Nihonbashi

This article is about the place in Tokyo. For the place in Osaka written with the same kanji in Japanese, see Nipponbashi.

Nihonbashi (Nihon bridge)

Lion at the Nihonbashi

Kilometre zero is on the middle of Nihonbashi.

Nihonbashi (日本橋) is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current bridge, designed by Tsumaki Yorinaka and constructed of stone on a steel frame, dates from 1911. The district covers a large area to the north and east of the bridge, reaching Akihabara to the north and the Sumida River to the east. Ōtemachi is to the west and Yaesu and Kyobashi to the south.

Nihonbashi, together with Kyobashi and Kanda, is the core of Shitamachi, the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo, before the rise of newer secondary centers such as Shinjuku and Shibuya.

History

Ukiyo-e print of Nihonbashi by Hiroshige (The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō)

Ukiyo-e print of Nihonbashi by Keisai Eisen (The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō)

Nihonbashi in 1946

Kirin at the Nihonbashi

The Nihonbashi district was a major mercantile center during the Edo period: its early development is largely credited to the Mitsui family, who based their wholesaling business in Nihonbashi and developed Japan's first department store, Mitsukoshi, there. The Edo-era fish market formerly in Nihonbashi was the predecessor of the Tsukiji and Toyosu Markets. In later years, Nihonbashi emerged as Tokyo's (and Japan's) predominant financial district.

The Nihonbashi bridge first became famous during the 17th century, when it was the eastern terminus of the Nakasendō and the Tōkaidō, roads which ran between Edo and Kyoto. During this time, it was known as Edobashi, or "Edo Bridge." In the Meiji era, the wooden bridge was replaced by a larger stone bridge, which still stands today (a replica of the old bridge has been exhibited at the Edo-Tokyo Museum). It is the point from which all distances are measured to the capital; highway signs indicating the distance to Tokyo actually state the number of kilometres to Nihonbashi.

The area surrounding the bridge was burned to the ground during the massive March 9-10, 1945 bombing of Tokyo, considered the single largest air raid in history. Despite careful maintenance and restoration, one area of the bridge still has scars burned into the stone from an incendiary bomb. It is one of the few traces left from the fire bombing that leveled most of Tokyo.

Nihonbashi was a ward of Tokyo City. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with Kyobashi to form the modern Chuo ward.

Shortly before the 1964 Summer Olympics, an expressway was built over the Nihonbashi bridge, obscuring the classic view of Mount Fuji from the bridge. In recent years, local citizens have petitioned the government to move this expressway underground. This plan was endorsed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2005, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced in 2017 that they would begin a detailed study of the project, with a goal of beginning construction following the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. If implemented, the construction costs are expected to total ¥500 billion (about US$4+ billion).

Places in Nihonbashi

Bank of Japan

Mitsukoshi Department Store

Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower

• Bank of Japan
• Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya department stores
• COREDO NIHONBASHI (ja)
• Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower
  • Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo (ja)
• Tokyo Stock Exchange
• Kilometre Zero for entire Japan

Companies based in Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi (日本橋)

• Akebono Brake Industry
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch Japan
• HSBC Japan
• Ippon Doll Works
• KOSÉ
• Kureha Corporation
• Maruzen
• MODEC
• Nissan Chemical Corporation
• Nisshinbo Holdings
• Nomura Holdings
• Takashimaya
• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company

Hakozakicho (箱崎町)

• IBM Japan - IBM Hakozaki Facility

Honcho (本町)

• Daiichi-Sankyo

Muromachi (室町)

• Mitsui Fudosan
• Mitsukoshi
• Sembikiya
• Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development
• Shinsei Bank

In the late 1990s GeoCities Japan was headquartered in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in Hakozakicho. At one time Creatures Inc. had its headquarters in the Kawasakiteitoku Building (川崎定徳ビル, Kawasakiteitoku Biru) in Nihonbashi.

Organizations based in Nihonbashi

• Japan-India Association

Railway and subway stations

Subway stations

• Bakuro-yokoyama Station (馬喰横山駅) - Toei Shinjuku Line (S-09)
• Hamachō Station (浜町駅) - Toei Shinjuku Line (S-10)
• Higashi-nihombashi Station (東日本橋駅) - Toei Asakusa Line (A-15)
• Kayabachō Station (茅場町駅) - Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-12), Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line (T-11)
• Kodemmachō Station (小伝馬町駅) - Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-14)
• Mitsukoshimae Station (三越前駅) - Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (G-12), Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line (Z-09)
• Nihombashi Station (日本橋駅) - Toei Asakusa Line (A-13), Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (G-11), Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line (T-10)
• Ningyōchō Station (人形町駅) - Toei Asakusa Line (A-14), Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line (H-13)
• Suitengūmae Station (水天宮前駅) - Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line (Z-10)

Railway stations

• Bakurochō Station (馬喰町駅) - JR Sōbu Line (Rapid)
• Shin-Nihombashi Station (新日本橋駅) - JR Sōbu Line (Rapid)

Neighboring post towns

As the starting point for the five routes of the Edo period, Nihonbashi provided easy access to many parts throughout ancient Japan.

• Tōkaidō (connecting Edo to Kyoto, staying near the coast)

Nihonbashi (starting location) - Shinagawa-juku

• Nakasendō (connecting Edo to Kyoto, going through the mountains)

Nihonbashi (starting location) - Itabashi-juku

• Kōshū Kaidō (connecting Edo to Kai Province (modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture))

Nihonbashi (starting location) - Naitō Shinjuku

• Ōshū Kaidō (connecting Edo to Mutsu Province (modern-day Fukushima Prefecture))

Nihonbashi (starting location) - Hakutaku-juku

• Nikkō Kaidō (connecting Edo with Nikkō)

Nihonbashi (starting location) - Senju-juku