Bridge · Shinkawa / Tsukuda

Chuo Ohashi Bridge 中央大橋

A 1993 cable-stayed bridge designed with French input, its towers shaped like samurai helmets and a bronze statue by Ossip Zadkine gifted by Paris.

About

Chuo Ohashi was built to mark the friendship between the Sumida and the Seine, and its design was commissioned from a French firm. The towers and railings carry a kabuto (samurai helmet) motif, and on the upstream central pier stands "The Messenger", a statue by Ossip Zadkine presented by then-Paris mayor Jacques Chirac (it faces the river, so it is best seen from a boat). The bridge is lit with white and warm-coloured lights from dusk until 22:00, and its bright blue-and-white cables frame the Okawabata River City towers. It appears in many TV dramas and in the live-action March Comes in Like a Lion.

Highlights

• Kabuto helmet-shaped towers and Paris-gifted Zadkine statue
• Illuminated from dusk until 22:00
• Classic view with the Okawabata River City towers behind
• Film and TV drama location

Tips

• The Zadkine statue faces the water: take a Sumida river cruise to see it properly.
• Best photos are from the Shinkawa riverside terrace looking toward Tsukudajima.
• Combine with Eitai Bridge just upstream and Tsukudajima's old lanes.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Minami-Takahashi BridgeBridge · 300 m away
• Ishikawajima ParkPark · 420 m away
• Sumiyoshi Shrine (Tsukudajima)Shrine · 430 m away
• Teppozu Inari ShrineShrine · 430 m away
• Tsukudako-bashi & Tsukuda Old HarbourPhoto Spot · 500 m away
• Tsukuda Ohashi BridgeBridge · 530 m away
• Eitai-bashi Bridge at NightPhoto Spot · 610 m away
• Aioi BridgeBridge · 620 m away