Nihombashi literally means "Japan Bridge". When Tokugawa Ieyasu moved his government to Edo in 1603, Nihombashi became the official center of Edo and Japan. It is still considered as such nowadays, and all distances from Tokyo to other cities in Japan are still measured from that bridge.
Nihombashi was a busy district in the Edo period, built on a network of canals, which served for the merchants to bring their goods directly to the heart of the city. Each area was specialized in some kinds of products : fish, vegetables, clothes...
Nowadays, Nihombashi remains a major business district, but merchants have left place to securities companies and financial institutions. The Bank of Japan and Tokyo Stock Exchange are both located in Nihombashi.
Neighbourhoods
Nihombashi has the particularity of being divided in "cho" (町), or "quarters". This specificity is only shared by the neighouring Kanda in the whole of Tokyo. The reason is that Kanda and Nihombashi were the economic center in the Edo era and had very specialized areas, sometimes associated in one trade.
Nihombashi is made up of 17 "cho" outside Nihombashi 1chome and 2chome. These are :
Hakozakicho 箱崎町 : Mostly residential, although IBM and the Yomiuri Newspaper both have colossal buildings there.
Nakasu 中州
Hamacho 浜町 : Residential district
Ningyocho 人形町 : Literally means "doll town". It is indeed famous for its doll shops dating from the Edo period. Mostly residential and home to the Suiten-gu Shrine (水天宮).
Kakigaracho 蛎殻町
Koamicho 小網町 : Business district next to the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Kayabacho 茅場町 : Business district with lots of financial institutions.
Kabutocho 兜町 : Home to the Tokyo Stock Exchange and several securities companies.
Kobunacho 小舟町
Horidomecho 堀留町
Tomizawacho 富沢町
Bakurocho 馬喰町
Kodenmacho 小伝馬町
Odenmacho 大伝馬町
Honcho 本町 : Business district with many traditional shops and restaurants
Muromachi 室町 : Home to Mitsui's Headquarters and Mitsukoshi Department Store (founded by Mitsui).
Hongokucho 本石町 : Home to the Bank of Japan.
Shopping
Mitsukoshi, Tokyo's oldest and most famous department store, has its main shop in Nihombashi, and even a subway station to its name (Mitsukoshi-mae).
In front of Takashimaya, another prestigious department store, you will find Maruzen, one of Japan's leading bookshop. Books in English, French and German are sold on the 4th floor.
The imposing Nihombashi Itchome Building has just opened its door in April 2004. Its architecture is startling, especially for Tokyo, as it is almost entirely glass-covered (earthquake-proof ?) and rounded in a sail-like fashion. It houses the Coredo shopping center from the B1 to 4th flloor, and offices (among which "Merrill Lynch") in the upper floors.
