Yosakoi Journey

Nerima (練馬区, Nerima-ku) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is mainly a residential ward, located in the northwest of the Wards Area of Tokyo (東京都区部, Tōkyō-to kubu). It split from Itabashi Ward on August 1, 1947, making it the newest of the 23 wards. It ranks 20th in official ward order under the Local Government Code of Japan, where it is assigned code 13120. Nerima Ward is nicknamed "the town of animation" (アニメのまち, Anime no Machi), because the earliest anime studios started up in the ward, like Toei Animation and Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production, making it the birthplace of anime, of the first color anime feature film The White Snake Enchantress, and of the first anime TV series Astro Boy. As of 2007, Nerima has the largest concentration of anime studios in Japan, followed by the neighboring Suginami Ward. Nerima has also served as the setting for several popular anime and manga series, including Doraemon, Ranma ½, Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, Tokyo Ghoul, and Digimon Adventure. As of 1 June 2025, the ward has an estimated total population of 749,451 people. It has 399,800 households, and 21.6% of the ward's population is elderly (over the age of 65). The total area of the ward is 48.08 km2, which gives a population density of 15,591 persons per km2.