The Tokyo Traveler » Toden Arakawa Line

Wednesday’s Ward – Arakawa

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:00:13 +0000

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 began to attract factories and the focus on agriculture lessened.

The main train stations in the Arakawa are Nishi Nippori and Nippori on the Yamanote Line.

The Sights

Take a ride on one of Tokyo’s last remaining streetcars and take in the more than 12,000 roses are planted along the Toden Arakawa Line between Minowabashi and Arakawa-shako-mae. The roses are at their best in May and June but the streetcar ride can be enjoyed year-round.

Visit the Arakawa Amusement Park for some family fun or head back to your childhood with a visit to the Nurie Museum which is dedicated to coloring book art drawn by Kiichi Tsutaya, Japan’s premiere coloring picture artist.

Like most wards in Tokyo, Arakawa is home to a number of temples and shrines. Located near the south exit of Minami-senju station you will find Enmeiji Temple and Eko’in Temple.

Trivia

Not often mentioned in guidebooks, the Kotsukappara execution grounds are located near Minami Senju Station in Arakawa and were in use from the mid-1600s to 1873. Situated alongside Enmeiji Temple, be sure to visit “neck chop Jizo”, a 3.6 meter statue erected in 1741, that offered solace to the condemned and still stands today.

Next week we’ll talk about Bunkyo Ward, a largely residential area, but home to many universities and Tokyo Dome City.

Image Credit: Flickr, Streetcar and Flowers

Post from: The Tokyo Traveler

Tokyo’s Last Remaining Streetcars

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:00:40 +0000

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 bell rung twice at each crossing, through some of Tokyo’s older neighborhoods.

In 1942 there were 41 streetcar routes operating in Tokyo and almost 2 million people used the streetcar transportation network daily at its peak in 1943. Eventually most of the lines were closed and replaced with the more modern subway and train transportation system that we see in the city today. In October of 1974 the Toden Arakawa Line was born when two of the remaining routes were merged. Today you can travel the 12.2 kilometer route between between Minowabashi and Waseda in around 50 minutes (route map).

Why not combine a journey on Tokyo’s newest subway line, the Fukutoshin Line, to Nishi-Waseda with a nostalgic trip back to Minowabashi on one of the last remaining streetcars in Tokyo? The fare is nostalgic too, it only costs Y160, about US $1.50, per person to ride any portion of the Toden Arakawa Line.

Sights along the Toden Arakawa Line include the beautiful campus of Waseda University where you can visit the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum that specializes in materials related to the history of the theater and arts in Japan, the Kishimojin (map), home to a beautiful 600 year old Ginko tree, the Arakawa Amusement Park and the Susanoo Shrine which are all included in Tokyo Tourism’s guide to the Toden Arakawa Line.

Image Credit: Wikimedia, TokyoStockExchangeWithStreetcar1911 & Flickr, Toden Arakawa Line

Post from: The Tokyo Traveler