Attractions > Tokyo > Area > Ikebukuro

About | Access | Hotels & Lodging | Hours & Fees

Downtown Ikebukuro is packed with people, Tokyo Japan by mroach (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

About

Ikebukuro sits on the North West corner of the main Yamanote Line that loops Tokyo. It is also one the the biggest and most major cities within Tokyo. Ikebukuro does not have the reputation say "Ginza" or "Roppongi" has outside of Japan but actually Ikebukuro Station is the third busiest station in Japan and the world! At it's core, Ikebukuro is a commercial district but it also has "trendy" areas, "seedy" areas, "Shopping districts" and "play" areas. Ikebukuro is always packed with people, any day of the week. Salary men rushing from place to place, school girls and boys skipping school and wandering about the fast food shops and game centers, housewives doing some shopping and the dazed tourist looking this way and that wondering how does this all work!? If you step off the main streets and into some of the back streets / alleys, you'll quickly find yourself in some colorful areas. The Japanese Mafia, Yakuza, is dominant in Ikebukuro with one of the main syndicates having it's headquarters here. You don't have to worry though, Japan is extremely safe and instead of getting mugged your likely to get a smile by one of the underworlds henchmen standing outside an "Ayashii" (strange looking 'unknown' type of establishment) place.

Ikebukuro has shopping galore. Some of the biggest department stores have huge buildings here (two "Flagship" stores) and there are electronic stores everywhere too. The station is the terminating station for two major rail lines that come into Tokyo from the suburbs. Along with shopping, there are thousands of restaurants to choose from and or bars to check out if you want to go out at night. As for attractions, Sunshine City (about a 10 - 15 min. walk from Ikebukuro Station) has a major shopping mall with events going on all the time and inside the complex there are indoor theme parks and an aquarium (see map below and attractions below the map).

Ikebukuro does not have much "history" as it were... it has always been the "blue collar" area of Tokyo where land was cheap and the average working man could settle. The name "Ikebukuro" literally means "Lake Bag", before the major development you see today, the area had lakes and was kind of a semi-wetland. Where the current Sunshine City complex is used to be a famous prison called Sugamo Prison. Originally built in 1895, the prison held suspected war criminals after World War 2 (under Allied occupation control) and even the famous "Tokyo Rose" (real name: Toguri D'Aquino) was held there at one point. In 1971 the prison was dismantled and in 1978 the current Sunshine City complex was built in it's spot.

Areas of Interest in and around Ikebukuro

Attractions

Sunshine Aquarium is on the tenth floor of Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. They have everything from sea lions and stingrays to smaller snakes, frogs, and fish. They also have a performing seal show (about every hour) and fish feeding shows. The biggest draws are probably the giant manta rays and the huge sunfish (called mambo in Japanese)... see more details.

J-World Tokyo (Permanently Closed) is a newer theme park inside the Sunshine City in Ikebukuro where you can experience various rides and activities relating to the world of "Jump" Anime such as "One Piece", "Dragon Ball", "Naruto" and more. They have half a dozen rides, carnival type games, exhibits and lots of food. "Otaku" and Anime fans will absolutely love this place while "normal" people...

Namja Town is a Theme Park inside Sunshine City, a "tower" building and shopping mall. They have some rides, themed shows, carnival style games, a haunted house and lots of food (sometimes it is called a "food theme park"). There is also a bunch of character mascots roaming the premises you can take your picture with. Its generally targeted for children and or adolescents so if you have some kids and are in the Sunshine City area, you can enter the park for only 500 yen (rides cost more)... see more details.

Ancient Orient Museum is a small private museum. They specialize in Central Asia and Near East artifacts and exhibitions. They have a few permanent exhibits including Greco Buddhist art of Gandhara and some art relating to the art of Palmyra and Persia. Once in a while the also have "special" exhibitions... see more details.

Tokyo Metropolitan Theater is a public art center that mainly features performing arts, especially concerts, operas, theater and musicals. The Tokyo Metropolitan Theater claims to have the largest pipe organ in Japan.

Sunshine 60 Dori is the "Main Street" in Ikebukuro which runs almost from the station down to Sunshine City. It is always packed with people from businessmen to school kids. All types of stores, electronics, fast food joints, game centers, etc. line the street and city noise is blasting from every direction. The street is basically a "Walking Street" as the entire street is full with people but cars do come rushing through sometimes so please take care while walking down this street.

Shopping

Tobu Department Store (Store hours typically from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Restaurants from 11:00 a.m. to "Various Hours" depending on restaurant but usually close around 11:00 p.m.) this Tobu Department store is one of the biggest department stores in Tokyo. It is owned and run by the Tobu Group" which also owns the rail line that terminates in this building.

Seibu Department Store (Store hours typically from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Restaurants from 11:00 a.m. to "Various Hours" depending on restaurant but usually close around 11:00 p.m.) this Seibu Department store is also one of the biggest department stores in Tokyo being the "Flag Ship" department store of the "Seibu Group". Seibu Group also owns and runs railway lines one of which is the Seibu Ikebukuro line which terminates in this building.

Parco Department Store (Store hours typically from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Restaurants from 11:00 a.m. to "Various Hours" depending on restaurant but usually close around 11:00 p.m.) Parco Department store was typically associated with the "younger" crowd but these days it seems they are catering to most everybody.

 

Access

Closest Train Station: Ikebukuro

Ikebukuro, Toshima
Tokyo, Tokyo 170-0014 Japan

Ikebukuro is a Major City and one of the stations on the main Yamanote Line that loops Tokyo. It's about 15 min. from Shinjuku or 30 min. from Tokyo Station on the Yamanote Line.

Google Map

 

Hotels & Lodging

Recommended

View a full list of Hotels and Lodging in or nearby Ikebukuro.

 

Hours & Fees

Hours: This is a Area, therefore each establishment has it's own hours but generally shops in Japan generally open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. while restaurants are generally open until 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m.

Cost: Each establishment's cost is different.

Information presented is based on the time it was created. There may be changes since publication. Please confirm information by contacting the attraction before visiting.