Nihonbashi District
Nihonbashi, literally meaning "Japan Bridge", is a city district of Tokyo, just north of Ginza and northeast of Marunouchi and Tokyo Station. The bridge, after which the district is named, has been the mile zero marker for Japan's national highway network since the early Edo Period.
Formerly a wooden bridge, the Nihonbashi was reconstructed in stone during the Meiji Period, and was covered by an expressway in the 1960s. You can cross a partial 1:1 replica of the original wooden bridge in the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku.
As the "center of Japan", the Nihonbashi district has enjoyed much commercial prosperity over the centuries. In the 1600s, the Mitsui family chose it as the site for their Edo branch of Echigoya, a highly successful wholesale business and predecessor of Japan's first Western style department store. The store exists nowadays as Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi, the Mitsukoshi company's flagship store.
A few other shopping complexes in the area are capitalizing on Nihonbashi's commercial heritage, including two stylish Coredo shopping complexes that offer visitors a variety of shopping, dining, and entertainment options. The Coredo Nihonbashi location was opened in 2004 and is located just south of the bridge, while Coredo Muromachi was opened across from the Mitsukoshi in 2010.
As the "center of Japan", the Nihonbashi district has enjoyed much commercial prosperity over the centuries. In the 1600s, the Mitsui family chose it as the site for their Edo branch of Echigoya, a highly successful wholesale business and predecessor of Japan's first Western style department store. The store exists nowadays as Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi, the Mitsukoshi company's flagship store.
A few other shopping complexes in the area are capitalizing on Nihonbashi's commercial heritage, including two stylish Coredo shopping complexes that offer visitors a variety of shopping, dining, and entertainment options. The Coredo Nihonbashi location was opened in 2004 and is located just south of the bridge, while Coredo Muromachi was opened across from the Mitsukoshi in 2010.