Established in August 1926, the Kanamachi Purification Plant started collecting water from the Edo River and supplying it to the northern districts of Tokyo.
In 1941, the second intake tower was added to the plant, built with red bricks and topped with a triangular roof often described as a “witch hat.” Appearing in a few popular series set in the area, such as It’s Tough Being a Man (1969-1995) and Tokyo Beat Cops (1976-2016), the “witch hat intake tower” of Kanamachi has since become an unexpected icon of the neighborhood.
