Takanawa Gateway Station, the 30th station on the Yamanote Line, which operates in a circuit around the center of Tokyo, opened this week – the first time a new station has opened on the line in 49 years.
The station has been established as a central facility of “Global Gateway Shinagawa” which is an urban development plan promoted by JR East for the area north of Shinagawa station. Takanawa Gateway Station is one stop and two minutes from Shinagawa Station, connecting it to the Shinkansen, which will add a Shinagawa-Nagoya route in 2027 and Shinagawa-Osaka route in 2037 on the Linear Chuo Shinkansen. This will cut travel times between Shinagawa and Nagoya to 40 minutes and between Shinagawa and Osaka to 67 minutes. It will also be just 20 minutes from Haneda airport on the Keikyu line.
Takanawa Gateway Station will be the core of a new town district, scheduled to open around 2024 as a gateway to connect Tokyo with the world. It has been developed to provide a location to realize a next-gen business model, including a range of business and cultural exchange functions such as MICE facilities, accommodation and commercial establishments.
JR East has designated Takanawa Gateway Station as a place to demonstrate service facilities and start novel concepts. There will be robots to perform security, cleaning, guidance and mobility support, while other advanced technologies such as AI signage is already being introduced on a trial basis. The hope is that it will be a gateway to welcome foreign visitors to Japan.
