Meguro River
Megurogawa (gawa=river) runs roughly parallel to the southwestern part of the JR Yamanote line, emptying into Tokyo Bay south of JR Shinagawa station. The river has two distinct sections divided by a major road, Tamagawa Dori (also known as Route 246 or ni-yon-roku from the Japanese for “two four six”). The river passes under ni-yon-roku near Ikejiri-Ohashi station (on the Den-en-Toshi line 2 min. from Shibuya Station).
The southern section from ni-yon-roku to Tokyo Bay is a paved, occasionally tree-lined sidewalk or, in some sections, small vehicular road running next to an open-air concrete riverbed. This section is accessible from Meguro, Gotanda and Osaki stations on the JR Yamanote line as well as from Ikejiri-Ohashi station.
On the section north of route ni-yon-roku the river has mostly been piped underground, but a pedestrian/bike path has been maintained on the surface. The running course here is a nice path winding past gardens and, occasionally, a small stream. Five minutes north of ni-yon-roku the path splits in two; both paths continue for a long way, with the right-hand path ending near Sakurajosui station on the Keio line and the left-hand path connecting with the Tamagawa Josui near Hachimanyama station, also on the Keio line.
The course is accessible from a variety of smaller stations, most easily from Ikejiri-Ohashi. Remember that if traversing the route from the south, it is necessary to cross ni-yon-roku via a pedestrian footbridge, then head west along ni-yon-roku for about 100 m before picking up the path again off to the right, but remember that from here the river has been covered over.
