The Arakawa Line streetcar as seen near the Kishimojin-mae stop, Toshima Ward, Tokyo. (©Sankei/Ikue Mio)
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The word "level crossing" usually brings to mind flashing alarms and a barrier arm swinging down. But some level crossings have neither. Classified as Class 4 crossings, they turn up now and then on rural local lines, but a bit of digging turned up something surprising: a few still exist within Tokyo itself. Camera in hand, I went to check them out.
I headed for the only streetcar line left in the city, the Arakawa Line (Tokyo Sakura Tram). It runs from the Minowabashi stop in Arakawa Ward, through Kita and Toshima wards, to the Waseda stop in Shinjuku Ward. Along the way, it passes through stretches where cars and trams share the road, and through tracks that thread through dense residential neighborhoods—a nostalgic landscape throughout the route.
Where Trams and Cars Share the Streets of Otsuka
My first stop was the area around JR Otsuka Station. Here, there are many points where the tram tracks cross roads and sidewalks, but I couldn't find a single alarm or barrier. Instead, a chime sounds each time a tram approaches, and a train-approach indicator lights up. Pedestrians simply check left and right before stepping across the tracks—a startling sight to come across.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, the streetcar section around Otsuka Station runs directly on the road on a shared track, meaning the tracks are treated as part of the road. That's why there are so many points where the tracks cross the road, yet none of them technically counts as a level crossing.
Strange Passage
At the edge of Otsuka Station, I found an odd little spot: a passage about a meter wide crossing straight over the tram tracks. The pavement is marked "Trains Have Priority," and a train-approach indicator paired with a chime announces an oncoming tram. This, too, falls under the shared-track category, so it isn't officially a level crossing—but is it really alright to just walk across the tracks here? I lingered a while, unsettled by the unfamiliar scene, and watched several people hurry across, glancing left and right as they went.
A Front Door
Next I made my way to the Nishi-Sugamo area, to Takinogawa Crossing No. 16, just beside the Koshinzuka stop. The crossing is about two meters wide, fitted with U-shaped barriers to stop vehicles, but no alarm and no gate—only a "Caution: Crossing" sign and a train-approach indicator that displays "A Train Is Coming."
According to the Bureau of Transportation, this is a genuine Class 4 crossing. Cross it, and you find yourself standing right in front of someone's front door. It had a charm all its own.
Crossing in a Quiet Neighborhood
Right next to the Koshinzuka stop is another stop, Shin-Koshinzuka, and nearby I found one more Class 4 crossing: Takinogawa Crossing No. 12. To reach it, you also have to pass through a dense residential area. At around four meters wide, it's broader than Crossing No. 16, but it, too, has no alarm, no barrier, and no electronic display board. It appears so suddenly in the quiet neighborhood that if you're walking along lost in thought, you could easily forget you're even crossing a rail line and step right onto it.
No Alarms, but Some Have Traffic Lights
According to the Bureau of Transportation, the Arakawa Line currently has 17 Class 4 crossings—a number far higher than I expected. That said, 10 of them, while lacking an alarm or barrier, do have a traffic signal that both cars and trams follow, and the bureau says these are considered to have adequate safety measures.
The truly bare-bones Class 4 crossings—the kind with nothing at all—are only the two I visited: Takinogawa No. 12 and No. 16; the remaining five are currently out of service. The city's policy is to phase out crossings like these two over time.
It's a little sad to think this rare, retro corner of Tokyo will eventually disappear, but for the sake of safety, the best possible measures are clearly called for.
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Author: Ikue Mio, The Sankei Shimbun
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