Suidobashi

Suidobashi Station is located on the Toei Mita Line in the Suidobashi district of Chiyoda and Bunkyo Wards. It also serves as a transfer point for JR East Chuo-Sobu Line.

Suidobashi is a district in central Tokyo covering sections of both Chiyoda Ward and Bunkyo Ward. Literally meaning “aqueduct bridge”, this area just north of the Imperial Palace is where drinking water for central Tokyo used to cross over Kandagawa River . The spot where the JR Suidobashi Station stands today is where the bridge once stood. The JR train lines now run on both sides of the Kandagawa River.

Suidobashi draws hundreds of visitors each day because of the many attractions located in the area.

Tokyo Dome City:

Tokyo Dome City is a leisure complex located 2 minutes' walk from Suidobashi Station. It consists of Tokyo Dome , La Qua spa, an amusement park , a shopping center , and Tokyo Dome Hotel.

Tokyo Dome

Tokyo Dome is the home stadium of the Yomiuri Giants and Nippon Ham, two professional baseball teams of Japan . Besides baseball, American football, basketball, and wrestling matches are also held here. This 55,000 seat stadium holds concerts, festivals, shows, and other major events as well when there are no games.

Completed and opened in 1988, Tokyo Dome is the largest stadium in Japan . It covers a complete building area of 46,755 m? (503,267 ft?), with the field being 13,000 m? (139,931 ft?). The 56.190 m high building has 2 basement levels and 6 upper levels. The Tokyo “Dome” is air-supported with air being constantly being blown into the dome by a pressure fan. This keeps the air pressure inside the dome 0.3% higher than outside, which holds the covering membrane in place. There are revolving doors at all the entrances and exits, which minimize the loss of air from inside.

Among the many sports events held here are: Baseball – Chicago Cubs and New York Mets opening game of the 2000 season, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Yankees opening game of the 2004 season; Boxing championship fight between Mike Tyson and James Douglas in 1990; and the NFL pre-season game of 2005 between Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts. Among the concerts held are of such stars as Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Madonna, and Paul McCartney.

Located within the Tokyo Dome, is the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum . Opened in 1959, the museum moved to its present location in 1988 when Tokyo Dome was opened. The Hall of Fame has bronze relief portraits of all those people – players, umpires, executives - who made contributions to the development of baseball in Japan . The museum houses various materials related to baseball, including baseballs and bats with signatures of all the past great players, besides other memorabilia and photos. Some exhibits are permanent, others rotate after a certain period of time. The museum also has a library with about 50,000 books on baseball and other sports. There are also video terminals with baseball related shows. The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is among the best museums of its kind and a must for all sports lovers.

La Qua

La Qua is a spa opened in 2003 right next to Tokyo Dome. A highly popular relaxation oasis of the highest class, La Qua is a complex divided into three sections. The first is the Spa itself. The main attractions here are the natural hot springs (said to heal neuralgia, arthritis, and blood circulation), which come up from 1,700 meters underground. Other features here include saunas, an outdoor bath, massage and beauty parlors.

Another section of La Qua is the Attraction. This is an Amusement Park featuring many attractions for fun and entertainment. The main attraction at the Amusement Park is the world's first hanging linear roller coaster, called Linear Gale. Other attractions include Thunder Dolphin, a roller coaster that goes up to a speed of 130 km/hr; Spinning Coaster, a roller coaster that spins on a winding rail; Tower Hacker, a ride that drops from a height of 80 meters; Sky Flower, a parachute type of ride that goes up and down from a height of 61 meters; Big O, a huge center-less Ferris wheel; and the Golden Compass, a ride based on the film The Golden Compass. There are several water rides as well, like the Wonder Drop, a water slide that swoops down 13 meters; and the Venus Lagoon, a water merry-go-round. The Water Symphony is still another attraction, which is musical fountain performance combining water, sound and light.

The third section of the complex is the Shopping Mall . This shopping area, though not very large, has about 70 high-end shops and restaurants.

Kanda Church , or St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church

St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, popularly known as Kanda Church , is located just 7 minutes' walk from Suidobashi Station. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest churches of Tokyo . The present building was designed by Father Cherel, a French missionary, and completed in 1928. Some sections of the older building have been retained, giving the whole structure a unique fusion. The church building is mainly known for its stained glass windows depicting the history of Christianity. The total surface area of the windows is 70 m?. Three of the main choir windows depict the history of Christianity in Japan, the middle choir window has Holy Mother, 14 side windows has interpretations of the Christian Credo, and the other side windows depict Japan Martyrs of Christ. The Church building has recently been declared Cultural Property by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.