The is a streetcar line in Tokyo, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operates this line. The Arakawa Line is the sole survivor of Tokyo's once-extensive Tokyo Toden

Tokyo Toden

The or simply Toden, is the streetcar network of Tokyo, Japan. Of all its former routes, only one, the Toden Arakawa Line, remains in service. The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operates the Toden...

 streetcar system, but it is not the only tram line in Tokyo, as the privately owned Tōkyū Setagaya Line

Tokyu Setagaya Line

The is a light rail line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyu Corporation. It runs from Sangen-Jaya to Shimo-Takaido, entirely within Setagaya, Tokyo....

 is also classified as a .

History

The line was originally constructed by the as a part of their extensive network, with the oldest section still operating today opened in 1913. The line was at threat of being shut down along with the rest of Tokyo's streetcar system in the 1960s, but concerted opposition from residents prevented this and parts of lines 27 (Minowabashi-Akabane) and 32 (Arakawa-Waseda) were merged to form the line as it is today. The line was sold to the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation in 1974, which renamed it the Toden Arakawa Line.

The Toden Arakawa Line operates between the terminals at Minowabashi Station and Waseda Station. It runs along Meiji Street between Asuka-yama Station and Oji Eki-mae Station. Otherwise, it operates on its own tracks. Presently, single driver-operated cars make the 12.2 km trip in 50 minutes. The gauge

Rail gauge

Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

 is 1,372 mm (4'6"). The line is fully double-track, and draws 600 V electrical supply.

Two Toden Arakawa trams (one in revenue service, the other undergoing brake testing) collided on June 13, 2006 near the Minowabashi terminus, injuring 27 people.

As of 2006, there are no plans to replace or eliminate the tram line. However, the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line and the Nippori-Toneri Liner, which both opened in 2008, provide alternative routes for some tram users and may impact the line's profitability.

Sights

The Toden Arakawa Line operates in northern and eastern Tokyo outside the main tourist areas. Unlike the so-called surface train lines, which are actually elevated and whisk passengers over neighborhoods quickly, the Arakawa Line allows riders to have street-level views of older sections of Tokyo that differ dramatically from the busy and increasingly high-rise neighborhoods like Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro. For that reason, a ride on the Arakawa Lin can be considered a tourist attraction in itself. Of particular interest is the terminus at Minowabashi, near the historical site of Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

's red-light district Yoshiwara

Yoshiwara

Yoshiwara was a famous Akasen district in Edo, present-day Tōkyō, Japan.In the early 17th century, there was widespread male and female prostitution throughout the cities of Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka. To counter this, an order of Tokugawa Hidetada of the Tokugawa shogunate restricted prostitution to...

 which features a completely covered shopping street, several blocks long, in the once common "Ameyoko" style (a shōtengai

Shotengai

A shōtengai is a style of Japanese commercial district running along a certain street. Shōtengai often connect to the nearest train station. Most suburbs and towns of Japan have shōtengai of varying size, and larger shōtengai may take the form of covered arcades that are blocked off to traffic...

). Those can nowadays only be seen in Tokyo's outlying neighborhoods.

Station list

All stations are located in Tokyo.

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)		Transfers	Location
		Between Stations	Total
	三ノ輪橋	-	0.0	Tokyo Metro Tokyo Metro is one of two rapid transit systems making up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Toei. It is the most used subway system in the world in terms of annual passenger rides.-Organization:... : Hibiya Line Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line The is a metro line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro located in Tokyo, Japan. The line was named after the district of Hibiya, under which it passes.-Overview:The Hibiya Line runs between in Meguro and in Adachi...  (: H-19)	Arakawa Arakawa, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. The ward takes its name from the river, the Arakawa, though the Arakawa River does not run through or touch the ward. Its neighbors are the wards of Adachi, Kita, Bunkyo, Taito and Sumida. In English, the ward calls itself Arakawa City.Arakawa has...
	荒川一中前	0.3	0.3
	荒川区役所前	0.3	0.6
	荒川二丁目	0.4	1.0
	荒川七丁目	0.4	1.4
	町屋駅前	0.4	1.8	Keisei Electric Railway Keisei Electric Railway The is a major private railway in Chiba and Tokyo, Japan. The name Keisei is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railways main line connects. The combination uses different readings than the ones used in the city names. The railway's main line runs from Tokyo to Narita and... : Main Line  Tokyo Metro: Chiyoda Line (Machiya: C-17)
	町屋二丁目	0.4	2.2
	東尾久三丁目	0.3	2.5
	熊野前	0.6	3.1	Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation The is Tokyo's public transportation authority. Its subway lines are commonly described as 都営 Toei, meaning "operated by the metropolitan government ." It is one of two rapid transit systems making up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Tokyo Metro.-Toei Subway:The lines were originally...  (Toei): Nippori-Toneri Liner (04)
	宮ノ前	0.4	3.5
	小台	0.3	3.8
	荒川遊園地前	0.3	4.1
	荒川車庫前	0.5	4.6
	梶原	0.4	5.0		Kita Kita, Tokyo is one of the special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself the City of Kita .As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 332,140 and a population density of 16,140 persons per km². The total area is 20.59 km².-Geography:...
	栄町	0.5	5.5
	王子駅前	0.5	6.0	East Japan Railway Company East Japan Railway Company is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....  (JR East): Keihin-Tōhoku Line Keihin-Tohoku Line The , is a railway line in Japan which connects the cities of Saitama, Kawaguchi, Tokyo, Kawasaki, and Yokohama. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company network. The line's name is derived from the characters for , and the...   Tokyo Metro: Namboku Line Tokyo Metro Namboku Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. Its name literally means South-North Line. The line runs between Meguro in Shinagawa and Akabane-Iwabuchi in Kita...  (Ōji: N-16)
	飛鳥山	0.5	6.5
	滝野川一丁目	0.4	6.9
	西ヶ原四丁目	0.4	7.3
	新庚申塚	0.4	7.7		Toshima
	庚申塚	0.2	7.9
	巣鴨新田	0.5	8.4
	大塚駅前	0.5	8.9	JR East: Yamanote Line Yamanote Line The is commuter rail loop line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres, including the Yūrakuchō/Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro, with all but two of its...
	向原	0.5	9.4
	東池袋四丁目	0.6	10.0	Tokyo Metro: Yūrakuchō Line Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line connects Wakōshi Station in Wakō, Saitama and Shin-Kiba Station in Kōtō, Tokyo. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color "gold" , and its stations are given numbers using the letter Y.The proper name as...  (: Y-10)
	都電雑司ヶ谷	0.2	10.2
	鬼子母神前	0.5	10.7	Tokyo Metro: Fukutoshin Line (: F-10)
	学習院下	0.5	11.2
	面影橋	0.5	11.7		Shinjuku Shinjuku, Tokyo is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the busiest train station in the world and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the government of Tokyo.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population...
	早稲田	0.5	12.2	Tokyo Metro: Tōzai Line Tokyo Metro Tozai Line The is a rapid transit line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro located in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Its name literally means East-West Line. The line runs between Nakano Station in Nakano, Tokyo and Nishi-Funabashi Station in Funabashi, Chiba... (: T-04)Both the Tokyo Metro and Toei stations are displayed on station maps as being distant from one another, and they are not announced as transfer points for one another.

External links

• Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation: Toden Arakawa Line