Airport toward Shinjuku, the N’EX runs on weekdays from 7:37, with the last trains leaving sometime in the 21:00 hour. On some days, evening trains from 18:45 onward don’t run. On weekends, check the timetable for the day you travel.
On a day you land at Narita while it’s still daytime, there are trains that bring you to Shinjuku without changing.
From Narita, by airport bus
The airport bus (Limousine Bus) costs 3,600 yen for adults and takes about 2 hours to Shinjuku.
In Shinjuku, it stops at two separate stops: “Shinjuku Station (Keio Department Store)” and “Busta Shinjuku.” It also stops in front of several hotels in Nishi-Shinjuku. You can check whether your accommodation is a stop on the bus company’s official timetable. If you can get off in front of your accommodation, you won’t have to walk through the station with your suitcase.
The last bus from Narita leaves at 22:55 (Terminal 3). Even on a day you arrive late at night, you can get to Shinjuku without changing.
From Haneda
From Haneda, it’s about 50 minutes to Shinjuku by train or monorail.
By airport bus, it’s 1,400 yen for adults. The last regular bus leaves Terminal 3 at 23:40. After that there’s also a late-night bus, which costs 2,800 yen for adults. The late-night bus leaves after the date has changed, so check the timetable so you don’t mix up the date you ride.
Even if you land at Haneda late at night, you can get to Shinjuku by bus.
Busta Shinjuku connects to a JR ticket gate
Busta Shinjuku connects to JR’s New South Gate. Once you’re through the gate, take the escalator right in front of you up to the waiting room. Arrivals are on 3F, departures on 4F.
You don’t go outside the station, so even on rainy days you won’t need to take out your umbrella. You don’t have to cross the big street out front (Koshu Kaido), either.
Luggage — lockers, and the route for suitcases
JR coin lockers
At JR Shinjuku Station, these are the places with many large lockers (size L) that fit a suitcase (as of August 2025).
| Location | Inside or outside the ticket gates |
|---|---|
| 1F on the east side (東口 in Japanese) | Outside |
| Near the South Gate (2F) | Inside |
| Underground passage to N’EX Tracks 5 and 6 (B1F) | Inside |
| Near Suica Penguin Square by the New South Gate (2F) | Outside |
The large lockers are sometimes almost all taken during the morning. The lockers on your right as you go out the East Gate are the easiest to find, so they fill up early.
There are lots of large lockers in the underground passage to the N’EX platforms, too. They’re inside the ticket gates, so you use them after you’ve gone through. Look for the red line on the floor marked “成田エクスプレス” (Narita Express). On a day you ride the N’EX, you can drop off your bags on the way to the platform.
Lockers at Busta Shinjuku
There are coin lockers on 4F of Busta Shinjuku, too. You can use them for up to 72 hours, and credit cards and e-money are accepted (some brands excluded). To take your bags out, you use the QR code on the receipt you got when you stored them, so hold on to the receipt.
Elevator hours
Elevator hours differ from place to place. For example, the South East Gate is open until midnight, but the elevator right next to it runs until 23:00 (Shinjuku City’s map, as of November 2025).
On a night you come back late with a suitcase, look at the Elevator and Stairs Map ahead of time for a route you can use until the last train, and you won’t be left wondering in front of the ticket gate.
Heading back at night — ticket gates you can use until the last train
At JR Shinjuku Station, some ticket gates close at night. For 4 gates (New South, South East, Koshu-kaido and MIRAINA TOWER), JR’s information gives “ticket gate office hours” (改札窓口営業時間 in Japanese) until midnight.
In JR’s station information, the 4 gates listed as open from the first train to the last are South, West, East and Central East (the Central West Gate is open from 6:00 until the last train). On late nights, use one of these 4. If the gate nearest your accommodation isn’t one of them, decide on the closest one ahead of time.
The last Yamanote Line train at Shinjuku Station is around 0:40 on weekdays. It ends at a station partway along the line.
Once you’ve settled on a ticket gate that’s open until the last train, you can enjoy Shinjuku at night without worrying about the way back.
To the airport in the morning — buses to Haneda from the 4:00 hour
To Haneda
The first regular airport bus to Haneda (adult 1,400 yen) leaves Busta Shinjuku at 4:40. An even earlier late-night bus (adult 2,800 yen) leaves Busta Shinjuku at 4:00.
To Narita
From Shinjuku to Narita Airport, the N’EX runs from 5:55 to 19:39 (on weekends, check the timetable for the day you travel). By airport bus, the first ones leave “Shinjuku Station (Keio Department Store)” at 5:30 and Busta Shinjuku at 5:40.
Busta Shinjuku early in the morning
The airport bus ticket machines and the waiting room open in the 3:00 hour. At the information counter (from 7:00), you can ask in English.
The New South Gate opens at 5:45. If you’re earlier than that, go out through the South Gate; from there it’s about a 4-minute walk to Busta Shinjuku.
Even on a day you take the very first bus, you just walk from your accommodation to the south side of the station to catch it, so you can rest the night before without rushing.
Places you can walk to in the evening and morning of your stay
West side (Nishi-Shinjuku) — the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatories
The observatories of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, on the west side of the station, are 202 meters above the ground. Entry is free, and no reservation is needed.
The South Observatory is open from 9:30 to 21:30 (the North Observatory until 17:00). The South and North Observatories close on different days, so check the official information for the day you go. You may wait in line for 20–30 minutes before getting in.
To the northeast, Tokyo Skytree; to the southeast, the direction of Shinjuku Gyoen and Meiji Jingu. From December to February, when it’s cold and the view is clear, there are more days when you can see Mt. Fuji to the west. “TOKYO SKY GUIDE” tells you what you’re looking at in your own language (no app needed).
Since there’s no reservation needed, you can go up in the evening of the day you arrive.
East side — Kabukicho and Shinjuku Gyoen
On the east side, the area around Kabukicho and Shinjuku-sanchome has shops open at night, and it’s lively.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is about a 10-minute walk from the South Exit (南口 in Japanese) of Shinjuku Station. General admission is 500 yen, and you can go through the entry gates with a transit IC card. From October 1 to March 14, it’s open from 9:00 to 16:30. It’s closed on Mondays (if Monday is a holiday, the next weekday) and from December 29 to January 3. The exceptions are the cherry blossom season (March 25 to April 24) and November 1 to 15, when it’s open on Mondays too.
There are paid coin lockers (300 yen and 500 yen) at the gates, so you can leave smaller bags there and walk around traveling light.
To the west, views from up high; to the east, lively nights and the green of the garden. Even within Shinjuku, which side you stay on changes how you spend your day.
From Shinjuku to other areas
Shibuya is 7 minutes away on the Yamanote Line. Even staying in Shinjuku, you can get to other areas in about this much time.
| Destination | How to get there | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Shibuya | Yamanote Line | 7 min |
| Ikebukuro | Yamanote Line | 8 min |
| Tokyo Station | Chuo Line (Rapid) | 14 min |
| Ginza | Marunouchi Line | 16 min |
| Akihabara | Sobu Line | 18 min |
| Odaiba (Tokyo Teleport) | Saikyo Line, no transfer | 22 min |
| Ueno | Yamanote Line | 24 min |
| Nihombashi | Marunouchi Line, change to the Ginza Line at Akasaka-mitsuke | 31 min |
| Asakusa | Chuo Line, change to the Ginza Line at Kanda | 35 min |
For now, just this
- Write down the name of the ticket gate nearest your accommodation, right down to its English spelling
- On late nights, the South, West, East or Central East gates
- Large lockers can fill up during the morning. On a day you ride the N’EX, there are also lockers in the underground passage to the platforms (inside the ticket gates)
