Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi (日本橋, Nihonbashi; Japanese pronunciation: [ɲi.hom.ba.ɕi], also romanized as Nihombashi) is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, which sprung up around the bridge of the same name that has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current bridge, designed by Tsumaki Yorinaka and constructed of stone on a steel frame, dates from 1911. The district covers a large area to the north and east of the bridge, reaching Kanda to the north and the Sumida River to the east. Ōtemachi and Yaesu are to the west and Kyobashi to the south. Nihonbashi, together with Kyobashi and Kanda, is the core of Shitamachi, the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo, before the rise of newer secondary centers such as Shinjuku and Shibuya.