Table of Contents
Introduction and location:
Koto Ward is one of the 23 wards of Tokyo, located in central Tokyo. The neighborhood is known as Koto City. It is also familiar to the foreigner as Koto Tokyo that has numerous tourist spots.
Koto is a ward located in the east of Tokyo, Arakawa River to the east, and Sumida to the west.
Population:502,579
Area:40.16 km2
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Koto Ward can be divided into three parts, such as North, Central, and South Koto.
Kemido and Ojima are in the North, Kiba, Toyo, Kiyosumi, and Monzennakacho are central, and Toyosu and Ariake are in the South Koto.
Attractions in Koto City:
Koto is a beautiful special ward of Tokyo Metropolis, which has numerous tourist spots. There are many shrines, beautiful parks, museums, and many shopping centers.
Besides, the Tokyo main Fish Market is in Toyosu, the northern part of Koto Tokyo.
However, I will write some of the most famous tourist spots in Koto ward.
Among the shrines, the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine, among the parks, Kiba Park, among the museum’s Museum of Contemporary Art, is most famous in Koto ward.
Besides, Toyo Main Fish Market, Lalaport, Kameido Tenjin Shrine, Ariake Coliseum Parks, Tokyo Big Sight, and Kyosumi Gardens are worth mentioning as tourist spots.
Tomioka Hachiman Shrine:
There are many shrines in Koto City. But the most famous shrine, Tomioka Hachiman Shrine, I am going to discuss below.
It is one of the most famous tourist spots in Tokyo Metropolitan, where thousands of people visit every month.
Tomioka Hachiman Shrine is the biggest and most famous Shrine in Koto Ward. It is also known as Fukagawa Hachiman.
However, even though the shrine was built in honor of Emperor Ojin, it is the main center of Sumo during the Edo Period. Sumo used to hold here every spring and winter.
Establishment:
This shrine was built in 1627 in honor of Ojin, the 15th legendary emperor of Japan(270-310).
The most exciting thing to see here is ‘Mikoshi’ or in English ‘Portable Shrine.’ Mikoshi is very famous in Japan.
In a word, there are no Shinto festivals without Mikoshi.
But, Tomioka Hachiman Shrine has the biggest Mikoshi in the Kanto region. The Portable Shrines of the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine are decorated with diamonds.
However, visitors can see these precious massive Portable shrines from outside, kept inside the main Tori Gate’s glass-fitting house.
Some of the main spots of the shrine:
The main shrine is visible from the main road. There is a big Tori Gate at the main entrance. Besides, several small and medium Tori Gates are built in different entrances, but these gates were not as big as the main Tori Gate.
There are some small shrines and statues on the left side of the shrine (right side during the entrance of the main Tori Gate). A small shrine with a little long street is tranquil.
First of all, a longboard is hung in the Japanese alphabets. After that, a small bridge and a pond with lots of carps, finally the tiny shrine, where devotees offer foods such as eggs, rice, and new crops.
Besides, there is one more shrine on the left side of this tiny shrine with 14 Tori Gates, attracting visitors immediately. Every pillar of the gate has an explanation in Japanese.
However, the main Tori Gate is the most attractive among all Tori Gates because of red lampposts. Also, from the main Tori Gate, the main shrine is visible, giving a unique look.
Festivals:
Besides, an antique fair is held at the shrine premises every weekend. Many local and international tourists visit the fair.
Most stalls sell toys, small wooden furniture, Japanese traditional household goods, kimono, and religious-related small idols. The goods may not be interesting for international tourists, but it is good to see local people with their small stalls.
The main festival of Tomioka Hachiman Shrine is mid-August, and it is considered one of the great festivals in Tokyo.
Parks:
As I mentioned before, there are numerous parks in Koto Tokyo. But Kiba Park is one of the most popular parks in the ward.
Besides, the Park has several public facilities and worthy of giving some explanation. At the same time, I found one more Park, familiar as ‘Kiyosumi Garden is one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens.
Ariake Coliseum Parks are famous in Tokyo.
Ariake (Ariake Tenisu no Mori Koen) is also famous for Tennis, can hold 10,000 people.
Ariake was supposed to host tennis events in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo 2020.
However, Wakasu Public Park is also getting popular day by day because of the sunset view. If the weather is good, Mt Fuji is visible from the Park that attracts tourists visiting the Park on a clear sunny day.
Kiba Park:
Kiba Park is large, with several public facilities. It is one of the most beautiful parks in Koto City to do a family picnic.
Tokyo Metropolitan established the park on June 1, 1992, and the amount of the area is 58.98 acres.
According to history, Kiba was a ‘Timber Town’ from Edo to Showa because Kiba used to supply timbers.
Kiba Park includes playgrounds, tennis courts, jogging paths, a big BBQ area, three lovely fountains, children’s playgrounds, flower gardens, dog space, and spaces for events.
Besides, the park has a beautiful bridge that connects the North and South Koto district.
Actually, it connects three neighborhoods of Koto Ward, such as North, South, and middle; Kiba Park Ohashi, Kasaibashi-Dori, and Sendaibori River.
The most I like is the BBQ area and its facilities. The park authority manages everything about BBQ.
If any group wants to do a picnic or BBQ, it can contact the park authority, and everything is done. Besides, the BBQ area is vast, and a big playground is attached where children can play.
After finishing the party, the pots can be delivered to the nearby park authority on the spot. Very convenient.
Suppose you are not willing to do BBQ that is fine. You can enjoy your time in the park.
You can enjoy fountains, flowers, and the beautiful long view Sendaibori River from the Kiba bridge. You can see a far both sides of the bridge.
From the first fountain, which is located nearby the bridge, the Skytree looks even more beautiful.
Kiyosumi Gardens:
Kiyosumi Gardens is one of the most beautiful Edo-style Japanese gardens in Tokyo. It is unbelievable that such a beautiful Edo-style Garden is still present in Koto Tokyo.
It is worth mentioning to clear the matter that may confuse; Kiyosumi Park and Kiyosumi Gardens are entirely different, but these two are next to each other.
Kiyosum Park is a public park, and there is no fee. On the other hand, the Kiyosumi Gardens entrance fee is 150 Yen per adult.
But Kiyosumi Park has a big playground and path for jogging and cycling. At the same time, Kiyosum Gardens does not have such facilities; instead, it has a big pond with ducks, wild birds, carps, and tortoise.
However, Kiyosumi Gardens is a lovely garden. It is a tranquil fence with long trees where the sound of the cars hardly be heard.
It has many lovely benches to sit, and the water of the pond is spotless. The environment of the Kiyosum Gardens is entirely pleasant.
In short, Kiyosumi Gardens is worth visiting once to experience about Edo-style Japanese traditional garden.
Museums Koto:
There are several museums in Koto Tokyo, such as KidZania Tokyo, Fukagawa Edo Museum, National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Miraikan, Tokyo Water Science Museum, Basho Memorial Museum, and Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
However, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo is the most significant and worth writing a few lines about it.
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo:
The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo is located a the entrance of Kiba Park. It is a vast Museum.
It is renovated and has a new look now. The museum’s good thing is the excellent parking facilities for visitors; anyone can park outside the free parking
Besides, it has a good restaurant inside the museum. The visitor can have lunch inside without worrying about lunch.
Also, it has a lovely fountain with clean water.
The museum is Art-related. Those who are interested in Art mostly visit this museum.
Also, the museum offers guides for visitors who gives a complete explanation that visitors do not know.
As I mentioned above, it is enormous and takes more time to visit. Please keep in mind that you consider a few hours to spend here to see this museum.
opening hour: 10:00-18:00
If you want to visit, check the details here.
Some other tourist spots:
There is one more interesting Park which is famous a ‘Dating Park’ in Koto Ward. Most of the lovers go to the park to view the beautiful sunset with their loved ones; that is why most people called it ‘Dating Park.’
But the official name of the Park is ‘Wakasu Park.’ It is a park situated nearby ‘Tokyo Gate Bridge.’ The Bridge itself is also one of the tourist spots in Koto City.
Also, on a clear day, Mt. Fuji can be seen from Wakasu Park. Many families go there and do a picnic every day.
Besides, Lalaport is situated in Koto Tokyo. Lalaport contains more than 180 shops, including a large food court on the ground floor.
It is a must-visit shopping center in Koto City. The nearest train station is Toyosu, the Yurikamome line, and the Yurakucho subway line can access Lalaport.
One more thing that needs to be mentioned here is Toyosu Fish Market. It was in Tsukiji before.
However, it is in Koto. It is a new tourist spot in Koto Tokyo.
Tens of thousands of local and international tourists visit the fish market every day because it has some rare activities that are worth experiencing.
Many Tokyo tourists related activities are available regarding the fish market. You can visit here.
Some other famous tourist spots in the Koto ward are Fukagawa Edo Museum, Kiba Metropolitan Park, Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome, Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, and Ageha nightclub.
Food and restaurants:
Besides, you may like to taste Japanese style food. There are many famous restaurants in the Koto Tokyo area.
However, never forget to make a booking online because Koto is a business and tourist spot; without making a booking, you may not be able to get seats in the restaurants.
You can find different types of restaurants here.