Mar 08 (Japan Today) - In Tokyo, the party can keep going all night, with bars, pubs, and clubs that stay open until the morning light. However, if you’ve got something else you’d like to do before sunrise, like, say, go home and get some sleep, you’ll want to keep the time of your last train in mind while you’re out partying.
Sure, you could always grab a taxi, but cabs are already expensive in Japan, and they increase their rates for late-night rides (a 20-some-odd-minute taxi ride in nocturnal Tokyo can easily run you 5,000 yen, so the train really is your, and your wallet’s, friend. Unfortunately, the most important train line in Tokyo is about to move the time of its last train up by roughly 30 minutes.
The JR Yamanote Line runs in a loop around downtown Tokyo, passing through nightlife hotspots like Shibuya and Shinjuku, plus Harajuku and Ikebukuro. But for passengers wanting to make their way from those stations to Shinagawa, one of Tokyo’s most convenient transfer hubs, at the southeast tip of downtown, the timetable for the last train is going to be changing due to large-scale construction taking place near Shinagawa, which is precluding the use of storage depot tracks for cars going out of service for the night.
For example, previously the last train from Shibuya to Shinagawa left Shibuya Station at 1:07 a.m., but under the new timetable, you’ll need to be on the 0:40 a.m. train, 27 minutes earlier, if you want to make it to Shinagawa.
