The Tokyo Traveler

Arakawa Ward is situated the northern area of Tokyo and takes it’s name form the river that flows through the area.  It is bordered on the north by the Sumida River and to the south by Adachi, last Wednesday’s Ward, Kita, Katsushika and Taito wards.  Arakawa is a small ward covering only 10.2 square kilometers and with a population just under 200,000 people.
A Brief History
Arakawa-ku officially became a ward of Tokyo in 1932.  It was primarily an agricultural area during the Edo Era but with increased industrialization in the Meiji Era, the ward’s location on the banks of the Arakawa …read more

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The Toden Arakawa Line operates a fleet of streetcars that are the last of their kind in Tokyo. The line started operations back in 1911 and faced closure in the 1960’s due to the influx of automobiles on the roads after WWII that saw the number of streetcar riders drop off dramatically. Thanks to some of the local residents, who resisted the closure of the lines in their neighborhood, you too can enjoy a nostalgic trip on the Toden Arakawa Line, affectionately know by the locals as the chin-chin densha, or “ding-ding train”, a name derived from the …read more

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