Tokyo’s Train Station Art - Bringing Nature In

6 Feb 2008 Category: Features, Graphics, Illustration, Japan

Tokyo’s Train Station Art - Bringing Nature In

Sweet! Fish and octopus drawn by kids await you, wary traveller, at Iidabashi Station on the Namboku subway line.

Beneath the surface of Tokyo, a vast subway system transports its millions of passengers - without them catching a single glimpse of sky or a tree on their long journeys through all these darken shafts. But this megacity has a heart for its commuters! For today, PingMag takes you to some of the brighter corners as we focus on Tokyo’s elaborate train station murals and art tapestries that represent nature in more or less abstract ways.

Written by Ryoko
Translated by Kevin Mcgue


Getting a familiar sight nowadays: barriers to prevent people from falling on the tracks.

Now, see what difference a little paint can make? As seen through the doors.

Our first stop is at Yoyogi-Koen Station on the Chiyoda line, with Yoyogi Park just above. Simple patches of green, yellow, and red represent the falling leaves, bringing an image of the park to the commuters as a reminder of the changing of the seasons.

The colours of all the four seasons, subtly placed on the station walls at Yoyogi-Koen Station.

Not only this station gives the passengers a hint of what they might be missing from below (and would see only in the dark after work.) At Gaienmae Station on the Ginza line, the famous promenade, lined with rows of Ginko trees, is only a short walk away from the station. At least the traveller can dream of it down below:


This painting in Gaienmae Station shows a nearby tree-lined street in summer…

…and here it is in autumn. In case you forget the seasons in this big city.

Often, these representations of nature are not that obvious: Some stations find a connection by selecting colours, abstractly reflecting the tone of the environment in that neighbourhood. For example, Edogawabashi Station on the Yurakucho line near the Kandagawa river is located in an area that was once known for its beautiful cherry blossoms in spring. To get a feeling of the world above, the commuter is surrounded by panels of soft aqua blues and the blossom pinks of the cherry blossom trees.

Abstract representations of nature: The colours of the neighbourhood shared from below ground at Edogawabashi Station.

What might be mistaken as a random pattern of mosaics at the Aoyama-itchome Station when passing by, is more elaborate: At a distance, a 3D picture expressing all seasons is revealed. Emerging from these complex designs are exquisite flowers, such as sunflowers and camellias.

A camellia mosaic showing a rose in Aoyama-itchome Station, as seen from the other platform…

…and a sunflower, as seen from a close distance.

Other stations make clever use of colourful aspects: As the platform at Shin-Ochanomizu Station is extremely long, tile designs based on the old Japanese Calendar were installed to make a good use of it.

The quite long platform at Shin-Ochanomizu Station with little colourful accents to break the monotonous tunnel sight:

A detailed tiled mosaic portraying the image of falling leaves in autumn…

…and a pink gradation to symbolise April’s cherry blossoms.

In addition to the months, the dates are depicted as well: Red semi-circles mark holidays and remind the commuter of free days ahead. A veritable offline Google calendar then! This here would be the first week of May.

The passengers are especially in for a treat as they pass through the stations on the Namboku Line: Being completed in September of 2000, all stations have glass doors between the train and the platforms as a protective means to prevent people from accidentally falling on the tracks. To help enlighten this sight, at almost every station there are beautiful murals the other side of these doors. Wait a minute - why especially on the Namboku line? We called Tokyo Metro to find out:

“We found it is hard to see advertisements through the glass doors,” explained a spokesperson from the transport company. “So instead of the large ads that appear at stations on other lines, we decided to make passengers happy by brightening up the platform with some fun pictures. The goal of these murals is to make people feel more at home riding the subway.”
We got that!

A mural at Korakuen Station on the Namboku line. It reminds us a bit of Henri Mattisse’s cut paper collages…

Colourful murals are based on themes - and sometimes also provide a message. The ones at Komagome Station, somewhat reminiscent of Henri Matisse’s cut paper collages, send a message of joy to the passengers’ commuting time. Oh yes! We feel instantly enlightened by these! On the other hand, at Oji Station, the theme is “Metro Garden.” On this spot, murals are to recreate the calm, soothing effects of a garden in this cold underground world.

A mural at Komagome station, with the theme “a joyous time for you,” with the platform door forming a frame for the artwork. We feel so joyous, instantly!

And a strawberry? Or is it a tomato? At Oji station.

Also on the Ginza line at Tameike-Sanno Sation, incoming travellers are greeted by murals depicting buildings, people, and national costumes from countries all over the world for a globalised touch.

A mural on the theme of a Russion cityscape, at Tameike-Sanno.

But animals get their share of attention too: The platforms on the Namboku line are boldly decorated with shrimp, crabs, and more. Each mural has its own theme, for example, the shrimp mural is “the thrill of encountering nature.” We bet they didn’t mean the close encounter with a crab that tweaks you.

A bold and dynamic mural of a shrimp. Impressive!

And a very stylised mural of crabs. What a beautiful pattern!

A row of eggplant in a lovely combination of colours. Yes, eggplant is a nice theme too!

How was your train ride today? If you don’t live in Tokyo, look for some mass transit art in your own town - and let us know!

71 Comments

  1. [...] Tokyo’s Train Station Art (pingmag) (this is my fav blog about design… amazing stuff!) [...]

    Posted by: MomentFactory.com/Blog : if life is a movie, this is our making-of . » Blog Archive » tokyo metro on February 6th, 2008 at 10:57 pm

  2. I love it when Art is more important than advertisement. Can’t wait to get to know Tokyo’s…
    You can check some of Sao Paulo’s tube station’s art here: http://www.metro.sp.gov.br/cultura/tearte02.asp
    (my personal favorite is Anhangabau eki. 3m hight colorful glasses in an open space part.)

    Posted by: Adriana on February 6th, 2008 at 11:16 pm

  3. Interesting article…If you want to check graffiti from Barcelona, you can go to strangestreets.blogspot.com. Hope you like it. Hello everyone!

    Posted by: doomplenty on February 7th, 2008 at 12:37 am

  4. Beautiful pictures of Tokyo Art Graffiti!

    Posted by: Fubiz on February 7th, 2008 at 2:41 am

  5. One of the British tube system lines has barriers similar to the ones above, if only they were brightened up a bit.

    Posted by: Badger on February 7th, 2008 at 5:19 am

  6. [...] Tokyo’s Train Station Art is a look at how the subway can be made more appealing - and would be good example for any system to follow. Of course that does mean that advertisers would lose some prime sites, but I think the loss of revenue would be worthwhile. Of course, it won’t be a patch on the Moscow subway - nothing is too good for the workers! [...]

    Posted by: Shorter News Items « Stephen Rees’s blog on February 7th, 2008 at 5:42 am

  7. Mark Rooker reflects weekly on the news by animating pictures out of the newspaper for the Dutch news site nrc•next.

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  9. Inspiring art in motion!

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    Posted by: Tokyo metro art | CandyBlog (by NOCUS) on February 7th, 2008 at 11:56 pm

  11. I like this kind having the visual impulse picture very much, as well as some childish lovable

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  12. [...] in Chiyoda Eki Jump to Comments Some eye-candy from the Tokyo subway system — courtesy pingmag – which takes readers to “some of the brighter corners, as we focus on… [...]

    Posted by: Falling leaves in Chiyoda Eki « Metropolis West on February 10th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

  13. Nice to see subways which aren’t covered in ads (or in the case of the London Tube, broken dirty tiles).

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  14. [...] maybe as a point of reference for people who haven’t been up there in a while. Tokyo tunnels go for miles, they [...]

    Posted by: Tokyo Subway Art « Melody Chamlee on February 14th, 2008 at 5:00 am

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    Posted by: zoomlines on February 16th, 2008 at 10:50 pm

  17. I really like it, i hope the New York subway can redesign everything too…the other day I saw 5 rats running around on the platform……….urgh………..

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  18. [...] de “graffiti” legal en los trenes de Japón, hecho por niños, y recientemente por otro en el que hablan de la decoración de las lineas del tren subterráneo en el mismo [...]

    Posted by: Hemisferio-Urbano - Graffiti y Street Art Internacional y de Guatemala » Blog Archive » El por que los Japoneses van un paso adelante on February 27th, 2008 at 3:59 am

  19. [...] de “graffiti” legal en los trenes de Japón, hecho por niños, y recientemente por otro en el que hablan de la decoración de las lineas del tren subterráneo en el mismo [...]

    Posted by: Hemisferio-Urbano - Graffiti y Street Art Internacional y de Guatemala » Blog Archive » El por que los Japoneses van un paso adelante on February 27th, 2008 at 3:59 am

  20. [...] PingMag has published my translation of the article ” Tokyo’s Train Station Art - Bringing Nature In.” Beneath the surface of Tokyo, a vast subway system transports its millions of passengers - without them catching a single glimpse of sky or a tree on their long journeys through all these darken shafts. But this megacity has a heart for its commuters! For today, PingMag takes you to some of the brighter corners as we focus on Tokyo’s elaborate train station murals and art tapestries that represent nature in more or less abstract ways. Read the full story>>> [...]

    Posted by: Kevin Mcgue - Tokyo-Based Journalist & Filmmaker » Tokyo’s Train Station Art - Bringing Nature In on March 3rd, 2009 at 10:37 pm

  21. [...] Read the English version at PingMag» [...]

    Posted by: Kevin Mcgue | “Tokyo’s Train Station Art – Bringing Nature In” Translation on April 17th, 2010 at 10:16 pm

  22. graffiti” legal en los trenes de Japón, hecho por niños, y recientemente por otro en el que hablan de la decoración de las lineas del tren subterráneo en el mismo

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