Nihombashi

Nihombashi Station is a subway station in the Nihombashi district of Tokyo. It is served by the Tokyo Metro Ginza and Tozai Lines, and the Toei Asakusa Line. The Toei Asakusa Line and the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line platforms are located 2 stories underground, while the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line platforms are 3 stories underground.

Nihombashi , or Nihonbashi , is a busy financial and business district in the Chuo Ward of Tokyo. The district surrounds the bridge of the same name, and extends to Akihabara to the north, Sumida River to the east, Otemachi to the west, and Yaesu and Ginza to the south.

Nihombashi's history goes back to 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu moved his government to Edo and made Nihombashi its official center. The area soon became a busy commercial district as it was built over a network of canals making it easy for the merchants to bring in their goods directly to the city. As business grew in Nihombashi, the area was divided into zones, or “cho”, each specializing in one particular trade – like fish, vegetables, clothes, etc. The most well-known of the trades of the area was fish, of which Nihombashi had become a large wholesale market. It remained so until 1923 when the city authorities moved the fish market to Tsukiji. In 1896, the national mint was moved to the area, marking the beginning of Nihombashi becoming a financial district as well. Today, both the Bank of Japan and the Tokyo Stock Exchange are located in Nihombashi.

Nihonbashi Bridge

Nihonbashi Bridge, literally meaning ‘Japan Bridge', was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, in 1603 over the Nihonbashi-gawa River at the north of Chuo-ku. It was built high enough for large ships to pass under, facilitating trade in the area. The following year the bridge was designated as the starting point for five major roads leading in different directions across the country - Tokaido, Nakasendo, Nikko-kaido, Koshu-kaido, and Oshu-kaido. Since then, Nihonbashi Bridge has been the mile zero marker for Japan's national highway network, and still bears the words "Origin of Roads in Japan" on a bronze signpost.

Originally built of wood, Nihonbashi Bridge was reconstructed in stone during the Meiji period in 1911. Shortly before the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, an expressway was built over it. This double-arched granite bridge built in Renaissance style, which is the symbol of Nihombashi today, was designated as a cultural heritage of Japan in 1999.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange, or TSE, is located a few minutes walk from Nihombashi Station. It is the second largest stock exchange market in the world by monetary volume, after the New York Stock Exchange. It currently lists 2366 companies (as of March 2006) with a total market capitalization of over 4 trillion U.S. dollars.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was established on May 15, 1878 by the then Finance Minister Okuma Shigenobu, and trading started on June 1, 1878. In 1943, it was combined with various smaller exchanges of other cities to form one single exchange. During World War II, the Exchange was closed, and re-opened in 1949 under a new Securities Exchange Act.

On April 30, 1999, the trading floors of the TSE were closed and the exchange switched to electronic trading for all transactions. In 2001, TSE restructured itself into a corporation, which until then was a membership organization. 

KITE MUSEUM

The Kite Museum is located just one minute walk from Exit C5 of Nihombashi Station. Occupying the 5 th floor of Taimeiken, a well-known restaurant of Western dishes, it is known as one of the most unique museums in the world. The head-office of the Japan Kite Association is also located in the museum.

The Kite Museum was founded by the late director of Taimeiken, Shingo Modegi, in 1977. An expert at kite-flying, he made up his mind to establish the museum when he encountered a boy who had never ever seen a kite. Shingo Modegi had a large collection of kites, so decided to display them so more and more people could look at them and become familiar with them. He opened the museum on the 5 th floor of the restaurant of which he was the director.

Today Shingo's son, Masaaki Modegi, is the director of both the museum and the restaurant. A kite enthusiast himself, Masaaki Modegi, travels all over Japan and the rest of the world looking for indigenous kites to add to the collection.

Today there are over 4000 rare and unique kites in the museum. Though the floor space is rather small, the collection is definitely worth a visit. This comprehensive collection includes kites of all sizes – from tiny postage stamp-sized ones to over a meter-long ones, all colors – bright reds and oranges to light blues and whites, and from different periods – from the Edo times to the modern age of today. There are even 3-dimensional kites in the shape of hawks, eagles and sailboats, which are among the main attractions.

Besides displaying kites, the museum also offers kite-making classes, holds kite-flying competitions, and acts as a bridge to communicate with kite lovers in Japan and abroad. 

Coredo Nihonbashi

Coredo Nihonbashi is a stylish shopping complex opened in 2004. It is housed in an imposing new skyscraper built on the former site of Tokyu Department Store right above Nihombashi Station. The station is located underground right below the building. This 20-story architecturally unique building, called Nihonbashi 1-Chome Building is almost entirely covered with glass and is rounded in a sail-like fashion.

B1 to 4 th floor are occupied by Coredo Nihonbashi and the rest of the upper floors are all office space.

Coredo Nihonbashi (coined from "core" and "Edo") aims to bring back the history of Nihonbashi. It features trendy shops, cafes and restaurants, including a supermarket in the basement. Among the most popular retail outlets here are Serendipity, which occupies an entire floor of the building and offers a range of products for women; and Garage, popular among adult males for its sophisticated toys including a Q-Car, which is a small electric car that can be driven on public roads. The restaurants at Coredo Nihonbashi total 33 in number, with more than half of them being completely new establishments.

Takashimaya

Takashimaya is another prestigious department store located close to Nihombashi Station. This large department store carries a wide array of products, ranging from wedding dresses and other apparel to electronics and flatware. Founded in 1829, the store now has outlets throughout Japan and also in New York, Paris, Singapore, and Taipei.