Ōmori

Ōmori (大森?) is a district located a few kilometres south of Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan accessed by rail via the Keihin Tohoku line, or by road via Dai Ichi Keihin. Ōmorikaigan, the eastern area of Ōmori, can be reached via the Keikyu line.

Ōmori is one of many areas in Tokyo's largest ward, Ota-ku, and was formerly home to the German International School before its relocation to Yokohama. The quality residential and retail developments that the German school attracted are obvious in the Ōmori-sannō area. Ōmori is home to the headquarters of the automotive company Isuzu, which has offices in the Belport complex a few hundred metres from Ōmori station.

Prior to its development as a convenient residential and business location, Ōmori was laced with a network of small rivers which were used by many locals for drying harvested nori (seaweed), a staple of the Japanese diet. Modern Ōmori is built on mostly reclaimed land, and is very much a traditional Shinto area; there are many shrines in the area, and during the August o-bon festival, mikoshi parades are very common.

Ōmori-sannō, to the west of Ōmori station, is an upscale neighbourhood compared to the other side of the tracks, and Ōmori-sannō is known to be traditionally an area where Japanese poets, philosophers and writers have made their home.

Ōmori was also the site of a particularly brutal Prisoner-Of-War camp during World War II, staffed by the war criminal Matsuhiro Watanabe.

Contents

Two Omori's

Ōmori has two meanings:

  1. Area around JR Ōmori station.
  2. Town of Ōmori.

While Ōmori station opened in 1876 and is widely known to outsiders, the "town of Ōmori" was renamed in 1970 and is less known, and even local residents are often confused. Broadly, the west side of JR Ōmori station is still Ōmori but generally speaking it is considered Sannō area, an uptown.

Education

Ota operates the public elementary and junior high schools in Ōmori.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education operates Ōmori High School [1].

Private high schools include Tokyo High School.

Parks

See also

References

External links