Myoshoji River

This is one of Tokyo’s most beautiful rivers. It is near the Myoshoji

temple. It has cherry blossom trees all along the river that is perfect for

‘Hanami’.

It is lovely for brisk summer walks, when the weather is nice, with lots of

people and cyclists. You often see ducks swimming in the river!

Initially it was two rivers that merged, however as it would overflow with

heavy rain it was reconstructed to a more downstream place. The

reference ‘Ochiai’ means river junction.

The location was famous for kimono dying factories, which lined the

riverbanks throughout the 1950s. There is a festival called the ‘Some-

no-komichi’, which is a celebration of beautifully dyed clothes.

This is a community run event and it’s to honor the location as a dyeing

town. The riverbanks are used to display these marvelous clothes,

known as the river gallery. It is quite a spectacle.

There are also road gallery’s where ‘Noren’ is displayed in front of

shops. Essentially the entire town is decorated.