On December 12th, 2000 (12/12/12 on the Japanese calendar), the Teito Rapid transit Company opened Tokyo subway line #12, later dubbed the Oedo Line. This was a bit of a deal for me and my school because one station on the line opened up pretty much across the street from our school doors; before then, one had to make a 12- to 15-minute walk from any one of 4 or 5 more or less equidistant train stations. On cold, hard-raining days, that makes a world of difference.

The Oedo line is a loop line ranging from Shinjuku to Tsukishima to Ryogoku and Iidabashi, with a tail heading out to Nerima. Apparently, the line will be extended from Nerima out to Oizumi Gakuen at some point in the future.

What few people know is that Teito isn’t taking a break; as they finished construction on the Oedo, they had already started on yet another line, lucky number 13. This will be a north-south line, connecting Ikebukero with Shibuya, going along underneath Meiji Blvd., more or less. Already a small bit of the line exists, running from Kotake-Mukaihara to Ikebukuro along the Yurakucho Line. Stops will include Shinjuku Nanachome (right under Oedo’s Higashi-Shinjuku), Shinjuku-Sanchome, Shin-Sendagaya, Meiji Jingu-mae and Shibuya. The line will extend farther north into Wako City, Saitama. You can see a subway map, in English, which includes it, albeit in a small and general way, on this page, or a more detailed map in Japanese at Teito’s home page. Also, on the same site, this page has very detailed maps of each of the stations along the new line.

If you travel along Meiji Blvd. In Shinjuku, then you have seen the construction going on down its length. I have yet to check if the work extends up to Ikebukuro or down to Shibuya, but that would make sense.

If you look at the signs accompanying the construction, you will see the date of November 14, 2004 (Heisei year 16) as the projected end date for construction. Alas, the line itself will not open until 2007, four years from now. Even at that, don’t get your hopes up–the Oedo line was slated to be finished a few years before it actually got finished, so who knows. For me, it just means that I get a station on yet another line near my work. Cool.

You may have noticed, by the way, this new line is coming at about the same time we might expect the new residential towers to be completed after they finish the archaeological excavation next door. That, and several other large construction projects are going on in the area. This place stands to really become a new crossroads for the area.

By the way, there are other rail extension plans slated for the future, including an extension of the JR Keiyo Line from Tokyo out to Mitaka; it would run in a tunnel underneath the Chuo Line, kind of like an alternate line to relieve congestion on the Chuo. Construction is slated to begin by 2015, so you can tell your kids about it.