is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is the most populous and the largest industrialized area in Japan.

Names

In ancient times, the Japanese knew Tokyo Bay as the . By the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600) the area had become known as after the city of Edo. The bay took its present name in modern times, after the Imperial court moved to Edo and renamed the city Tokyo in 1868.

Geography

thumb|Tokyo Bay and [[Greater Tokyo at night (2018)]]

Tokyo Bay juts prominently into the Kantō Plain.

Many artificial islands were built as naval fortifications in the Meiji and Taishō periods. After World War II these islands were converted to residential or recreational use. Odaiba, also known as Daiba, was one of six artificial islands constructed in 1853 as a fortification to protect the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo, and was known as the Shinagawa Daiba. After World War II Odaiba was incorporated into Tokyo and redeveloped for commercial and recreational use. Before World War II, Yumenoshima was planned as an airfield (one of the largest in the world at the time), but after the US military expansion of Haneda Airport following World War II, the plan of the airfield fell through. The island briefly opened as a public beach before being repurposed and used as a landfill between 1957 and 1967 to dispose of the large quantities of garbage from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The reclaimed land now hosts Yumenoshima Park with numerous recreational facilities. Hakkei Island (), formerly Landfill Number 14, was constructed in 1985 and is home to Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. Other artificial islands include Heiwa, Katsushima, Shōwa, Keihin, and Higashiōgi islands.

Rivers

Numerous rivers empty into Tokyo Bay, and all provide water for residential and industrial areas along the bay. The Tama and Sumida rivers empty into the bay at Tokyo.

World War II

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender at the end of World War II was signed on September 2, 1945, on board

, which was anchored at 35° 21' 17" N 139° 45' 36" E. A flag from one of Commodore Perry's ships was flown in

from the Naval Academy Museum and displayed at the ceremony.

See also

  • Port of Tokyo
  • Uraga Channel
  • Miura Peninsula
  • Bōsō Peninsula
  • Keihin
  • Keiyō

References