Ryōgoku Edo NOREN occupies the former Ryōgoku Station building, a structure rebuilt in nineteen twenty-nine following the Great Kantō Earthquake. The exterior retains the architectural details of that era, including three large arched…
Ryogoku Sumo and Shitamachi
This walking tour explores the historic heart of Tokyo's sumo subculture and the resilient merchant spirit of eastern Tokyo, from active training stables and grand arenas to Edo-period gardens and sacred temples.
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1. Ryōgoku Edo NOREN
2. Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena
The Ryogoku Kokugikan is recognized by its large, distinctive green-tiled roof, which sits like a flattened, modern dome over the Yokoami district. This is the official home of professional sumo in Tokyo and the headquarters of the Japan…
3. Former Yasuda Garden
The Former Yasuda Garden is a traditional Japanese strolling garden, distinguishable by a central pond shaped like the kanji character for heart. First laid out in the late seventeenth century, the grounds originally served as the suburban…
4. Honjo Matsuzakacho Park
Honjo Matsuzakacho Park consists of a small, quiet space enclosed by white walls on a residential corner in the Ryogoku neighborhood. This park occupies the land where the expansive mansion of Kira Yoshinaka stood during the Edo period. In…
5. Dewanoumi-beya Sumo Stable
Dewanoumi-beya is the oldest continuously operating sumo stable in Japan, founded in eighteen sixty-two. This training house is a large, multi-story building located in the Ryogoku neighborhood, an area long recognized as the center of…
6. Ekōin Temple
Ekōin Temple is marked by a tall, modern tower dedicated to the souls of animals, which rises above a collection of memorial stones and a quiet cemetery in the heart of the Ryōgoku district. The temple was founded in sixteen fifty-seven by…
7. Chanko Kawasaki
Chanko Kawasaki is a small, low-rise building in the Ryogoku district that stands out as one of the few surviving examples of traditional shitamachi architecture in a neighborhood often associated with modern sumo activity. Established in…