Nihon means "Japan" and bashi (hashi) means "bridge", so Nihonbashi literally means "Japan bridge". As the name shown, there has been a bridge in Nihonbashi which was first built in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyas established a new shogunate, Tokugawa shogunate. Nihonbashi was the starting point of all 5 official routes during the Edo (Tokygawa) era (1603-1868), and the district was one of the busiest spots in Japan. It is unknown why the government gave the bridge such a name "Japan bridge". Today, you cannot view the original bridge anymore. Current bridge was built before the Tokyo Olympics were held in 1963.
Hiroshige lived in Nihonbashi from 1849 until he died in 1858.
- Distance from Nihonbashi: 17.6 km
