Kachidoki Bridge is the best known and the most unique of the 27 bridges that cross the Sumida River. Located a 5 minute walk from Kachidoki Station, it is the closest bridge to the Tokyo Bay. This only drawbridge across the Sumida was built in 1940 to commemorate Japan's victory in the battle of Lushun during the Russo-Japanese War (Kachidoki meaning 殿 shout of victory in Japanese).

Kachidoki Bridge is 246 meters long and 22 meters wide. It is a double-leaf bascule bridge, where both leaves (sides) are lifted up about 70 degrees and the spans (900 tons each) are counterweighted (by 1,100 ton counterweights) so that each span is easily rotated up, thus opening the center. Operated by electricity, it takes about 70 seconds to open or close. Until 1953, when the river was the major route of Tokyo's transportation, Kachidoki Bridge opened 5 times a day for 20 minutes each to let the ships pass through. As highways were built and overland traffic increased, the use of freight ships decreased and the bridge was opened less. In the year 1964 Kachidoki Bridge opened only 100 times, and in the years that followed, the frequency lessened. In 1970 it opened only once, and that was the last time. It hasn't opened since.

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