Where the name Nogizaka comes from, what stood here before the station, and what you can still spot on a walk today. Then the events near the station that we have checked on the official pages.
Nogizaka was once known as Yureizaka, or Ghost Slope. It also had the names Yukiaizaka and Nadarezaka. The road climbs west from the lower streets near today's Nogizaka Station toward the Aoyama plateau. The exact origin of its eerie nickname is uncertain, although it has been associated with the once-quiet, wooded character of the slope.
The name changed on September 18, 1912, the day of the funeral of General Nogi Maresuke and his wife, Shizuko. Five days earlier, the couple had died by suicide at their residence on the day of Emperor Meiji's state funeral. The slope extending west from the residence was renamed Nogizaka in memory of the general.
Today, Nogi Shrine and the former Nogi residence stand near the lower end of the hill. Follow the road upward and you enter the higher ground of Aoyama. When the Chiyoda subway line opened here in 1972, its station adopted the slope's name. A road once known for a ghostly nickname became a memorial place name, and eventually the name of a well-known Tokyo station.
→ Leave Nogizaka Station and visit Nogi Shrine and the former Nogi residence. Walk west up Nogizaka and find the historical slope marker explaining how Ghost Slope was renamed in 1912.
Sources (in Japanese): 港区・乃木坂 坂の由来, 港区デジタル版港区史・近代編 乃木坂への改称
Just outside Nogizaka Station stands a rare survivor from Meiji-era Tokyo: the former residence of General Nogi Maresuke, together with its brick-built stable. Nogi acquired the property and moved here in 1879. He built the stable in 1889, and the main residence was completed in 1902. Its design was developed through discussions with naval engineer Kitazawa Torazo. Rather than an elaborate mansion, it was a practical home built to take advantage of the sloping site.
Climb west along Nogizaka and the ground rises toward the Aoyama plateau. Head east along Akasaka-dori and the road descends toward the Tameike valley. During the Edo period, the lower parts of Akasaka contained merchants' neighborhoods and residences of lower-ranking retainers, while large feudal estates occupied much of the high ground. In the modern period, the district developed into a residential area for military officers, officials, and prominent families.
After Nogi and his wife's deaths in 1912, their property was donated to Tokyo City according to his wishes. Nogi Park opened in 1913, and Nogi Shrine was established beside it in 1923. Although subway stations and modern buildings now surround the site, the house, garden, and stable preserve a tangible fragment of the neighborhood's early 20th-century landscape.
→ Explore Nogi Park to see the 1902 residence and its brick stable dating from 1889. The house follows the natural slope of the land, revealing how the property was built into the hillside. The interiors are normally closed.
Sources (in Japanese): 港区立郷土歴史館・港区文化財総合目録 旧乃木邸及び馬小屋, 港区・乃木公園の沿革
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We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).