The Nihonbashi bridge and the river it spans are overshadowed by a Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway overpass. (DAISUKE TSUJIOKA)
2010/03/17
BY DAISUKE TSUJIOKA THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The custodians of the grand canals in Venice and the colorful floating markets in Bangkok need not worry about their status just yet, but in Tokyo a group of concerned citizens is convinced it can transform the city's sludge-clogged waterways into a magnet for tourism.
The hubbub on the capital's rivers and canals was once one of its most celebrated sights.
During the Edo Period (1603-1867), boats carried people and goods on an intricate water system that was the equal of any in the world.
The late Edo Period chronicle "Yureki Zakki" marveled at the sheer density of the traffic: "Boats paddling away, floating by leisurely, others mooring, it is impossible to see the river surface."
But decades of modernization have left many of the city's waterways filthy and neglected.
Most canals no longer serve the logistical purposes for which they were built. Many were filled in to create a network of roads.
The rivers that once carried the lifeblood of the city are often completely overshadowed by the elevated highways that resulted from a construction spree that preceded Tokyo's hosting of the Olympic Games in 1964.
Boat traffic has been reduced to a trickle, rendering the craft little more than eyesores.
Nowhere is the decline of the capital's water system more dramatic than at Nihonbashi bridge in Chuo Ward at the heart of the city.
The first Nihonbashi bridge, a steeply arched wooden span made famous in numerous woodblock prints, was built around the time the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo Shogunate in 1603. It became closely associated with that long running dynasty.
The bridge was the symbolic center not just of the Edo capital's transport system but also the transport system of the entire nation.
All distances along Japan's five main land routes, including the vital Tokaido road to Kyoto and Osaka, were calculated from the Nihonbashi bridge.
The surrounding neighborhood, centering on the famous Kisarazu-gashi fish market, was a thriving commercial center.
Nowadays, people cross the span without even realizing the history that is associated with it.
An elevated expressway built in 1963 runs along the Nihonbashigawa river, crossing directly over the stone river bridge and almost completely obscuring both it and the river.
"Now we have elementary school children who are surprised to learn that a river actually runs through here," said Taito Yamamoto, 61, vice president of Yamamoto Noriten Co. The family business, selling nori dried seaweed, traces its history back to 1849.
Yamamoto said he hoped to help revive river transportation and encourage Tokyoites to rediscover the city's water culture.
Eventually, he hopes to convince enough people of the charm of the Nihonbashigawa river to add impetus to a campaign to get the overpass expressway dismantled and replaced by an underground highway.
But the short-term objective is to capture hearts and minds.
A 5-kilometer cruise passing under 17 bridges on the Nihonbashigawa river has proven popular since its launch last September.
As of January, 90 cruises had been run by the Consortium of Rediscovery Edo-Tokyo Tourism Walk, an organization that brings together nonprofit groups and businesses in the area. All of the cruises were booked out.
A tiny 12-seat electric-powered boat is being used for the trips to help reduce the environmental footprint and to recreate the slower, more sustainable transportation methods of the Edo Period.
Participants are treated to a detailed running commentary on the history of the storied river and the districts through which it runs.
At one point, a large black smudge on the side of a bridge is pointed out. It is a somber relic of a direct hit by an incendiary bomb dropped during the March 10, 1945, Great Tokyo Air Raid, which killed more than 100,000 residents.
With the current Nihonbashi bridge due to mark its 100th anniversary next year, local authorities are showing renewed interest in the waterways.
Officials in Chuo Ward have plans to build a new jetty near the span at the former site of the Kisarazu-gashi fish market.
The city of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, the market's namesake, is hoping to re-enact the shipping of clams, seaweed and other local products to Nihonbashi for the celebrations, just as in the Edo Period.
Yamamoto, at Yamamoto Noriten Co., has even more expansive plans. He hopes to eventually link up Nihonbashi with the Asakusa district by boat, creating a link to the Sumidagawa river and the rest of the city.
That idea may not be far-fetched.
Officials in Sumida Ward, where the 634-meter Tokyo Sky Tree tower is scheduled to open in 2011, plan to capitalize on the event by launching pleasure boat cruises along the Kitajukkengawa river, a canal that cuts through the ward and passes near the tower.
Neighboring Koto Ward is also hoping to use its waterways to take advantage of the tower's opening to draw tourists to the Fukagawa district, a quaint neighborhood with a multitude of old temples and traditionally designed houses which retain much of the ambience of the Edo Period.
The metropolitan government has a more ambitious 30-year plan to create a boat transport network, which will link the bay area near Haneda Airport with the Sumidagawa river and other tourist attractions, such as Yokohama and Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture.
According to the blueprint, unveiled in 2006, the network would also provide a crucial alternative route for transporting relief supplies in a natural disaster.
Hidenobu Jinnai, a Hosei University professor of architecture, who helped write the plan, said his fieldwork on Tokyo's network of waterways had convinced him that the city was an "aquapolis," with a water culture and history to rival cities such as Venice, Amsterdam and Bangkok.
View Asahi Article"Through its affinity with water, Tokyo has grown over the years to nurture industry and culture," said Jinnai, "Tokyo's network of waterways is its greatest asset."
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