Shoutengai (しょうてんがい、商店街) are a quintessential thread in the fabric of many Tokyo communities. The word translates to “shopping street,” which is an accurate description at the base level. However, without a little context or experience in Tokyo it might be easy to dismiss these local neighborhood centers as purely commercial entities that operate purely for economic gain (i.e. shopping malls and department stores). In fact, they are (usually) comprised of and maintained by families that have lived in these neighborhoods for generations.
In these streets (often closed to car traffic), you’ll find a fairly wide variety of storefronts: including produce markets, drugstores, photography studios, cafes, and even public bathhouses. These streets often served as community centers and cultural gathering spaces; and today there are many shoutengai that carry on local festivals or traditional community events.
As most older shoutengai developed naturally where communities congregated, there’s a good chance that there is a shopping street near residential neighborhoods in the 23 wards of Tokyo. Once you move outside the 23 wards, the suburbs and mountain neighborhoods are a little too spread out to have the required foot traffic for a lively shopping street so you don’t see many outside the metropolitan area.
In general, these streets see a decent amount of activity during the day, mostly retirees running errands or nearby office workers coming to take their lunch break at a local cafe or restaurant. The activity picks up in the evening with more people patronizing the restaurants and bars. Weekends also see quite a bit of foot traffic in shopping streets as they make for pleasant walks for couples looking for something to do.
There are famous shopping streets in Tokyo, either for their proximity to shrines/temples or unique selection of goods. For example, the photo above is of Kappabashi in Taito Ward. This shopping street is also called Kitchen Street since practically all the stores are related to the restaurant industry.
One thing to keep in mind is that these streets are generally not made to accommodate those who don’t speak Japanese. This is neither a pro nor a con, just a simple fact of living in Japan. If you are polite and find a shop that doesn’t look busy (most likely a weekday afternoon), you might even be able to try out your Japanese and strike up a conversation with the shop owner.
Which brings me to my last point about many of the shops you can find in shoutengai. They’re different from major retailers in that often times you will be dealing with the owner of the shop face-to-face. And if you patronize an establishment enough, they’ll most likely remember you. I keep coming back to this idea of community and local business, but it really does make you feel more part of a greater whole in your corner of Tokyo.
When you’re browsing listings on our website, you might see agents write about how an apartment is close to a shopping street. This is a way to understand that the location will have some convenient perks. In addition, if you scroll to the bottom of a listing you can check out an interactive map of the approximate location to search around for any nearby shoutengai.
If you are more of an audio/visual learner, check out our video on shoutengai!
Let us know if you shop around your local shoutengai in the comments below. Or connect with me on twitter to talk more about what you can find around various shopping streets in Tokyo!
Lead photo: Scott Kouchi