Adachi, Tokyo

From Freepedia

Adachi (足立区; -ku) is a special ward located in the northern part of Tokyo, Japan. The ward is separated into two areas: a small strip of land between the Sumida River and Arakawa River and a larger area north of the Arakawa River. It was founded on March 15, 1947.

The ward is bordered with cities of Kawaguchi, Hatogaya, Soka and Yashio in Saitama and Katsushika, Sumida, Arakawa and Kita in Tokyo.

As of 2003, the ward has an estimated population of 621,848 and a density of 11,688.87 persons per km². The total area is 53.20 km².

The Adachi Land Transportation Office is located here, and automobiles registered at this office bear Adachi number plates.

Adachi-ku Temples and shrines

Nishiarai Daishi Nishiarai Daishi, located in Nishiarai, is a temple for Buzan branch of Shingon School. Its formal name is Gochisan Henjoin Spjiji (Sojiji Temple). This is one of the Tree Great Temples in Kanto region as well as Kawasaki Daishi and Sano Apotropaic Daishi, and a great number of people annually visit the temple at the beginning of the New Year.

Adachi-ku Parks

Toneri Park Toneri Park is a metropolitan park located in Toneri. It is divided into East and West by a highway, Ogubashi. The West site has sports facilities such as an athletic stadium (the middle class), tennis courts and baseball grounds. The East site offers places where you can get close to nature, such as a big pond, water park and bird sanctuary. A part of the East site is now under construction. The park is far from the train station and you need other transportations such as buses to access it. However, Toneri Park Station on the new-transit-style Nippori-Toneri line will open close by, and a rail yard of the line is now being constructed under the ground within the East site.

Higashi Ayase Park Higashi Ayase Park is a metropolitan park that straddles the border between Ayase and Higashi Ayase. It contains Tokyo Budokan. Within the park, there is a Japanese garden which has a wide variety of plants. It also has sports facilities such as baseball and gateball grounds.

Toshi Nogyo Park (Urban Agricultural Park) Toshi Nogyo Park, located in Shikahama, is run by Adachi ward. Officially, it is a part of Kohoku Park. It is located near the point Shiba River and Arakawa River meet, and its South end faces a green space on the Arakawa river area. It is one of the agricultural parks all over Japan, which enable the citizen to enjoy natural environment, to learn and understand planting, gardening and agriculture, and to relax themselves. There are fields, orchards, greenhouses and other facilities that aim to show firming technique having been adopted in the suburb of Tokyo. There are also facilities for families such as lawn spaces and play equipment.

There is a rest house near the entrance on the Arakawa riverbank side. The rest house is on the point where Arakawa cycling road and Shibakawa cycling road meat, and many of those who like cycling rest there. There is no admission fee. It is closed early in the morning and late at night. It is closed all day on some days such as year-end and new-year holidays. The park is far from the train station, so you need to take a bus for the public transport. There is a bus running from Nishi Arai Station to the park. The park is about five-minute-walk south of the bus stop Shikahama 5 on Kawaguchi Station line (Shikahama-Ryoke) and Akabane Station line (to Nishi Arai Station by way of Arakawa Bridge). There is a parking space for cars and sightseeing buses under the Kawaguchi line of Metropolitan Expressway, and Shikahamabashi Exit and Higashi Ryoke Exit are the nearest to get there. The parking space is also close to Kannana road.

Adachi-ku Halls and cultural facilities

Tokyo Budokan Tokyo Budokan, located within Higashi Ayase Metropolitan Park, is a sports facility run by Tokyo Lifelong Learning and Culture Foundation. The Tokyo Budokan has an avant-garde building designed by a famous architect Kijo Rokkaku. It includes places for martial art and Japanese archery, and training rooms. It is much less famous than Nippon Budokan. Address: 3-20-1 Ayase Adachi Tokyo

Galaxy+City Galaxy+City is a generic term for series of cultural facilities in Kurihara. It used be run by Adachi Lifelong Learning Promotion Centre, but the management was took over to Youth Centre of Adachi Board of Education on 1 April 2005. It contains two main facilities: Nishi Arai Culture Hall (theatre) and Adachi Children’s Science Museum. There are also event halls, cafes and others.

Theatre 1010 Theatre 1010 was named as it is because the number 1010 and the name of the theatre’s location are homonyms in Japanese.

Adachi Historical Museum

Adachi Park of Living Things (in Motofuchie Park)

Adachi-ku Local Food Specialties

Bunka Frai Bunka furai is a deep-fried dish, which is mainly made of flower and gum syrup. It is cooked in much the same way as schnitzel. It is skewered by a chopstick or a stick, and served with dripping amount of sauce. It tastes like a hum cutlet without hum. Venders of bunka furai have their secret recipe for the sauce.

It was originally cooked without gum syrup. Mr. Hasegawa then improved it and sold it at a night-stall. Frai means fried dish, and ‘bunka” was added to it, influenced by naming that was popular at that time. It started to be sold from around 1955, and became popular among children in downtown Tokyo. In accordance with the price fluctuation, the price of bunka frai raised from 5, 10, 15, 30, 50, 100 yen, up to 150 yen. In the summer festival season at its peak, festivals were held everyday from 1 August to 31 August all over Tokyo, in which the bunka furai was always sold on the street. Its birthplace is Adachi ward, and it was sold at a vender in one of the Tree Great Temples in Kanto region, Nishi Arai Daishi, until recent years. However, the vender closed down as the inventor of the bunka frai, Mr. Hasegawa, retired.