Long time the punchline of jokes of Tokyoites as the destination for Saitama hicks, poor Ikebukuro has suffered many injustices over the years. But its underdog reputation has kept it flying under the radar and given it a chance to develop subcultures that are unique to Tokyo. Ikebukuro boasts the largest Chinese immigrant population in Tokyo, making…
Tag: neighborhood
Yanaka
Yanaka is a quiet neighborhood in the northeast corner of urban Tokyo, partly because it is the last of the truly shitamachi neighborhoods of old Tokyo and partly because several thousands of its inhabitants are no longer part of the living. Yanaka Cemetery takes a large part of the neighborhood and is the permanent “home”…
Kabukicho
If there is any neighborhood that has attained notoriety in Tokyo, it would be Kabukicho. This area north of Shinjuku station is infamous for its many vices: gambling, prostitution and yakuza (Japanese gangsters). There is even a permanently repeating recording by the local police played over neighborhood loudspeakers warning people of the dangers of Kabukicho. While…
Sento (Bathhouse)
The Sento 銭湯, or public bathhouse has been a fixture in Japanese society for centuries. The sento was both a necessity, for many homes lacked a private bath, and a place for social interaction with the intimacy of sharing a bath with members of your community forming a sort of unspoken bond. Since the 1970’s, most homes…
新宿 – Shinjuku
Shinjuku is a special ward of Tokyo most famous for its train station, the busiest in the world with over 3.6 million people passing through it each day. It is also the home of many large Japanese corporations and the 48 story Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, which has fantastic free views of the city from…
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