Visit Edo

[Maciamo]

Ever wanted to visit Tokyo as it was a few centuries ago ? You can discover how life was in every part of Edo at the time of the shoguns, samurais and geishas on this very interesting interactive website. There is a clickable map of Edo that allows you to do some historical sightseeing, all in authentic ukiyoe (traditional painting). Enjoy yourself !

[Maciamo]

Here is a view of Nihombashi and mount Fuji during the Edo period (1600-1868). There was of course less pollution at that time and Fuji-san was clearly visible by fair weather. Nowadays, you need to climb a skyscraper on the fairest day of winter to have a change to see it.

As it is said on the site :

Nihonbashi literally means "Japan Bridge", and it is probably the most famous bridge in the country. There are many other bridges that are larger and more impressive.

However, the reason why this bridge has a special importance is that it is officially the "center of Japan". When the first Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, set up an official agency to supervise the road system in Japan, he needed to choose a starting point for the network of mileage markers. All of the major roads have markers every few kilometers, telling the distance to the next town, as well as the distance to the major cities. In 1603, Ieyasu had just completed work on Nihonbashi, and he decided that this bridge would be used as the center point for all mileage markers in the country. Since then, Nihonbashi has been the "official" starting point for the Tokaido, the Oshu Kaido, Nikko Kaido and Mito Kaido. It also is used as a "zero" point to calculate distances on all the other roads in Japan. The bridge at Nihonbashi has had a symbolic importance for Edo citizens ever since.

And Nihombashi is still the official center of Tokyo nowadays. With the adjacent Otemachi, it hosts the headquarters of all major companies, especially banks and
securities companies. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is also in Nihombashi.

[thomas]

An amazing web site, online since at least 1997! Hehe, and one of the first resources we listed in our directory.

The only thing I didn't quite understand is:

Local time in Edo: 11:33 AM, November 17, 3692

;)

[Maciamo]

I suppose it's 1692.

[miyuki]

Thank you for your invitation.

Tamagawa Josui-Edo's water suply- is interesting.
It is said that over 1,000,000 people lived in Edo.
(End of 19C, population of Japan was about 30,000,000.)
I can learn how it had supported their lives.

[miki]

thanks for the good reference site. =)
planning to go japan next year (*cross my fingers*)...
& hope to get more info about japan, its culture, interesting places etc as part of my preparation...