Take a Ride on the 'Tokyo Roller Coaster'
Think Tokyo's subway system feels like a roller coaster? The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation just might agree with you!
On December 19, 2016, the bureau released Tokyo Roller Coaster on its official website and YouTube channel. Featuring slick, blue-filtered images of the various twists and turns of the Toei Oedo Line, the video was released as part of the line's 25th anniversary campaign. The soundtrack was composed and arranged by guitarist/producer Shingo Sekiguchi, with lyrics written and performed by rapper Salu.
Servicing a number of hotspots in central and northwestern Tokyo, the first section of the Toei Oedo Line was opened on December 10, 1991 between Hikarigaoka and Nerima. The entire, 40.7-kilometer (25.3-mi) line was completed on December 12, 2000, with an intermediary stop at Shiodome added to connect to the Yurikomome Line in November 2002.
The 12th of Tokyo's 13 sprawling subway lines, the Toei Oedo Line is infamous as being the deepest subway system in the city. Roppongi Station's Track 1 rests at 42.3 meters (138.8 ft) underground—so that's right, Roppongi Station doesn't just feel like the deepest station in the city, it actually is the deepest station in the city! That said, the second- and third-deepest stations are actually on the Chiyoda Line and Nanboku Line, and the Toei Oedo Line doesn't rank again until Shinjuku Station (36.6m/120.1 ft) at No. 4. Five Toei Oedo Line stations are in the Top 10, however, so its reputation is hardly unwarranted!