Tokyo's last surviving tram runs through the old shitamachi streets of Nishi-Ogu, and by the Sumida River sits the capital's only public amusement park
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
Tokyo's only remaining tram line, the Toden Arakawa Line, runs through Nishi-Ogu. This neighborhood sits at the westernmost edge of Arakawa City, on the south bank of the Sumida River, where small factories, shopping streets, and houses mix together, giving it a strong shitamachi atmosphere.
The Toden makes four stops in Nishi-Ogu: Miyanomae, Odai, Arakawa Yuenchi-mae, and Arakawa Shako-mae. Right next to Arakawa Shako-mae is the Toden's depot, the Arakawa Tram Depot. The nine chome in this neighborhood are home to about 27,000 people, or about 206 people per hectare.
Next to Arakawa Yuenchi-mae Station, by the Sumida River, is Arakawa Amusement Park, the only publicly run amusement park in Tokyo. The facilities are mainly aimed at young children, with a small zoo, a picnic plaza, and a water play area as well.
For everyday shopping, this neighborhood ranks 107th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the strongest ranking among all the categories for this neighborhood. The shopping streets are mixed in among the houses.
The nearest JR station is Oku Station, in neighboring Kita City's Showa-cho, about 90 meters from the neighborhood's border, served by the Utsunomiya Line and the Takasaki Line. Around the station are two Toden stops, Arakawa Yuenchi-mae and Arakawa Shako-mae.
There are two bus routes: the Toei Bus Kusa 64 to Ikebukuro and Asakusa, and the To 43 to Tabata and Tokyo Station.
For public transit, this neighborhood ranks 226th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, in the lower-middle range. The only rail line in the neighborhood is the Toden; for JR or the subway you need to walk to Oku Station, or ride the Toden to a transfer station to connect.
From our street photos, street cleanliness ranks 225th, in the middle range; greenery ranks 310th, in the lower range, the weakest category for this neighborhood.
According to Arakawa City's official website's flood hazard information, when the Arakawa River floods, almost the entire neighborhood falls within the expected inundation zone, with a maximum flood depth of about 5 meters or more. The area affected by flooding of the Shakujii River is around Nishi-Ogu 7-chome and 8-chome, with a maximum depth of about 2 meters. The City Office asks residents to check their own home's risk using the disaster prevention map.
The land where Arakawa Amusement Park now stands was originally a brick factory. After the factory burned down and closed, the owner opened a private "Arakawa Amusement Park" on the site in 1922, which at the time mainly consisted of a hot spring bathhouse, a theater, and ryotei restaurants, serving as a place for adults to relax.
In 1942 it became an army anti-aircraft gun position, effectively ceasing operations; it only became Arakawa City's City-run amusement park in 1950. It closed for renovation at the end of November 2018 and reopened on April 21, 2022.
The area around Nishi-Ogu 2-chome was also once a pleasure district called Ogu Sangyochi, home to machiai teahouses and okiya geisha houses.
Compared with the 395 Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
Hospitals with inpatient beds (2020 data), public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area, high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, parks of 1 ha or more, and large shopping malls and department stores. Many Tokyo junior high students attend private schools, so junior high catchments are only a guide.
Maps show the shops and the sights. What a street is like, you only know by walking it. TidyMap uses AI street imagery analysis and public facility data to turn each area's street environment and everyday convenience into something you can compare. Search an address and look at the street outside first.
How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. Street environment scores use AI assessments of imagery; convenience scores use public facility data.
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