Tokyo’s Classic ‘Pointed Hat’ Intake Tower Cameos in Films, Anime; Structure Stands as Tranquil Symbol of Neighborhood

By Shutaro Kakii / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:57 JST, March 9, 2026

Despite being part of the Tokyo metropolis, tall buildings are scarce and a broad skyline stretches out near the Edogawa river on the border with Chiba Prefecture. In spring, the expansive grasslands invite visitors to kick back and relax to the sound of the occasional train clattering across a railway bridge. The tranquil landscape is the perfect setting for two water intake towers, with a classic, red-brick appearance.

Called the second and third intake towers, the two structures draw water from the river into the nearby Kanamachi Water Purification Plant in Katsushika Ward.

At 9.4 meters tall and with a distinctive pointed hat-shaped top, the second intake tower dates back to 1941, while the third intake tower, 11.5 meters tall and with a roundish top, was built in 1964.

“Tongari boshi no shusuito kara Taishakuten e to yuhi ga ochiru” (The sun sets from the pointed-cap intake tower to the Taishakuten temple) go the lyrics of the theme song of the anime “Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo” (This is the police box in front of Katsushika Ward Kameari Park).

The temple, better known as Shibamata Taishakuten, also appears in the well-known “Otoko wa Tsuraiyo” (It’s tough being a man) film series, along with the image of protagonist Tora-san walking along the embankment.

“We don’t know the exact reason why it was built with a pointed hat,” said Masayuki Yasunaga, 63, chief of general affairs at the Kanamachi water purification management office of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Waterworks Bureau.

When the water purification plant was built in 1926, the first intake tower, which bore a flat roof, began operation. The third intake tower, built in place of the first once it was demolished, also originally had a flat roof. The copper dome it sports today was added around 30 years ago.

“If you watch ‘Otoko wa Tsuraiyo’ carefully, you’ll notice that the third tower still has its flat roof,” Yasunaga noted. In contrast, the second intake tower had its distinctive appearance from the start and has become an iconic landmark in the area.

Yasunaga also shared another bit of trivia with a smile. The road beside the water purification plant appears in last year’s “Tokyo Taxi,” a film directed by Yoji Yamada.

In the story, an elderly woman, played by Chieko Baisho, permanently leaves her home in Shibamata and boards a taxi to move into an elderly care facility in Kanagawa Prefecture. During the ride, she shares various memories of her eventful life with the driver, played by Takuya Kimura.

After watching the film, I revisited the embankment. The intake towers, which had witnessed so much over so many decades, shone even brighter in the setting sun.

Intake towers of Kanamachi Water Purification Plant

Address: 1-1, Kanamachi Josuijo, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo

Access: 15-minute walk from Kanamachi Station on the JR Joban Line. 20-minute walk from Shibamata Station on the Keisei Kanamachi Line