Part of a new subway line that will snake down through Tokyo to link Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures will open Saturday, giving the public a new convenient way to access the crowded Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro districts.
Tokyo Metro Co.'s Fukutoshin Line, linking Ikebukuro and Shibuya stations with an 8.9 km section opening this weekend, is named after Tokyo's "secondary city centers" outside the center of the metropolis. The new line, which will stretch to Wakoshi Station in Saitama Prefecture, is expected to ease congestion.
"Before, most of Tokyo's subways were concentrated toward the center of Tokyo, such as Otemachi and Tokyo, Chuo Ward, Minato Ward and Chiyoda Ward," Tokyo Metro Co. spokesman Tatsuya Edakubo said. "This new line goes through the Fukutoshin districts, including Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro."