Located in Itabashi, Tokyo is Itabashi Station, a railway station on the Saikyo Line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Established back in 1885, Itabashi leads to many restaurants, drugs stores in the area. But also the location is host for the Senior High School – Kyoiku Gakuen and also the local County Government Office.
Itabashi means “plank bridge” and is derived from the wooden span over the Shakuji River. For tourists, the location is known for the Akatsuka Botanical Garden, Itabashi Botanical Garden, Jorenji Temple and the Daibutsu of Tokyo and also the Johoku-Chuo Park.
Back in the old days though, the location near Itabashi Station was known for its execution ground and in 1868, Kondo Isami, leader of the Shinsengumi was jailed for 20-days at Itabashi and beheaded at the location. While the execution ground is no longer, the memorial is still there and can be found across the street from the female statue.
A memorial to him stands at the east (Takino-gawa) exit of Itabashi station and on the right side are engraved the names of the 40 Shinsengumi people who died in the war and on the left are the names of 65 who died of diseases, seppuku or other causes. To the left of the memorial is a Buddha statue dedicated to people who died without any relatives.
What’s interesting is that within Itabashi Station is within Itabashi Ward. Go across the street from the East Exit where Megane Drug, CoCo Ichibanya and Swan Cafe are located and you are now in Kita Ward.
Go west from the Itabashi Station and you’ll be within Itabashi Ward.
But overall, Itabashi Station is one of Japan’s older stations that welcomes over 30,000+ people daily.
