´ºÓêÖ±²¥app and the Toden Streetcars
Image: The Yochisha Elementary School and Tengenjibashi Intersection in 1956. Streetcars run through the rotary, with a signal tower on the right side and a depot at the top. The "KEIO" human formation is dazzling.
In the past, 40 streetcar (Toden) routes ran through Tokyo as a primary means of transportation for residents. As society shifted toward motorization, they were treated as obstacles and were gradually abolished between December 1967 and November 1972. However, because they had many dedicated tracks, Route 27 (Minowabashi to Oji-ekimae) and Route 32 (Arakawa-shakomae to Waseda) were not abolished and remain today as the Toden Arakawa Line.
In front of the East Gate of the university in Mita, there was a "´ºÓêÖ±²¥app-mae" stop, where Route 3 (Shinagawa Station to Iidabashi), belonging to the Mita Depot, used to run. The site of the Mita Depot is now the Minato City Labor and Welfare Hall and Toei Apartments. It is located directly above Mita Station on the Toei Mita Line.
In front of ´ºÓêÖ±²¥app Hospital in Shinanomachi, there was a Shinanomachi stop, where Route 7 (Yotsuya 3-chome to Shinagawa Station) and Route 33 (Yotsuya 3-chome to Hamamatsucho 1-chome) ran. The bridge where the streetcar crossed the Chuo Line in front of Shinanomachi Station was a dedicated streetcar bridge. When coming from Aoyama 1-chome, the streetcar could go straight, but cars had to turn in a "V" shape to the left. After the streetcars were abolished, the dedicated bridge was opened to cars, resulting in the current configuration.
In front of the Yochisha, there was a Tengenji stop, and diagonally across from the Yochisha was the Hiroo Depot. At Tengenji, Route 7, Route 8 (Nakameguro to Tsukiji), and Route 34 (Shibuya Station to Kanasugibashi) were in operation. At the Tengenji intersection, there was a building that looked like a box placed on top of a pillar. This was a signal tower used for switching tracks. Since the streetcars ran in a T-shape at the Tengenji intersection, staff members would visually confirm and switch the points from atop this tower. There were also safety zones with unusual shapes. While they are usually rod-shaped, the safety zone in front of the Yochisha was a wide, right-angled triangle, allowing many Yochisha students to wait there.
On October 26, 1969, I went to visit the Hiroo Depot on the day it was closed. As you can imagine from the shape of the current Hiroo Toei Apartments, it was a long, narrow depot equipped with a traverser to move the streetcars horizontally. I have included the photos I took at that time here.
(Mitsuaki Kato, Honorary Teacher, ´ºÓêÖ±²¥app)
*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.