The old red floodgate that separates the Arakawa and Sumida rivers, now a nationally designated Important Cultural Property
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
At the north end of the neighborhood is the Iwabuchi Floodgate, which separates the Arakawa and Sumida rivers. The old red floodgate is open to pedestrians and cyclists, and walking across takes you to Nakanoshima island, surrounded by the river.
Shimo 3-chome and 4-chome run along the Sumida River, and used to be a factory district. After the factories moved out or were converted into research facilities, apartment buildings for families were built on the former sites.
Between 2017 and 2024, 3-chome alone gained over 1,600 people, with the increase most noticeable among children and working-age people.
The area covers Shimo 1-chome to 5-chome, and had a population of about 21,000 in 2020.
From our street photos, street cleanliness ranks 38th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the highest-ranking category for this neighborhood. Sidewalks rank 96th, also near the top.
Families with small children are increasing, and there are at least ten nursery schools in the neighborhood.
Medical care and pharmacies rank 372nd out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the weakest category for this neighborhood; daily shopping ranks 374th, also near the bottom. The supermarket is Super Value Shimo, plus two My Basket stores that only opened in 2022 and 2024. For medical care, there's Akabane Central General Hospital, which moved to Shimo in 2021.
The neighborhood only has Shimo Station on the Namboku Line, and public transit ranks 355th, also near the bottom. Two stops south is Oji, where you can transfer to the Keihin-Tohoku Line; some people also use Akabane Station directly.
Based on our own calculations using points taken every 40 meters within the neighborhood from the Geospatial Information Authority's flood maps, about 80% of the points fall within the projected flood zone, and all of them are projected to flood 3 meters or more. The entirety of Shimo 1-chome to 4-chome falls within this neighborhood.
Kita City's evacuation policy asks low-lying residents not to stay at home, and to head to higher ground as far away as possible; in areas where flooding is expected to last a long time, taking refuge on the upper floors of buildings is also dangerous. Kita City's flood hazard map was revised in September 2025.
During the Edo period, Shimo was Shimo-mura (Lower Village) in Iwabuchi domain; one theory says the village name came from its location downstream of Iwabuchi-juku, the crossing point on the Arakawa River. When it was incorporated into Tokyo City in 1932, the town name was taken from a small local place name in the village, "Shimo"; this place name was originally written with the character meaning "lower" (shimo), but in the Meiji era it was changed to two characters with auspicious meanings.
The old Iwabuchi Floodgate was completed in 1924, and was closed when water volume in the upper reaches of the Arakawa River was high, to block floodwater from entering the Sumida River. In 1982, a new floodgate downstream was completed, the old floodgate was decommissioned, and in 2024 it was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan.
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
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