Arcaded shopping street right at the station exit, in summer a 40-metre water slide set up along the slope
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
Right outside Honancho Station is the Honan Ginza shopping street. This stretch of Honan-dori has an arcade built over it, so you can still shop even when it's raining, with produce stores, craft shops, and restaurants lined up together. In summer, a 40-meter water slide has even been set up on the slope here.
In July 2023, about 100 colorful fabric banners hung under the arcade, collected from nearby elementary schools and other places. Outside the shopping street, it's mostly residential land. There aren't many apartment buildings in Honan 1-chome and 2-chome, but there are quite a few old wooden apartments, and the Kanda River flows right between the two chome.
Based on our street photos, greenery ranks 95th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the strongest ranking among these categories for this neighborhood.
Besides the subway, there's a bus stop at Honancho Station with a direct bus to the west exit of Shinjuku Station, and a bus stop on Kan-nana-dori with buses to Shibuya Station.
Honancho Station is the terminus of the Marunouchi Line branch line, and doesn't connect to any other railway. To use an elevator or escalator to get in or out, you have to go through the west ticket gate side.
Public transit ranks 288th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, and healthcare ranks 306th, the weakest two rankings for this neighborhood.
Honan 1-chome has been designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as an area expected to suffer serious damage in an earthquake. In July 2024, Suginami City drew up a disaster-prevention plan to secure open space, widen roads, and subsidize rebuilding homes to be more fire-resistant.
The shopping street is aging too: as of 2023, shop owners are elderly and there are few successors, and some storefronts have already been rebuilt into apartments.
The Honan area used to belong to Wada Village, and the small place name "Honan" already existed in the Edo period. There are two theories about its origin—"the direction south of Wada Village" and "the southern end of Nogata Territory, a shogunate falconry ground"—but the details aren't clear.
When Suginami City was formed, this area was merged and named Honancho; after the residential address system was introduced, the character for "town" (cho) was dropped, and many people still call it Honancho out of habit. The Honan Ginza Shopping Street Association was established in 1953.
The station opened in 1962, but its platform was shorter than other stations on the Ogikubo Line, so for a long time it could only accommodate trains of up to 3 cars. It wasn't until the platform was extended in 2019 that 6-car trains running through to Ikebukuro became possible.
There's a next step for Honan 1-chome's disaster-prevention plan: as of October 2026, the specific rebuilding rules are still being discussed with residents, and once the rules are set, rebuilding will need to be reported in accordance with them.
Compared with the 395 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.
Maps show the shops and the sights. What a street is like, you only know by walking it. TidyMap uses AI street imagery analysis and public facility data to turn each area's street environment and everyday convenience into something you can compare. Search an address and look at the street outside first.
How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. Street environment scores use AI assessments of imagery; convenience scores use public facility data.
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