The Yokohama Line for Hachioji, Shin-Yokohama, and Yokohama

The Yokohama Line is a railway line that runs between Higashi-Kanagawa Station in Yokohama and Hachioji Station in Tokyo. Shin-Yokohama Station and Yokohama Station are linked by Yokohama Line through services. This line is operated by JR East and so is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass.

At Yokohama Station Yokohama Line services bound for Shin-Yokohama and Hachioji are boarded at Platform 4. At Shin-Yokohama Station Yokohama Line services bound for Yokohama and Ofuna are boarded at Platform 5 and services bound for Hachioji are boarded at Platfom 6.

Key Destinations

There are 20 stations on the Yokohama Line.

Hachioji – Katakura – Hachioji-Minamino – Aihara – Hashimoto – Sagamihara – Yabe – Fuchinobe – Kobuchi – Machida – Naruse – Nagatsuka – Tokaichiba – Nakayama – Kamoi – Kozukue – Shin-Yokohama – Kikuna – Oguchi – Higashi-Kanagawa

Through services continue beyond Higashi-Kanagawa on the Keihin-Tohoku Line to Yokohama Station. Through services also continue beyond Yokohama Station on the Negishi Line as far as Ofuna Station. The key destinations on the Yokohama Line are listed below with example fares and train times given from Hachioji Station.

Hachioji Station

Hachioji is a suburb of Tokyo with many parks and easy access to nature. The hiking trails of Mount Takao are a 20 minute train ride from nearby Keio-hachioji Station on the Keio-Takao Line. Other attractions in the Hachioji area are Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, Tama Forest Science Garden, and Musashi Imperial Graveyard where Emperor Taisho, Emperor Showa, and their wives lie buried.

Hachioji Station is also served by the JR Chuo Line, the JR Hachiko Line, and the Keio Line.

Fuchinobe Station

Exit here for Sagamihara City Museum which has displays on local history, geography and natural history as well as a planetarium. Closed on Mondays, the permanent exhibits are free to view, but the planetarium costs 500 yen for adults and 200 yen for children.

Machida Station

Machida is a city in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area with a number of attractions. Machida Squirrel Garden is a large outdoor enclosure where you can see a large number of squirrels as well as rabbits, tortoises, marmots, chipmunks, and prairie dogs. Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts is a print museum with 30,000 Japanese and Western prints dating from the eighth century to the present day. Buaiso is a traditional thatched roof wooden house and garden which is now kept as a museum and displays a collection of kimonos and ceramics.

Transfer here to the Odakyu Odawara Line.

Nakayama Station

Nakayama Station is located in the Midori Ward of Yokohama City. Yokohama Municipal Zoo (Zoorasia) is a 15 minute bus ride from this station.

Transfer here to the Yokohama Municipal Subway Green Line.

Kozukue Station

Exit here for International Stadium Yokohama and for Shin-Yokohama Park. The stadium hosts a range of sporting events and live music shows. The park features sporting facilities for tennis, basketball, skate boarding, baseball, and soccer, as well as gardens, a water park and bird-watching facilities.

Shin-Yokohama Station

The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is a popular attraction near this station. The museum features a recreation of a Tokyo downtown district in the year 1958 which contains a food court with ramen noodle shops from all over Japan. Popular tourist hotels in this area are Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel, and Hotel Associa Shin-Yokohama which is located on the upper floors of the station building.

Shin-Yokohama Station is the shinkansen terminal for Yokohama City with Tokaido Shinkansen services bound for Tokyo or for Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Fukuoka. Yokohama Municipal Subway’s Blue Line connects this station with Yokohama Station, as well as Kannai Station in Yokohama’s main sightseeing area. Yokohama Line services link Shin-Yokohama Station and Yokohama Station in around 10 minutes for a fare of 250 yen. Not all Yokohama Line services continue on to Yokohama Station, so be sure to check the destination before boarding.

Higashi-Kanagawa Station

Higashi-Kanagawa Station is the southern terminus of the Yokohama Line, but through services continue on to Yokohama Station on the Keihin-Tohoku Line, and as far as Ofuna Station on the Negishi Line.

Transfers can be made at nearby Nakakido Station to the Keikyu Main Line.

Useful Links

To plan your journey via the Tokaido Main Line use English language route finders like the Japan Transit Planner or Hyperdia. JR East has a PDF route map of their railway network in which the Yokohama Line and Negishi Line route is numbered 6 and colored green.

Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.