Kita-ku

Kita-ku (北区) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. Founded on March 15, 1947 as one of the special wards of Tokyo, Kita is bordered by Kawaguchi and Toda in the Saitama Prefecture, and the Tokyo special wards of Adachi, Arakawa, Itabashi, Toshima, and Bunkyo. Rivers bordering Kita include the Arakawa and Sumida Rivers. The current population of Kita is 332,140.

Contents 1 Locations of Note 1.1 Asukayama Park 1.2 Kyu-Furukawa Teien 1.3 Iwabuchi Red Sluice Gate 1.4 Other Landmarks 2 Major Districts 3 Train and Subway 4 Education in Kita 5 Kita Citizens of Note 6 External Links

Locations of Note

Well known landmarks and sites in Kita include a wide array of parks and shrines:

Asukayama Park

Since being opened to the public by Tokugawa Yoshumune, Asukayama Park has been a popular destination in the ward. A stone monument known as Asukayama no Hi and another one, Ofu no Hi are both designated as cultural property by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and date back to the Edo Period. The park itself is labeled as a New Tokyo Landmark and has precipitated the discovery of Joman and Yayoi artifacts as well as the remains of an ancient Japanese village. Three museums currently sit in the park including the Kita City Asukayama Museum, the Shibusawa Memorial Museum, and the Paper Museum.

Kyu-Furukawa Teien

Originally owned by Munemitsu Mutsu, this garden came into the possession of the Furukawa clan through marriage and later opened to the public. The western architecture mixed with Japanese style garden was designed by Josiah Conder and the garden itself was developed by Kyoto master gardener Ueji.

Iwabuchi Red Sluice Gate

This bright red gate was designed in 1924 and built by Akira Aoyama, a Japanese architect who later had a role in the building of the Panama Canal. The Sluice Gate’s role was to protect against flooding by the Arakawa River. Since then, the area has been turned into a park with open areas, a Moonlight stand plaza and the Arakawa Museum of Aqua.

Other Landmarks

• Furukawa Garden
• Nanushi-no-taki Park
• Ukima Park
• Oji Shrine
• Oji Inari Shrine
• Chūō Park

Major Districts

• Akabane
• Oji
• Tabata

Train and Subway

• Keihin-Tohoku Line
• Nanboku Line
• Saikyo Line
• Sainokuni Stadium Line
• Takasaki Line
• Toden Arakawa Line
• Tohoku Main Line
• Utsunomiya Line

Education in Kita

High Schools operating in Kita under the governance of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education include:

• Asuka High School
• Kirigaoka High School
• Oji Technical High School
• Akabane Commercial High School

Kita Citizens of Note

Well known personalities hailing from Kita include soccer player Yoshiyuki Kuwahara, voice actress and singer Megumi Hayashibara, actresses Kyoko Fukada and Chieko Baisho, and novelist Kobe Abe.

External Links

• Kita-ku Official Website (English / Japanese)