User:Urashimataro/Yamanote
This article is about the geographical area called Yamanote. For the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) commuter line, see Yamanote Line.
The traditional name for the area of Tokyo around Ginza and Nihonbashi.
Tokyo used to be culturally and economically divided in two parts: the plebeian Shitamachi (Japanese: 下町 (したまち), Shita machi), literally low town or low city, and the aristocratic Yamanote (Japanese: 山の手 (やまのて), Yama no te). Although neither of the two was an official name, both stuck and are still in some use.
The historical Shitamachi was the part of Tokyo east of the Sumida River (around Taitō-ku), the Yamanote the part west of the Imperial Palace (Ginza and Nihonbashi), right under the Shitamachi.