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Tokyo Wards
The city of Tokyo is divided into 23 units called wards, and
it is often called the ward area. It is bordered by the Edo River
on the northeast, by an inlet of the Pacific called Tokyo Bay
on the east, and by the Tama River on the south. The Sumida River
flows into Tokyo Bay in the eastern part of the city.
The Imperial Palace, where the Japanese emperor lives, stands
near the center of the city. The town that became Tokyo grew
up in this area.
East from the palace to Tokyo Bay, the land is low and flat.
Many of Tokyo's chief business, commercial, and industrial districts
are in this area. The Marunouchi district, an area of tall office
buildings southeast of the palace, is Tokyo's business and financial
center.
Part of eastern Tokyo is jammed with office buildings and apartment
buildings made of concrete and steel. The oldest and poorest
residential sections of Tokyo are also located in the eastern
part of the city.
Much of far eastern Tokyo is filled-in land on what had been
part of Tokyo Bay. Some of this land lies below sea level. The
low-lying areas are always in danger of floods, especially during
heavy rains. Dikes have been built along the waterfront and the
riverbanks. But the filled-in land sinks lower every year, mainly
because of the removal of large amounts of ground water for industrial
use. The dikes sink along with the land, making flood control
difficult.
West of the Imperial Palace, the land becomes hilly. The chief
residential sections of the city are in the west. The residences
include large apartment buildings like those in Western cities
and simple one- or two-story wooden buildings, the traditional
Japanese houses. Many of the wooden houses are small and plain
by Western standards. In some sections, rich families and poor
families live in the same neighborhood, and their houses are
plain and look much alike. But the western part of the city also
has luxurious residential sections where the wealthy live.
- Adachi
- Arakawa
- Bunky?
- Chiyoda
- Ch??
- Edogawa
- Itabashi
- Katsushika
- Kita
- K?t?
- Meguro
- Minato
- Nakano
- Nerima
- ?ta
- Setagaya
- Shibuya
- Shinagawa
- Shinjuku
- Suginami
- Sumida
- Toshima
- Tait?
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