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Nihonbashi literally means "Japan Bridge", and it is probably the most famous bridge in the country. There are many other bridges that are larger and more impressive.
However, the reason why this bridge has a special importance is that it is officially the "center of Japan". When the first Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, set up an official agency to supervise the road system in Japan, he needed to choose a starting point for the network of mileage markers. All of the major roads have markers every few kilometers, telling the distance to the next town, as well as the distance to the major cities. In 1603, Ieyasu had just completed work on Nihonbashi, and he decided that this bridge would be used as the center point for all mileage markers in the country. Since then, Nihonbashi has been the "official" starting point for the Tokaido, the Oshu Kaido, Nikko Kaido and Mito Kaido. It also is used as a "zero" point to calculate distances on all the other roads in Japan. The bridge at Nihonbashi has had a symbolic importance for Edo citizens ever since.
And Nihombashi is still the official center of Tokyo nowadays. With the adjacent Otemachi, it hosts the headquarters of all major companies, especially banks and