Nishishinjuku Live Cam

Historical Foundations

During the Edo period, the area now known as Nishishinjuku was largely agricultural land and scattered farmsteads situated just west of the bustling Shinjuku post town. As the Tōkaidō highway gained prominence connecting Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyoto, the Shinjuku-juku waystation emerged as a rest stop for travelers and messenger couriers. However, Nishishinjuku remained comparatively rural until the Meiji Restoration, when railway expansion and urban planning initiatives catalyzed rapid change. The opening of Shinjuku Station in 1885 marked the beginning of Nishishinjuku’s transformation from rice paddies to a transit-oriented node within the emerging Tokyo metropolitan fabric.