A train line you either take every day or never at all, the Odakyu Odawara Line is a private railway that stretches from Shinjuku in the heart of Tokyo all the way to Odawara's outskirts in Kanagawa. A busy commuter line, it's perfect if you're working in Shinjuku and offers an opportunity to live in a quieter spot away from the humdrum life of Tokyo. While this normally means sacrificing on time, you can find surprisingly green areas within half an hour of Shinjuku, and an abundance of high-speed rapid trains make it even easier. If you're not convinced, here's five reasons to give the Odakyu Line a chance.
1. The rapid options
Whether you're lucky enough to live at one of the main hubs or you've chosen a quieter local station, you can balance travel time surprisingly well thanks to the range of express trains available. The fastest regular-priced train, the Rapid Express, has only 5 stops between Sagami-Ono and Shinjuku, and you get you to the center from hubs like Shinyurigaoka in just 22 minutes, despite being over 20km away, while Noborito is only 10 minutes away.
With a mixture of commuter express, regular express and of course local trains, one of the best aspects of the Odakyu commute is the ability to switch between connecting trains depending on your preference for speed or a seat on any particular day. With extra services during busy hours and early start times, living further afield than you may have originally planned can still leave you with decent travel time and a better chance of getting a seat when you switch.
2. Good connections
Depending on how far into Kanagawa Prefecture you are thinking of moving, the connections on the Odakyu Line can be fantastic for cutting your commute time — if you choose wisely. Living a stop or two away from your connection can drop prices substantially, and the crush won't last too long. Aside from the obvious benefit of being directly connected to Shinjuku and its countless connections, the smaller stations have great options too.
The Chiyoda Line can be reached from Yoyogi-Uehara, with easy access from there to Omotesando, Nogizaka and Hibiya, among others. A little further along the line, you'll find a connection for the Keio-Inokashira Line at the almost finally refurbished Shimokitazawa Station, offering a quick link to Shibuya or a quieter ride towards Meidaimai and Kichijoji. Noborito offers a connection to the Nambu Line while Machida has the JR Yokohama Line, which can help if you're traveling to Yokohama by avoiding the inner-Tokyo transfers. If you need the Odakyu Tama Line, then Shinyurigaoka is the stop for you. And travelling all the way down to Odawara can connect you to Shinkansen lines like the Tokaido.
3. The record-breaking Romancecar
Named after the 'romance seats' that many carriages carry (lacking the dividing armrests that allow couples to get closer together), this high-speed route was added in 1957. It broke the world speed record for a narrow gauge train and was the impetus for the bullet train. So while its name may be cheesy, its speed can't be denied.
Today, the train serves as a luxury tourist train ferrying sightseers from Shinjuku to Enoshima, Hakone and Odawara in comfort unbeaten on many trains. The tickets aren't cheap though, and while some use the train to commute, your pay packet would have to be pretty absorbant for expenses like that.
For the occasional user, however, the Romancecar means you can head off to a weekend away with minimal hassle and a comfty train ride. Passing by your usual stop in a blur of luxury and lack of armrest is a freeing feeling rarely found, but the romancecar delivers. Despite having a taken on a more sordid association due to the habit of cheating couples travelling away for a weekend in Hakone, the train still has a romantic image you can try yourself one day.
4. The home-base stations
While the name Odakyu might have you at a loss, some of its stations will certainly be familiar and many offer a great balance of amenities and attractions without losing that community-feel bonus or smaller stops. The most well known is guaranteed to be Shimokitazawa — the trendiest neighborhood in Tokyo packed with vintage stores, a busy music scene and great restaurants. While its reputation means prices have risen in the area, nearby Setagaya-daita and Umegaoka are a short stroll away and much quieter suburbs. Sangubashi is only a couple of stops from Shinjuku, but will surprise you with its green streets and quiet feel, not to mention the up-market shops and overall ambiance of the place.
Further down the line, busy stops like Noborito have a livelier feel, with bars, izakayas and plenty of shops, while Machida is well known for parks and squirrels and is a popular family station. Shinyurigaoka is the bureaucratic hub of the area with the local ward office and immigration office of the area. Not to mention great shopping and entertainment options too. If you're looking for low rent and a local feel, spots like Ikuta and Yomiuriland-mae have riverside walks, local shops and a surprisingly inclusive bar scene without being too far from rapid-service stations.
5. The day trips on your doorstep
So if you have guests staying or just want to explore the area yourself, there's no better line than Odakyu to see a range of popular sites. On the one end you have the bright lights of Shinjuku — the best-connected station of the city alongside Tokyo, and a fun area to see. Perfect for late-night drinking, you can stay out well past midnight for most stops (pre-Shinyurigaoka). And while the trains are busy, they thin out pretty quickly along the route.
As well as alternative areas like Shimokitazawa with it's live music and stand-up comedy scene, you can enjoy a theme-park day at Yomiuriland including a summer water park and winter illuminations.
The obvious calls of Hakone are hard to ignore, with famous onsen, pirate ships, mountain views and museums to visit as well as beautiful ryokan and restaurants to treat yourself to on a weekend away.
The unobvious treat of Odawara should never be overlooked, with the closest castle keep to Tokyo and a great fish market with delicious fresh produce that challenges Tsukiji.
Catching the train to Katase-Enoshima makes a beach day an easy option, as well as enjoying the spas, island shrines and perfect date-day opportunities.
The downsides
So a line this great isn't going to be a secret, and while there are plenty of brilliant elements to Odakyu, there are a couple of downsides too.
The delays
Unfortunately, the line has a bit of a reputation for having a lot of delays. After a couple of years' use I can agree it does have them, but not really enough to warrant the reactionary sigh I often received when naming my local line. Although handy as an accepted fact among employers, if you need to be somewhere on time, and in Japan that's likely, you may have to factor in some extra time for delays.
This is mainly due to the complex schedule of overlapping trains, so if one is delayed, others have to wait, creating a domino effect of tardiness. While this is obviously the case on a lot of lines, it seems to be a real issue on Odakyu, as they are dedicated to waiting for a delayed train to arrive before the connector will leave. This approach is great if you're on the late one, but pretty frustrating if you're not.
The rush-hour crush
The Odakyu Line often ranks pretty high on the annual counts of the busiest train lines, where capacity can stretch from 100% (comfortable) to 250% (near-death experience) on a daily basis. In 2015, Odakyu came 4th in Tokyo (according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), but this was only for a very short distance: between Setagaya-Daita and Shimokitazawa, which is one stop.
That's not to say the trains aren't busy, they are —but don't let it scare you off. They have women's only cars during morning travel and enough variations on express that you can schedule in a little more time and take a quieter local train if needed.
Overall, the Odakyu Odawara Line can be a fantastic option for money-saving on both your train fare and your accommodation. It also offers a great mix of local and lively options for your new home base. Especially good if you work flexible hours or can travel against the traffic, the downsides are definitely a traditional commuter's concern, but thousands make it happen, so it must be doing something right.
By Lily Crossley-Baxter
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