Ikebukuro Route
Route information
Maintained by Metropolitan Expressway Company Limited
Length	21.5 km (13.4 mi)
Existed	1967–present
Major junctions
South end	Takebashi Junction in Chiyoda, Tokyo Inner Circular Route (Shuto Expressway)
Major intersections	National Route 254 Central Circular Route
North end	Bijogi Junction in Toda, Saitama Tokyo Gaikan Expressway Ōmiya Route
Location
Country	Japan
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

The Ikebukuro Route (池袋線, Ikebukuro-sen), signed as Route 5, is one of the tolled routes of the Shuto Expressway system serving the Greater Tokyo Area. The route is a 21.5-kilometer (13.4 mi) long radial highway running north from Chiyoda City to Toda, Saitama. It connects Tokyo's Inner Circular Route in central Tokyo to the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway where it continues north as the Ōmiya Route.

Route description

Ikebukuro Route at Gokokuji Interchange in Bunkyō.

The Ikebukuro Route begins at Takebashi Junction with the Inner Circular Route in Chiyoda City just north of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. From there it travels northwest through Shinjuku, Bunkyō, Toshima, and Itabashi in Tokyo before crossing over the Arakawa River into Toda in Saitama Prefecture where the Ikebukuro Route ends at Bijogi Junction where it intersects the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway. The expressway continues northward as the Ōmiya Route to Ōmiya-ku.^[1]

The speed limit on the Ikebukuro Route is set at 60 km/h.^[2]

History

The Ikebukuro Route was first opened in March 1967 between Nishi-kanda and the expressway's southern terminus at Takebashi Junction. It was extended to its current length in phases completed in 1969, 1977, 1990, and 1993.^[3]

In preparation for increased congestion during the 2020 Summer Olympics, a new traffic-control system was installed in July 2019 along the expressway at the interchanges at Kita-Ikebukuro, Nishi-Kanda, Gokokuji, Nakadai, Takashimadaira, Toda-minami, Higashi-Ikebukuro, and Iidabashi.^[4]

Junction list

Prefecture	Location	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Tokyo	Chiyoda	0.0	0.0	—	Takebashi	Inner Circular Route – Kandabashi, Kasumigaseki, Tōmei Expressway, Chūō Expressway	Southern terminus
		0.1	0.062	27	Hitotsubashi	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 401 (Hakusan-dōri)	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
		0.6	0.37	501	Nishi-kanda	Sendai-dōri – Jinbōchō, Iidabashi	Southbound entrance, northbound exit
	Shinjuku	2.2	1.4	502	Iidabashi	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 8 (Chiyoda-Nerima-Tanashi Route) Tokyo Metropolitan Route 405 (Sotobori-Kanjō Route) – Kudan, Ichigaya, Suidōbashi	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
		3.4	2.1	503	Waseda	Gaienhigashi-dōri Tokyo Metropolitan Route 8 (Chiyoda-Nerima-Tanashi Route) – Takadanobaba, Edogawabashi	Northbound exit only
	Bunkyō	4.5	2.8	505	Gokokuji	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 437 (Shinobazu-dōri) Tokyo Metropolitan Route 435 (Otowa-Ikebukuro Route)	Southbound entrance, northbound exit
	Toshima	5.0	3.1		Minami-Ikebukuro PA		Southbound only
		5.9– 6.2	3.7– 3.9	507, 508	Higashi-Ikebukuro	Sunshine City
		7.5	4.7	509	Kita-Ikebukuro	National Route 254 (Kawagoekaidō) Tokyo Metropolitan Route 317 (Yamate-dōri)	Southbound entrance, northbound exit
	Itabashi	7.8	4.8	—	Kumanochō	Central Circular Route – Tōmei Expressway, Chūō Expressway, Tōhoku Expressway	Southbound exit, northbound entrance; southern end of C2 concurrency
		8.9	5.5	—	Itabashi	Central Circular Route – Tōmei Expressway, Chūō Expressway, Tōhoku Expressway, Jōban Expressway, Higashi-Kantō Expressway	Northern end of C2 concurrency
		9.5– 10.5	5.9– 6.5	511, 512	Itabashihonchō	Nakasendō Tokyo Metropolitan Route 318 (Kannana-dōri)
					Shimura PA / TB		Parking area is for southbound traffic only
		12.9	8.0	513	Nakadai	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 311 (Kanpachi-dōri)	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
		18.0	11.2	515	Takashimadaira	National Route 17 (Shin-Ōmiya Bypass) Tokyo Metropolitan Route 447 (Takashima-dōri)	Southbound entrance, northbound exit
Saitama	Toda	18.8– 21.0	11.7– 13.0	517, 518	Toda / Toda-minami	National Route 17 (Shin-Ōmiya Bypass)
		21.0	13.0	—	Bijogi	Tokyo Gaikan Expressway Ōmiya Route – Ōizumi, Kan-etsu Expressway, Misato, Tōhoku Expressway, Jōban Expressway	Northern terminus; expressway continues as the Ōmiya Route
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Route 5 (Shuto Expressway).

References