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By the HalfKey team
Living in Yotsuya: trains, groceries and your street
Yotsuya has several stations and useful food shops, but the best daily route depends on your address. Compare the trains, groceries and nearby streets before deciding whether an apartment here fits your stay.
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Yotsuya is worth considering for a longer Tokyo stay if you want useful train connections and places to buy food close to home. Around Yotsuya station, you have JR services and two subway lines. Farther west, Yotsuya-sanchome has its own shopping options, with restaurants in nearby Arakicho.
The first choice is which station you need. Yotsuya's JR and subway connections don't all extend to Yotsuya-sanchome, despite the similar name. If you arrive on JR each evening, look at the walk from Yotsuya station; if you use the Marunouchi line, you can compare both stations and choose around your shopping too.
Which station would you use?
Yotsuya and Yotsuya-sanchome are separate stations. It's an easy detail to miss when you're comparing listings with similar names.
| Station | Lines | What to check when choosing an apartment |
|---|---|---|
| Yotsuya (四ツ谷) | JR Chuo Rapid and Chuo–Sobu Local; Tokyo Metro Marunouchi and Namboku | Useful if you want a choice of JR and subway routes. Check which entrance serves your line. |
| Yotsuya-sanchome (四谷三丁目) | Tokyo Metro Marunouchi | Compare the walk here with the walk to Yotsuya, especially if your regular journey uses the Marunouchi line. |
| Akebonobashi (曙橋) | Toei Shinjuku | Check this station too if the apartment is advertised around Yotsuyasakamachi. |
For lines, entrances, and timetables, check each station's official page: JR Yotsuya, Metro Yotsuya, Yotsuya-sanchome, and Akebonobashi.
From Yotsuya, JR has direct services towards Shinjuku and Tokyo. For your own commute, search from the apartment address to the office address at the time you'll travel. Include the walk at both ends. If you expect late nights, check the last connection for your full journey on the relevant day.
If you're studying at Sophia, use the university's Yotsuya campus map to check the route to your building as well as the station.
Where to buy groceries
Marusho Sohonten, at 3-12 Yotsuya near Yotsuya-sanchome, is a useful place to start for food shopping. Save the current store location before your first trip. If you plan to cook regularly, include this stop when comparing apartment locations. You'll notice a steep walk home more when you're carrying a bag of rice.
Seijo Ishii in Atre Yotsuya, on the first floor by Yotsuya station, is another option for picking up dinner on the way home, with prepared food, baked goods, and drinks. It also carries meat and produce, although this branch doesn't stock frozen food. Useful to know before you plan dinner around something from the freezer aisle. Atre shop details, Seijo Ishii branch details.
The two shops also suit different schedules. Marusho's published hours are 9:30–24:00. Atre's Seijo Ishii closes earlier; check the branch page for your day. If you regularly get home around 23:00, an apartment near Yotsuya station won't give you the station-supermarket stop you might expect. Marusho may be the more useful grocery landmark when comparing addresses.
If you use the Marunouchi line, getting off at Yotsuya-sanchome can put that late shop on your walk home. If you arrive on JR at Yotsuya, include the onward grocery walk in the comparison. For freezer staples, check another shop's range too: Seijo Ishii's convenient station location won't help with that particular shopping trip.
On arrival, have a look at the apartment's fridge and cooking equipment before doing a big shop. Our guide to groceries and cooking in a small Tokyo kitchen covers what to check.
Dinner in Arakicho, and something sweet in Wakaba
For dinner out, look through the Arakicho merchants' directory. It includes yakitori shops, Japanese restaurants, wine bars, and other places to eat and drink. Pick a couple that appeal to you, then check their own menus and reservation details. That gives you somewhere to aim for when you're hungry without having to plan every evening.
Arakicho also has narrow lanes, slopes, and steps, described in Shinjuku's neighbourhood guide. If you're choosing an apartment here, check the route with luggage or a pushchair in mind. A short route on a map may include stairs.
For an afternoon snack, Taiyaki Wakaba, at 1-10 Wakaba, makes fish-shaped cakes filled with sweet red bean paste. The shop takes cash and currently closes on Wednesdays and Sundays; check its own website before setting out.
A walk along the outer moat
Sotobori Park follows the old castle's outer moat between Yotsuya and Iidabashi, passing Ichigaya. The park extends for about two kilometres, giving you somewhere nearby to take a longer walk. You can do a section and turn back whenever you like.
The park is also a cherry-blossom spot, though flowering dates vary. It's worth keeping some flexibility in your plans if you're hoping to catch them.
Check the bedroom's surroundings
For a month-long stay, ask which way the bedroom faces and what is immediately outside it. A listing's neighbourhood description won't tell you whether the window overlooks tracks, a road, a restaurant entrance, or another building.
If you can visit, walk the route home at the time you'd normally use it and listen inside the room with the windows closed. If you're booking remotely, ask for a recent video from the bedroom and information about nearby construction. These checks matter more if you're a light sleeper or will be taking calls from home.