Today, it's free and takes only five minutes. But getting to the other side of JR Shinagawa Station was once no easy matter.

Walk 30 minutes or more or buy a 130 yen JR entry ticket for the quick way out through the station -- those were once the only two options available to those who mistakenly took the wrong exit the first time around.

The free "shortcut" had been over Yatsuyama bridge -- roughly 600 meters to the south of the Takanawaguchi Exit west of the station along National Route 15 and an even longer, deviated walk from the Konanguchi Exit on the east.

Things changed in November 1998 with the tentative opening of a 166-meter free east-west passage, which goes through the newly expanded station complex and bridge over an extensive row of railway tracks.

But that's not the end of the story: Massive redevelopment projects are continuing to change the whole scape of the east side area.

Shinagawa Inter City, a gigantic office-and-commercial complex that opened in December 1998, may appear isolated and a bit out of place in the hitherto underdeveloped area. But more of its likes will be coming soon to its neighborhood. By the end of March 2004, the 15.2-hectare or so area to the east of the station will be transformed into a major business and commercial center.

Three Mitsubishi group companies -- Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- will be moving either all or some of their headquarters to the district. Other companies coming to the area include Canon Sales Co. and Taiyo Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Indeed, those companies have good reasons to come. Shinagawa, traditionally a key railroad station served by a number of JR lines as well as by the private Keihin Kyuko Line, will soon become an even more important gateway to both the air and ground transportation networks.

The Keihin Kyuko Line, which has been extended to Haneda airport, is now also offering a direct link to Narita international airport via the Toei Asakusa and Keisei Takasago lines.

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) is now constructing a new shinkansen station in Shinagawa, with its completion slated for fiscal 2003. The new station, which will be serving as a substitute terminal for Tokyo, will be served by up to four bullet trains per hour.

All these developments are greatly welcome by officials of Minato Ward, in whose jurisdiction JR Shinagawa Station -- despite its name -- and its surrounding areas fall in.

In sharp contrast to the Takanawa district on the west side of the station, which has major hotels and commercial facilities, the Konan district on the east has long remained underdeveloped.

Thus, the free east-west passage, which will eventually be extended another 10 meters to cross over the shinkansen tracks and connect to a new station building on the east side, is a realization of a long-cherished dream of those living in the Konan district, according to one ward official.

It is "our earnest wish," he said, to reintegrate the local community, which has been physically divided by railway tracks, to bring about more balanced development on both sides of the Yamanote Line.