Sumida is one of Tokyo's most historically layered wards, sitting on the eastern bank of the Sumida River in the shitamachi heartland of the old city. It borders Taito Ward to the west across the river, Koto Ward to the south, and Arakawa Ward to the north, and it contains some of the most culturally significant sites in Tokyo alongside some of the most authentic working-class neighborhoods the city has to offer.
The ward takes its name from the Sumida River, which forms its entire western boundary and has defined the character of the area for centuries. During the Edo period Sumida was a center of popular culture, traditional crafts, and the kind of vibrant working-class life that built the city.
The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the Second World War destroyed much of that physical heritage, but the spirit of the old shitamachi culture survived and is still genuinely present in the neighborhood's festivals, crafts, and community life.
Today Sumida is perhaps best known internationally as the home of Tokyo Skytree, the tallest structure in Japan, which transformed the ward's profile when it opened in 2012. But the ward has far more depth than a single tower, and visitors who explore beyond the Skytree complex discover a neighborhood that rewards slow walking and genuine curiosity.
Sumida has the unhurried, residential quality of a neighborhood that has never needed to perform for visitors. The streets around Kinshicho and Oshiage are busy with local commercial life — shotengai shopping streets, small factories, family restaurants — that has nothing to do with tourism and everything to do with a community that has been here for generations.
The Sumida River running along the western edge of the ward is one of the most pleasant waterways to walk in Tokyo. The riverside parks and promenades, particularly the stretch between Azumabashi Bridge and Sakurabashi Bridge, are genuinely beautiful and popular with local families and runners throughout the year.
Oshiage Station, on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line, Toei Asakusa Line, Keikyu Line, and Tobu Skytree Line, is the main access point for Tokyo Skytree. Kinshicho Station on the JR Sobu Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line serves the southern part of the ward.
