Yamanote Line “Stations I Never Plan to Get Off At” Ranking: #2 Is Tabata — 5ch Reacts: “Isn’t That the Nearest Station to a Jiro Ramen Shop?”

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The story

In a survey of Kanto residents in their 50s and 60s, a ranking was released of Yamanote Line stations “with no plans to get off,” and the #2 spot went to Tabata with 12.1% of the vote. Tabata is served by both the JR Yamanote Line and the JR Keihin-Tohoku Line, giving it direct access to major hub stations like Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Tokyo — but the reason it ranks so high is that there’s simply little demand for transferring there. On the 5ch thread, many posters noted that stations like Tabata and Uguisudani, which — unlike neighboring Komagome, Sugamo, Otsuka, and Nippori — see little transfer traffic, naturally get passed over. Others countered that Nippori has shed its “minor station” image thanks to a wave of tower-condo redevelopment, making for a mixed picture station by station.

(details omitted)

●No. 2: Tabata

Coming in at #2 with 12.1% of the vote was “Tabata.” Located in Tokyo’s Kita Ward, Tabata Station is served by both the JR Yamanote Line and the JR Keihin-Tohoku Line. It offers excellent access to Tokyo’s major business and commercial districts — taking the Yamanote Line gets you to terminal stations like Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Tokyo Station without a single transfer. Another plus is that the Keihin-Tohoku Line runs parallel to the Yamanote Line, so you can pick whichever suits your commute time or destination.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

3AnonymousSep 4, 2026 21:50
Isn't Tabata the nearest station to a Jiro ramen shop?
7AnonymousSep 4, 2026 21:51
If anything, getting off at Uguisudani is the ONLY plan I ever have
10AnonymousSep 4, 2026 21:52
Re: #4
Mejiro's got Gakushuin and Japan Women's University,
so it's packed with young women
263AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:50
Re: #10
Yeah, that's the station where the makeup smell really hits you
15AnonymousSep 4, 2026 21:53
Uguisudani, huh? Don't act tough about it just because you're a guy!! (Uguisudani's known for its love-hotel district)
16AnonymousSep 4, 2026 21:53
Why survey all of Kanto?
Just the 23 wards would've been enough
253AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:47
Re: #16
Within the 23 wards you can get by on just buses and the subway
Big stations are a pain — all that transferring and walking from the gates to the platform
29AnonymousSep 4, 2026 21:58
Komagome, Sugamo, and Otsuka have transfer demand, but Tabata and Uguisudani don't
Also weird how close Nippori and Nishi-Nippori are to each other
47AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:00
Re: #29
Tabata does have some, actually
depends on switching between the Keihin-Tohoku Line and Yamanote Line for your destination

Uguisudani has zero, though
56AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:02
Re: #29
Nishi-Nippori = the station that exists for transferring to the Chiyoda Line
35AnonymousSep 4, 2026 21:58
Re: #1
Nah, wouldn't it be Komagome or Nippori?
181AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:30
Re: #35
Nippori gets plenty of boarding/alighting demand from people heading to Narita
194AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:32
Re: #181
The Joban Line stops there too, and it became the terminal for the Nippori-Toneri Liner, so it developed fast
Tower condos are going up all around now — it's shed its minor-station image
199AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:33
Re: #181
Nippori's great
Good access, and I like the vibe around there
I'm also into Yanaka on the other side
62AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:04
Lived in Tokyo for over 40 years and I've never once gotten off at Osaki
66AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:05
Re: #62
Maybe use this as a chance to finally get off there
68AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:06
Re: #62
Went to a driving school in Osaki once — haven't gotten off there since
86AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:10
Never gotten off at Yoyogi
90AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:11
Re: #86
For me Yoyogi means the drop-in mahjong parlor that got me through my ronin year (a year spent studying for university re-entrance exams)
146AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:24
Re: #86
Yoyogi's close to Odakyu's Minami-Shinjuku Station, so I sometimes get off there to transfer
96AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:12
I think they should just make an express
Ikebukuro – Shinjuku – Shibuya – Shinagawa – Tokyo – Ueno – Ikebukuro

something like that, maybe
106AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:14
Re: #96
Just make good use of the Shonan-Shinjuku Line and the Ueno-Tokyo Line
107AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:14
Re: #96
If you're in a hurry just take the Metro
it's not like downtown Tokyo forces you to go around the loop to get anywhere
108AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:14
Re: #96
The Yamanote Line's a loop line, after all
for stations that overlap with the Keihin-Tohoku Line, that line's basically already the express
101AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:13
Where was Tōkyō Gakuen again?
113AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:14
Re: #101
Kokubunji, Tsukishima, Nishi-Nippori
156AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:26
Re: #101
It was famous for getting kids into Kaisei, so wasn't it Nishi-Nippori?
127AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:18
It's a loop, so I figure one train car would do
run it slow like a conveyor-belt sushi and there'd be no wait time
129AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:19
Re: #127
And if you run inside the car too, you'd get there even faster
135AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:21
Re: #127
That kind of makes sense… or does it?
145AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:24
Tabata is the only station name that reads the same forwards and backwards (JR) — don't you dare disrespect Tabata!
151AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:25
Re: #145
Tsu Station: "Ignored again…" (its name is just one character — also technically a palindrome)
155AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:26
Re: #145
Tabata, town of men who know the difference (riffing on an old coffee-ad slogan)
191AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:32
Uguisudani Station, more than 50 years ago
https://www.nippon.com/ja/ncommon/contents/japan-topics/2686193/2686193.jpg
204AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:34
There's that building between Komagome and Tabata with a huge golf ball perched on top of it, right?
208AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:36
Re: #204
I never ride that stretch to begin with
Uguisudani rings a bell way more
216AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:38
Re: #204
Wasn't there a railroad crossing around there? Feel like I heard the one in Ikebukuro got removed
223AnonymousSep 4, 2026 22:40
Re: #204
That's Light Shokai.
An old established maker of small golf accessories.

Background and Discussion Points

Rankings like this one are reader-poll features asking people to pick “stations that are X,” so as the vote percentages suggest, the results reflect not absolute popularity or unpopularity but largely passive choices — “I don’t get off there because I have no reason to.” That came through in the thread’s reactions too: several posters pointed out that the structural reason Tabata and Uguisudani made the list is a lack of transfer demand, unlike Tabata’s parallel Keihin-Tohoku Line or neighboring Nippori, which connects to the Joban Line and the Nippori-Toneri Liner. Nippori itself, meanwhile, has seen a wave of tower-condo development in recent redevelopment, with some commenters saying it has “shed its minor-station status” — so even within the same northeastern area, stations get very different reputations. Note that the source article doesn’t reveal which station took the #1 spot, and it wasn’t named in the thread either, so this article doesn’t address it. It’s worth remembering the ranking measures “stations with no reason to get off,” not “bad stations.”

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “[Surveyed: Kanto Residents in Their 50s and 60s] Ranking of “Yamanote Line Stations You Never Plan to Get Off At”! #2 Is “Tabata” — What’s #1?

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