A neighborhood of small factories and wholesalers, its old buildings now cafés, nicknamed the Brooklyn of Tokyo
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Kuramae is a place where small factories and wholesalers cluster, and in recent years cafes and general stores converted from old buildings have been increasing too. Kuramae is therefore called "the Brooklyn of Tokyo," and together with the neighboring Asakusabashi area, it's known as a street where craftspeople gather and make things.
The people living here skew young: in 2020, those aged 25 to 39 made up about 30%, higher than Taito City overall; those 65 and older were under 20%.
The east side of the neighborhood is bounded by the Sumida River, and the riverbank has been developed into the Sumida River Terrace, a walking path lined with many benches. After nightfall, you can see the illuminated Tokyo Skytree, bridges, and yakatabune boats.
For public transit, it ranks 13th among 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo; both the Toei Asakusa Line and the Toei Oedo Line stop at Kuramae Station. For daily shopping it ranks 19th, and for healthcare it ranks 23rd.
You don't need to take a train to get to Asakusa—it's about a 10-minute walk from Oedo Line Kuramae Station to Kaminarimon, which is outside the neighborhood. Head east across Umaya Bridge or Kuramaebashi and you're in Sumida City, where the Terrace continues on the opposite bank.
Although both lines share the name Kuramae Station, they are not connected underground. To transfer, you have to go back up to street level first, and even the closest two exits are about 200 meters apart.
For greenery it ranks 201st, far more ordinary compared to transit and shopping. In 2020, about 262 people lived per hectare in this neighborhood.
The place name comes from the Edo shogunate's rice warehouses, the Asakusa Okura: in 1620, the shogunate leveled the hill at Torigoe and used the soil to fill in the Sumida River, building 67 warehouses.
After the 1923 earthquake disaster, doll craftsmen from Nihombashi who had been affected moved to this area, and it gradually became a toy wholesale street. Even now, many toy wholesalers line the Edo-dori street.
In 1934, nine surrounding towns were merged, and Kuramae became an official town name. The Kuramae Kokugikan was officially completed in 1954, closed in 1984, and sumo moved to Ryogoku the following year.
Kuramae JP Terrace in Kuramae 1-chome opened in April 2023, and besides the office building, it also has rental housing and facilities for the elderly.
At the foot of Umaya Bridge on the Sumida City side across the river, a large development site has emerged after a major company announced it was relocating, and in March 2024 an area plan was set to guide it. This is still at the concept stage: the developer has proposed reorganizing the riverside Sumida River Greenway Park, and has also held workshops with residents.
Compared with the 395 Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
Hospitals with inpatient beds (2020 data), public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area, high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, parks of 1 ha or more, and large shopping malls and department stores. Many Tokyo junior high students attend private schools, so junior high catchments are only a guide.
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How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
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