Kōtō

is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English. As of May 1, 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 543,730, and a population density of . The total area is .

Kōtō is located east of the Tokyo metropolitan center, bounded by the Sumida River to the west and the Arakawa River to the east. Its major districts include Kameido, Kiba, Kiyosumi, Monzen-nakachō, Shirakawa, and Toyosu. The waterfront area of Ariake is in Kōtō, as is part of Odaiba.

Etymology

means 'East f theRiver' in Japanese. The in means 'east' and is the same character as the in .

Geography

Kōtō occupies a position on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay sandwiched between the wards of Chūō and Edogawa. To the north, its inland boundary is with the Sumida special ward. Much of the land in the northern part of Kōtō is old reclaimed land, and the elevation is very low (below sea level). The southern part is relatively new, but there are a few old temples or shrines.

Noteworthy places in Kōtō include:
* In the former ward of Fukagawa: Kiba, Fukagawa, Edagawa;
* In the former ward of Jōtō: Kameido, Ōjima, Sunamachi;
* On recently reclaimed land: Ariake, Yumenoshima, Tokyo Rinkai Fukutoshin.

History

The western part of the ward was formerly part of Fukagawa Ward of Tokyo City. It suffered severe damage in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, and was heavily bombed during World War II. Kōtō Ward was formed in 1947 by the merger of the former Fukagawa and Jōtō wards. The area has a history of canal-based commerce during the Edo period and was once a center for lumber storage and distribution.

Districts

There are 46 districts in Kōtō:

;Fukagawa Area
* Botan
* Eitai
* Etchūjima
* Fukagawa
* Fukuzumi
* Furuishiba
* Fuyuki
* Hirano
* Ishijima
* Kiba

 
* Kiyosumi
* Miyoshi
* Mōri
* Morishita
* Monzen-nakachō
* Ōgibashi
* Saga
* Sarue
* Sengoku
* Shirakawa

 
* Shin-Ōhashi
* Sumiyoshi
* Senda
* Takabashi
* Tōyō
* Tokiwa
* Tomioka
* Umibe

;Jōtō Area
* Higashisuna
* Kameido
* Kitasuna
* Minamisuna
* Ōjima

;Waterfront Area
* Aomi
* Ariake
* Edagawa
* Shin-Kiba
* Shinonome
* Shinsuna
* Shiohama
* Shiomi
* Tatsumi

 
* Toyosu
* Uminomori
* Wakasu
* Yumenoshima

Transportation

Rail

* JR East
** Chūō-Sōbu Line: Kameido Station
** Keiyō Line: Etchūjima Station, Shiomi Station, Shin-Kiba Station
* JR Freight
** Etchūjima Branch Line: Etchūjima Freight Terminal
* Tokyo Metro
** Tōzai Line: Monzen-nakacho Station, Kiba Station, Tōyōchō Station, Minami-Sunamachi Station
** Yūrakuchō Line: Toyosu Station, Tatsumi Station, Shin-kiba Station
** Hanzōmon Line: Sumiyoshi Station, Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station
* Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
** Toei Shinjuku Line: Morishita Station, Sumiyoshi Station, Nishi-Ōjima Station, Ōjima Station, Higashi-Ōjima Station
** Toei Ōedo Line: Morishita Station, Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station, Monzen-nakachō Station
* Tobu Railway
** Kameido Line: Kameido Station, Kameido-suijin Station
* Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit
** Rinkai Line: Shin-kiba Station, Shinonome Station, Kokusai-tenjijō Station, Tokyo Teleport Station
* Yurikamome
** Yurikamome: Tokyo International Cruise Terminal Station, Telecom Center Station, Aomi Station, Tokyo Big Sight Station, Ariake Station, Ariake-Tennis-no-mori Station, Shijō-mae Station, Shin-toyosu Station, Toyosu Station

Highway

*Shuto Expressway
**C2 Central Loop (Itabashi JCT – Kasai JCT)
**No.7 Komatsugawa Route (Ryogoku JCT – Yagochi)
**No.9 Fukagawa Route (Hakozaki JCT – Tatsumi JCT)
**B Bayshore Route (Kawasaki-ukishima JCT – Koya)

Air

* Tokyo Heliport, in Shin-Kiba

Economy

Companies with headquarters in Kōtō include Daimaru, Ibex Airlines, Fujikura, and Maruha Nichiro.

The broadcasting center of Wowow is in Kōtō.

Seta Corporation was headquartered in Kōtō.

Government

The main city office for Kōtō City is located in Tōyō. There are branch offices located in Shirakawa, Tomioka, Toyosu, Komatsubashi, Kameido, Ojima, Sunamachi and Minamisuna.

Notable places

*Toyosu Market, the largest wholesale fish market in the world
* teamLab Planets
* Kameido Tenjin Shrine
* Tomioka Hachiman Shrine
*Fukagawa Edo Museum
* Fukagawa Fudo-son
*Kiyosumi Garden
*Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Kiba Park
*Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center)
*Ariake Coliseum, site of Japan Open Tennis Championships, All Japan Tennis Championships
* Ariake Tennis Forest Park, which has Ariake Coliseum and 48 tennis courts
* Suzaki Baseball Field, site of Japanese Baseball League games in 1930s
* Kiba Metropolitan Park
*Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome
*Shin-Kiba 1st Ring
*Tokyo Gate Bridge
* Dream Bridge

Kiba Park

Kiba Park is a spacious urban park in Kōtō, Tokyo, covering approximately . The park features jogging paths, tennis courts, a barbecue area, playgrounds, and open lawns. It is divided into northern and southern sections connected by the Kiba Park Bridge, a prominent pedestrian overpass. The park also includes the Kiba Park Urban Greening Botanical Garden and hosts seasonal events such as the "Flower and Light Movement" illumination.

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT), located within Kiba Park, opened in March 1995. It focuses on contemporary art from the postwar period to the present, featuring works by both Japanese and international artists. The museum houses approximately 5,400 artworks and 280,000 related materials. It underwent a major renovation and reopened in March 2019.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Ariake Junior College of Education and the Arts (Ariake Kyōiku Geijutsu Tanki Dbigaku)
*Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (Tokyo Kaiyo Daigaku, part of the national university system)
* Shibaura Institute of Technology (Shibaura Kougyō Daigaku)
* Shurin College of Foreign Language (Shurin Gaigo Senmon Gakkou, a private 2 year college for language)

Primary and secondary schools

Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.
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Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the Koto City Board of Education.

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Private schools:
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International schools

International schools are independently owned and operated.
* K. International School Tokyo
* India International School in Japan
* Tokyo Bay International School
* – North Korean school

International relations

On April 20, 1989, Kōtō became a sister city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Notable people from Kōtō

* Yuto Horigome, Japanese skateboarder, 2020 Olympic gold medalist
* Shōta Sometani, Japanese actor
* Takaaki Yamazaki, Japanese politician and the former mayor of Kōtō
* Kazuto Sakata, Japanese former professional motorcycle racer and two-time F.I.M. 125cc world champion
* Anne Nakamura, Japanese model, and actress
* Daisuke Gōri, Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator
* Genki Sudo, Japanese politician, former entertainer and kickboxer
* Ben Kimura, Japanese politician
* Hana Kimura, Japanese professional wrestler, died in Kōtō
* Hiroshi Yamamoto, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 4- dan
* Tomomi Kahara, Japanese pop singer
* Akihito Hirose, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8- dan
* Hiromu Watanabe, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 5- dan
* Yasuko Kobayashi, Japanese anime and drama screenwriter
* Yōhei Kajiyama, Japanese former football player
* Tetsuo Kurata, Japanese television, stage, film actor and restauranteur ( Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Black RX)
* Tomokazu Seki, Japanese actor, voice actor and singer featured in Fushigi Yūgi, Weiss Kruez, You're Under Arrest, Initial D, Mobile Suite Gundam Seed, Mobile Suite Gundam Seed DESTINY
* Ruki Shiroiwa, member of Japanese boy band JO1

References

External links

Kōtō City Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koto, Tokyo

Wards of Tokyo