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Have you ever thought about how deep the subway platforms we use every day are from the ground level?

Just as buildings rise up into the sky, cities also extend deep and wide underground. In major metropolitan areas like Tokyo, some subway platforms are located more than ten floors below ground. These places are truly another world, which we might call an “underground city.”

In this column, based on publicly available data and our company’s research, we introduce the top 5 deepest subway stations in Japan and around the world. We also explain the background behind their depths and the geographical and urban factors involved.

🗾 Top 5 Deepest Subway Stations in Japan
Roppongi Station (Toei Oedo Line) – approx. 42.3 meters

Higashi-Nakano Station (Toei Oedo Line) – approx. 38.8 meters

Kokkai-gijidomae Station (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line) – approx. 37.9 meters

Korakuen Station (Tokyo Metro Namboku Line) – approx. 37.5 meters

Shinjuku Station (Toei Oedo Line) – approx. 36.6 meters

(According to our company’s research)

🌍 Top 5 Deepest Subway Stations in the World
Arsenalna Station (Arsenalna), Kyiv, Ukraine – approx. 105.5 meters

Admiralteyskaya Station, Saint Petersburg, Russia – approx. 86 meters

Washington Park Station, Portland, USA – approx. 79 meters

HKU Station (Hong Kong University), Hong Kong – approx. 70 meters

Pot’isi Station (estimated), Pyongyang, North Korea – approx. 100 meters (unofficial)

(According to our company’s research)

🏗️ Depth Created by Urban “Underground Structures”
In Japan, especially on lines like the Toei Oedo Line where it is necessary to avoid other infrastructure, there are several stations deeper than 40 meters underground. Newer subway lines tend to go deeper, and as cities grow, the number of underground “layers” increases.

Additionally, newly constructed stations during urban redevelopment often have to be built deep underground to coordinate with existing buildings and underground facilities.

👣 A Small Adventure Deep Underground
For example, when you descend the long escalator at Roppongi Station on the Oedo Line, you are going about 14 floors below the surface (assuming one floor is roughly 3 meters). That everyday journey is actually a small adventure weaving through the complex infrastructure of the city!