I moved to Japan in 1983, and for the first few years I lived and worked near Shinjuku Station and passed through it every day. I also spent most of my free time in the Shinjuku area and wandered around exploring a lot. It took a full year before I really knew the area and could find any entrance or tunnel without getting lost. The station has changed and grown a lot since, and acquiring that sense would take even longer today.

As it happens, I will be going to Shinjuku later today for the first time in four years to meet an old friend for lunch. I spent some time online yesterday looking at photos and streetview of the area. My friend has been living in the Tokyo area as long as I have and used to go to Shinjuku a lot, too. But he doesn't use a smartphone and we're meeting on the south side of the station, which has changed a lot. So I prepared a four-page PDF with maps and pictures showing where we will meet, and I told my friend to print it out and bring it along. I hope we're able to find each other.