“Harry Potter” Casts a Spell on Two Tokyo Train Stations
Grab your trunk and your owl – two Harry Potter-inspired train stations are coming to Tokyo.
Toshimaen Station will be getting a makeover inspired by Hogsmeade station, the train station of the all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade and the disembarking point of students arriving at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. (Why is everything in the area named after pigs? It still boggles the mind.)
Ikebukuro Station is also scheduled for a partial renovation. Platforms 1 and 2 will soon resemble London’s King Cross station where the magical Platform 9 3/4 is hidden.
These two fantastical makeovers come as Japan prepares for the opening of Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter, its own rendition of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. Toshimaen Station’s renovation is especially poignant because it is the closest stop to this new Potter attraction, so visitors can experience the magic before they set foot through the Studio Tour’s doors.
Ikebukuro Station, while farther away, is connected to Toshimaen Station via the Seibu Toshima Line, so commuters will get a taste of the magic even in downtown Tokyo. The Tokyo location of the Studio Tour and the two train stations’ renovations are set to be ready in spring 2023, so you’ve still got time to plan your trip to Tokyo to join in on the Potter fun!