An old geisha district beside Shinjuku Gyoen, narrow lanes still dotted with small eateries
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
Arakicho, north of Yotsuya-sanchome, used to be a hanamachi (geisha district); small eateries are still scattered along Sharikimon-dori, Sugi-Daimon-dori, and the back alleys. The south edge of the neighborhood borders Shinjuku Gyoen, and Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station, the closest station to the garden, is inside the neighborhood.
Arakicho is shaped like a mortar bowl, sloping downward toward the middle. This town had 1,430 residents in 1995, and by 2020 that number had grown to 2,623.
The garden itself is outside the neighborhood; from Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station's Exit 1 and Exit 2, it's a 5-minute walk to Shinjuku Gate and Okido Gate respectively. Admission is 500 yen, and there's also an annual pass for 2,000 yen valid for one year.
Public transit ranks 29th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the highest-ranking category for this neighborhood, and convenience of daily life ranks 37th. The neighborhood contains two Marunouchi Line stations, Yotsuya-sanchome and Shinjuku-gyoenmae.
Taking the Marunouchi Line from Yotsuya-sanchome toward Shinjuku, the next station is Shinjuku-gyoenmae, and the one after that is Shinjuku-sanchome. From Shinjuku-gyoenmae, you can also reach Tokyo Station with no transfer.
The Fire Museum at the Yotsuya-sanchome intersection is attached to the Yotsuya Fire Station, and admission is free. The Tokyo Toy Museum in Yotsuya 4-chome uses the exhibition rooms of a former elementary school building completed in 1936.
Arakicho is a mortar-shaped depression, so getting in and out often means dealing with changes in elevation.
Every April during cherry blossom season, large crowds of flower viewers get on and off at Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station. Judging from our street photos, greenery ranks 258th out of 395 neighborhoods, a lower-ranking category for this neighborhood.
In the Edo period, Arakicho was the residence of the Takasu domain, and the garden had a large pond with a waterfall. According to tradition, Tokugawa Ieyasu (some say it was Matsudaira Yoshiyuki) washed his horsewhip in the pond, which is why the pond came to be called Sakunoike.
After the Meiji Restoration, the domain residence was removed, and the pond and garden became known to the public; this area became a famous scenic spot, with ryotei opening one after another. After the Great Kanto Earthquake, Arakicho became a hanamachi, and at its peak it had 252 geisha.
The hanamachi era ended in the first half of the 1980s, and a shrunken version of Sakunoike still remains within Tsunokami Benzaiten.
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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