Tokyo was a city of canals before the Allies firebombed the city. Apparently the canals boiled due to the incendiaries used, so there was no escape from the fire during that tragic phase of life in the city. 100,000 deaths in one night is a statistic that few people think about, the Nazi death camps worked at a glacial pace in comparison, the craziness of WW1 campaigns gains a new perspective too, the bombing of Tokyo, with the loss of those canals, was something else. Hard to imagine. So we don't talk about it.<p>Tokyo was built on an estuary so the canals came from the management of the water that was already there. The final evolution being the water being pushed completely underground is pretty predictable. Other cities have dealt a similar fate to their rivers, London being a prime example where only the Thames is really 'welcomed' as a river, everything else is kind of banished underground.