These are pictures of a station clock on the Toden Arakawa Line and the Tokyo Toden streetcar, 7000 series. The Toden is one of the last remaining streetcar systems running in Tokyo (the other is the Tōkyū Setagaya Line, which I haven’t seen yet). One of the terminals for the line is located just down the street from the Waseda library; the other is in Minowabashi, which is of some historical interest for being the location of the old Yoshiwara pleasure quarters. The fare is 160 yen, regardless of where you get on or off, and a ride along the entire line takes about 54 minutes.
My wife and I rode the Toden for about three stops recently. I’ve wanted to do that since I first came to Japan in 1996, when I first saw the Toden near my summer lodgings in Ōtsuka. There are several things about the Toden that appeal to me. I like the unique and old-fashioned look of the tram, for example, as an alternative to the trains I regularly use. But what I appreciate the most is that it is used almost exclusively by locals, and winds along at a leisurely pace through old neighborhoods of Tokyo that one seldom has a chance to see. In about a week or two I am returning to ride the line from one terminus to the other. I can’t wait.
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