Dokanyama, where Edo folk came up to hear insects sing and gaze at Mount Fuji — at the foot of the slope, the station front is full of eateries
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
Dokanyama is a plateau in Nishi-Nippori 4-chome, reached by a slope that climbs up from Dokanyama-dori. In the Edo period this was a popular spot for gathering medicinal herbs and listening to insects singing; in those days you could see Mt. Fuji to the west and Mt. Tsukuba to the east.
Back around the station, the mid-rise buildings lining Ogubashi-dori are home to many eateries. In 2020, the three chome that make up this neighborhood had a population of about 8,500 people, and six in ten households were single-person households, higher than the Arakawa City average. People in their twenties and thirties make up about three in ten residents, and nearly half of households rent.
The JR Yamanote Line, the Chiyoda subway line, and the Nippori-Toneri Liner all meet at this station. Public transit ranks 35th among 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the highest-ranking category for this neighborhood. It's only 0.5 km to neighboring Nippori, the shortest distance between stations on the Yamanote Line, and the platforms of the two stations can be seen from each other.
From our street photos, cleanliness ranks 391st, sidewalks rank 390th, and greenery ranks 385th — every category of neighborhood environment falls in the lower range. About 2.3 hectares in front of the station in Nishi-Nippori 5-chome are slated for redevelopment, with the old buildings to be demolished starting in fiscal year 2028.
People have lived on this plateau since early times — the Dokanyama ruins have yielded house remains and pottery from the Jomon and Yayoi periods. There are three theories about the origin of the name Dokanyama; one holds that it was the site of a branch castle belonging to Ota Dokan.
In the Meiji era, Masaoka Shiki came to this plateau and wrote a tanka about the view from here. Kaisei Gakuen was originally located in Awajicho, Kanda; after its school building burned down in the Great Kanto Earthquake, it moved to Dokanyama in 1924.
Before the station was built, this area was densely packed with housing. Nishi-Nippori Station on the Chiyoda Line opened in 1969, while the JR station didn't open until 1971, built to allow transfers to the Chiyoda Line. The JR Nishi-Nippori Station is the second-newest station on the Yamanote Line.
The redevelopment of the area in front of Nishi-Nippori Station covers about 2.3 hectares in front of the station in Nishi-Nippori 5-chome. Current plans call for demolishing the old buildings in fiscal year 2028, breaking ground in fiscal year 2029, and completing the project in fiscal year 2033, though this schedule may still be adjusted.
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
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