Tokyo Sakura Tram (Toden Arakawa Line) Receives Good Design Long Life Design Award

The Tokyo Sakura Tram (Toden Arakawa Line) operated by TMG’s Bureau of Transportation received the Good Design Long Life Design Award 2020 (sponsored by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion).
Encouraged by the award, we will strive to provide a comfortable and user-friendly service to keep the tram’s high standing with locals and visitors alike.

What is the Good Design Long Life Design Award?

• The Award honors products, architecture, contents, services, etc. that will become the cornerstone of future designs and continue to be a standard throughout the years.
• It aims to acknowledge designs that have come to be loved by the people using them, affection engendering their long life (not for a mere long life), and also recognize the people who produced such designs.

Comment from the Long Life Design Award Judging Committee

The 12-km line runs through many atmospheric neighborhoods, and services quite a few schools and historic spots, such as Waseda, Omokage-bashi, Gakushuin, Kishibojin and Asukayama. The trams have long provided a convenient form of transportation for locals as well as tourists. The streetscape with the tramline is an integral part of the design of the towns and has even been used as a setting in some dramas.
One of the advantages of trams is that the user is unaffected by traffic jams and so can be punctual no matter the time of day or state of traffic. The service is user friendly for elderly people as they can easily get on/off the trams as the stops are at ground level. The Arakawa Line runs retro-looking cars and roses have been planted along the line to improve the cityscape.
The Toden Line has been the backdrop to many people’s lives and witnessed the development of the towns and communities living there. We believe it always evokes warm memories in many people.
In ever-evolving Tokyo, we hope the Toden Line will remain integral to the streetscape, and we will support its future because this convenient form of transportation will be ever more necessary, not just in Tokyo but also in other areas.

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