Koto, Tokyo

Koto 江東区
Special ward
Kōtō City
Great Harumi Bridge in Kōtō
Flag Symbol
Location of Koto in Tokyo
Koto Location in Japan
Coordinates:
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Tokyo
Government
• Mayor	Takaaki Yamazaki
Area
• Total	40.16 km2 (15.51 sq mi)
Population (May 1, 2015)
• Total	488,632
• Density	12,170/km2 (31,500/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Hall Address	東陽4-11-28 135-8383
Website	www.city.koto.lg.jp

Koto (江東区, Kōtō-ku, "East of River") is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English.

As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 488,632 and a population density of 12,170 persons per km². The total area is 40.16 km².

Kōtō is located east of the Tokyo metropolitan center, bounded by the Sumida-gawa to the west and the Arakawa River to the east. Its major districts include Kameido, Kiba, Kiyosumi, Monzen-nakachō, Shirakawa, and Toyosu. The waterfront area of Ariake is in Kōtō, as is part of Odaiba.

Etymology

"Koto" means "East Bay" in Japanese.

Geography

Kōtō occupies a position on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay sandwiched between the wards of Chūō and Edogawa. Its inland boundary is with Sumida. Much of the land is reclaimed, so there are few old temples or shrines.

Noteworthy places in Kōtō include:

• In the former ward of Fukagawa: Kiba, Fukagawa, Edagawa
• In the former ward of Jōtō: Kameido, Ōjima, Sunamachi
• On recently reclaimed land: Ariake, Yumenoshima, Tokyo Rinkai Fukutoshin

History

The western part of the ward was formerly part of Fukagawa Ward of Tokyo City. It suffered severe damage in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, and was heavily bombed during World War II.

The special ward was founded on March 15, 1947 by the merger of the wards of Fukagawa and Jōtō.

Districts

There are 45 districts in Koto:

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Map of Koto and its districts

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Transportation

Further information: Transportation in Greater Tokyo

Rail

• JR East
  • Chūō-Sōbu Line: Kameido Station
  • Keiyō Line: Etchūjima Station, Shiomi Station, Shin-kiba Station
• JR Freight
  • Etchūjima Branch Line: Etchūjima Freight Terminal
• Tokyo Metro
  • Tōzai Line: Monzen-nakachō Station, Kiba Station, Tōyōchō Station, Minami-sunamachi Station
  • Yūrakuchō Line: Toyosu Station, Tatsumi Station, Shin-kiba Station
  • Hanzōmon Line: Sumiyoshi Station, Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station
• Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
  • Toei Shinjuku Line: Morishita Station, Sumiyoshi Station, Nishi-Ōjima Station, Ōjima Station, Higashi-Ōjima Station
  • Toei Ōedo Line: Morishita Station, Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station, Monzen-nakachō Station
• Tobu Railway
  • Kameido Line: Kameido Station, Kameido-suijin Station
• Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit
  • Rinkai Line: Shin-kiba Station, Shinonome Station, Kokusai-tenjijō Station, Tokyo Teleport Station
• Yurikamome
  • Yurikamome: Fune-no-kagakukan Station, Telecom Center Station, Aomi Station, Kokusai-tenjijo-seimon Station, Ariake Station, Ariake-tennis-no-mori Station, Shijō-mae Station, Shin-toyosu Station, Toyosu Station

Highway

• Shuto Expressway
  • C2 Central Loop (Itabashi JCT - Kasai JCT)
  • No.7 Komatsugawa Route (Ryogoku JCT - Yagochi)
  • No.9 Fukagawa Route (Hakozaki JCT - Tatsumi JCT)
  • B Bayshore Route (Kawasaki-ukishima JCT - Koya)

Air

• Tokyo Heliport, in Shin-Kiba

Economy

Companies with headquarters in Koto include Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, Ibex Airlines, Fujikura, and Maruha Nichiro.

Sony operates the Ariake Business Center in Kōtō. The broadcasting center of WOWOW is in Koto.

Seta Corporation was headquartered in Kōtō.

Government

The main city office for Koto City is located in Toyo. There are branch offices located in Shirakawa, Tomioka, Toyosu, Komatsubashi, Kameido, Ojima, Sunamachi and Minamisuna.

The main Koto Ward office located in Toyo, Koto-Ku

Notable places

• AgeHa nightclub
• Kameido Tenjin Shrine
• Tomioka Hachiman Shrine
• Fukagawa Edo Museum
• Fukagawa Fudo-son
• Kiyosumi Garden
• Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Kiba Park
• Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center)
• Ariake Coliseum, site of Japan Open Tennis Championships, All Japan Tennis Championships
• Ariake Tennis Forest Park, which has Ariake Coliseum and 48 tennis courts
• Suzaki Baseball Field, site of Japanese Baseball League games in 1930s
• Kiba Metropolitan Park
• Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome
• Shin-Kiba 1st Ring
• Tokyo Gate Bridge

Education

Colleges and universities

• Ariake Junior College of Education and the Arts (Ariake Kyōiku Geijutsu Tanki Dbigaku)
• Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (Tokyo Kaiyo Daigaku, part of the national university system)
• Shibaura Institute of Technology (Shibaura Kougyō Daigaku)

Primary and secondary schools

Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the Koto City Board of Education. Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

• Daisan Commercial High School
• Fukagawa High School
• Higashi High School
• High School of Science and Technology
• Johtoh High School
• Koto Business High School
• Oedo High School
• Sumida Technical High School

International schools

International schools are independently owned and operated.

• K. International School Tokyo
• India International School in Japan
• Tokyo Second Korean Elementary School (東京朝鮮第二初級学校) - North Korean school

International relations

As of April 20, 1989, Kōtō became the Sister City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

External links

• Koto City official website (Japanese)
• Koto City official website (English)