is a busy neighbourhood in the Shinagawa

Shinagawa, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Shinagawa City. The ward is home to nine embassies.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 344,461 and a density of 15,740 persons per km². The total area is 22.72 km²....

 ward

Special wards of Tokyo

The are 23 municipalities that together make up the core and the most populous part of Tokyo, Japan. Together, they occupy the land that was the city of Tokyo before it was abolished in 1943. The special wards' structure was established under the Japanese Local Autonomy Law and is unique to...

 of Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The name "Gotanda" can be literally translated as "a (rice) paddy of half-hectare's size". The district straddles the Meguro river, and is located between the Meguro

Meguro Station

is a railway station located in Tokyo's Shinagawa ward close to the boundary with Meguro ward. The station is just south of Meguro Dori .-Lines:Meguro Station is served by the following lines:*East Japan Railway Company Yamanote Line...

 and Ōsaki

Osaki Station

is a railway stationin Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. It is one of the stations where trains on the Yamanote Line loop are put into and taken out of service...

 stations on the important JR

East Japan Railway Company

is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....

 Yamanote Line

Yamanote Line

The is commuter rail loop line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres, including the Yūrakuchō/Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro, with all but two of its...

.
The neighbourhood is centered on the Gotanda Station

Gotanda Station

is a railway station located in Tokyo's Shinagawa ward.-Lines:Gotanda is served by the following lines:* JR East Yamanote Line* Toei Asakusa Line * Tōkyū Ikegami Line - terminal station-Station layout:-JR East line:...

, which is served by the Toei Asakusa subway line and the elevated Tokyu Ikegami train line

Tokyu Ikegami Line

The is a line operated by Tokyu Corporation. It runs through Tokyo, extending from Gotanda Station in Shinagawa to Kamata Station in Ōta.New 3-car 7000 series EMUs were introduced in December 2007, with a total of 19 sets due to be delivered by 2011....

 in addition to the Yamanote line.

The JR loop severs the neighbourhood into two districts. Higashi (East) Gotanda

Higashigotanda, Shinagawa, Tokyo

is a district located at the northern part of Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It consists of 1 to 5-chōme. As of February 1, 2008, the total population is 10,716....

 lies inside the Yamanote loop, while Nishi (West) Gotanda

Nishigotanda, Shinagawa, Tokyo

is a district of Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. Nishigotanda is located at the northern part of Shinagawa. It consists of 1 to 8-chōme, and its total population is 20,187 ....

 is outside the loop. Nishi-Gotanda is largely residential, with moderately-sized apartment buildings close to the JR station and quiet leafy streets in the outlying reaches. Higashi-Gotanda is home to Seisen University

Seisen University

Seisen University refers to either:*Seisen University , a university in Shiga Prefecture*Seisen University , a women's college in Tokyo....

, NTT East Kanto Hospital, several temples and shrines and many office buildings. Higashi-Gotanda also has a substantial number of hotels, including some of the famed capsule hotel

Capsule hotel

A is a type of hotel with a large number of extremely small "rooms" intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels...

 style. The sprawling world headquarters of Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 used to be found along Sony-dori the eastern edge of Higashi-Gotanda, but most of the complex has moved to adjacent Shinagawa, Minato Ward.

One of Tokyo's busy major avenues (Sakurada dori—part of Japan's National Highway No. 1

Route 1 (Japan)

National Route 1 is a major highway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It connects Chūō, Tokyo in the Kantō region with the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region, passing through the Chūbu region en route. It follows the old Tōkaidō westward from Tokyo to Kyoto, and the old Kyo Kaidō...

) passes through both halves of Gotanda, carrying traffic between the inner business districts ringing the Imperial Palace

Kokyo

is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains several buildings including the main palace , the emperor left Kyoto Imperial Palace for Tokyo...

 grounds and the outlying areas of Shinagawa-ku, Ōta-ku

Ota, Tokyo

is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 676,458, with 348,492 households, and a population density of 11,376.69 persons per km²...

 and beyond that the city of Yokohama.

Services

Gotanda is served by a post office

Japan Post

was a government-owned corporation in Japan, that existed from 2003–2007, offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. It had over 400,000 employees and ran 24,700 post offices throughout Japan and was the nation's largest employer. One third of all Japanese...

 and a number of banks. It has a large Tsutaya (a large movie-rental chain). The area around the station is served by a Tokyu Store (grocery and department store) and the Tokyo Outlet Center. Kanto Medical Center is a large hospital to the north. Smaller clinics—including a dental clinic—are near the university.

Embassies

Gotanda is home to the embassy of Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, and Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

. Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

maintains an office near the train station, as well — the latter being busy enough to attract a Peruvian restaurant.