Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog

Hello. This is a new correspondent, Hanes.
More than a month has passed since the reopening of the antenna shop IBARAKI sense in Ibaraki Prefecture, and Ibaraki sense.
Have you gone to a new shop yet?
On the day of the reopening, tape cuts were made by actress Miho Shiraishi and actor Gota Watanabe from Ibaraki Prefecture, and it became a hot topic!
I'm also from Ibaraki Prefecture, so I stopped by with my colleagues on the day of the opening.


(State of stores under renovation)

It has been reborn as a fashionable space that has a sense of openness than before.
I hope that the impression of Ibaraki Prefecture will be better enough to recover at once in the attractiveness ranking.


(The state of the store in early November)
　
Well, what did Hanes buy at an antenna shop in Ibaraki Prefecture?...
　
■Saza Coffee (Saza Coffee)
The answer is the Saza Coffee of BARA cafe attached to IBARAKI sense.
Some people may think, "Why is coffee?"
Actually, this is a slightly luxurious self-roasted coffee loved by citizens of the prefecture, which has a reputation for being delicious in the prefecture.



This coffee shop was founded in 1969 by the operating company of the movie theater "Katsuta Takarazuka Theater".
In 1997, we opened a directly managed farm in Colombia, South America.
In 2017, we won the first championship at the FNC Colombia Cauca District Fair.
　
It's also appreciated in coffee beans producing areas, so you can't miss the coffee street!
You can eat only a few kinds in this cafe, but you can enjoy it.
At the Saza Coffee store, there is a "Tokugawa Shogun Coffee" created in collaboration with Yoshitomo Tokugawa, the fourth generation of the Yoshinobu Tokugawa family.
This is where Yoshinobu hired a French chef during the negotiations on the opening of the port in 1867.
We investigated and reproduced the literature at the time of offering hospitality coffee to Western ministers.
It is a modern version of late Tokugawa shogunate's French-style coffee.
Not only coffee lovers, but also history lovers, don't you worry about the flavor?
　
In this way, Ibaraki Prefecture, which is closely related to Edo and Tokyo due to the connection of the Tokugawa family....
From here, we will introduce spots related to Ibaraki Prefecture in the city every time!
　
Edo period
■Samurai residence
Samurai residence in Ibaraki Prefecture (part of Hitachi and Shimousa) was relatively large in the ward.
Kamiyashiki: Hitachi Aso Domain Shinjo Sun Komori Naotake (3-chome, Nihonbashihama-cho)
Nakayashiki: Hitachi Kasama Domain Makino Bingo Mamoru Sadanao (around Meijiza)
　　　　Shimousa Furukawa Clan Doi Daikanto Toshinori (Nihonbashihakozakicho, around IBM Hakozaki Building)
　
■Kasama Inari Shrine Tokyo Betsusha
Kasama Inari Shrine Tokyo Betsusha, a company in Nihonbashi Seven Lucky Gods, Nihonbashi located in Nihonbashihamacho.
It was a shrine that was separated from Kasama Inari Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture, one of Japan's three major Inari shrines in the middle of the Edo period.


(Kasama Inari Shrine, the head office. Photographed in 2017.
　
The Chrysanthemum Festival is held every November and is full of many people.
It is relatively easy to access from Tokyo.



■Ishikawajima Museum
In 1853, when Perry arrived.
The Mito clan Nariaki Tokugawa founded the "Ishikawajima Shipyard" to enhance Japan's military power.
Here, the construction of Japan's first Western-style sailing warship "Xuri Maru" was started, and modern shipbuilding began.
Today, at this museum in Tsukuda, you can learn about the history and culture of Tsukuda Island and shipyards.



[Meiji period]
■Nihonbashi
Nihonbashi was built for the first time in 1603 and became the center of Japan the following year as the starting point of the Gokaido.
The stone double arch bridge we are currently crossing is completed in 1911.
The bronze sculpture of the kirin and lion, designed by architect Yorinaka Tsumaki, is impressive.
Surprisingly, this bridge also has an Ibaraki element!
More than 40,000 Inada stones cut out from Inada (Kasama City) in Ibaraki Prefecture are used for the pavement and arch.



Inada stone, which is said to be the "white granite in Japan", is also used in the Supreme Court and Hibiya Dai-ichi Seimei Building, and has recently been used for cobblestones in the square inside the JR Tokyo Station Maru completed in December last year. It is attracting attention again.
It is also used as a wall of IBARAKI sense.


(One of the Inada stone quarrys in Kasama City. Photographed in 2017. It looks great on Instagram.

◼️ Pharmaceutical ancestor patron
Do you know this shrine right next to the forest of Fukutoku?
As you can imagine from the name of the shrine, it enshrines the pharmaceutical ancestor patron Nikami, and is said to have the benefit of disease-free health and illness healing.



At first glance, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Ibaraki Prefecture, but in fact, in the medicine industry in Nihonbashi Honmachi, it seems that it has nothing to do with Ibaraki Prefecture.
It is said that he has visited the Oarai Isomae Shrine and the Sakatsurai Sosaki Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture, whose Nikami is the enshrined deity, and has shown a sense of reverence.


(Oarai Isosaki-jinja Shrine is located at the end of the long stairs. Photographed in 2017.

There is a torii gate of Kamiiso in the sea nearby.
This was also introduced on a poster affixed to the glass during the IBARAKI sense renewal work.


(Shooted in 2017.)
　
So far, I've introduced some of the Ibaraki elements found in Chuo-ku since the Edo period, how was it?
As typified by Nihonbashi, some people may first know that there is an Ibaraki element in a surprisingly familiar and familiar place.
There are many charms of Ibaraki Prefecture just because it is not known yet!
While walking around the city in Chuo-ku, be sure to find a shining spot of IBARAKI sense.
　
■IBARAKI sense
Address: Konya Building 1F, 1-2-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Business hours Shop Café 10:30-20:00
　　　　　Restaurant 11:00-23:00 (21:00 on Sundays and holidays)
Official Website: https://ibaraki-sense.com/
※This article has been approved by the manager of IBARAKI sense.
　
[References]
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Kanto Regional Development Bureau Tokyo National Land Office “Nihonbashi decorations” http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/toukoku/panf/nihonbashi100/pdf/rekishi-03-04.pdf
Kota Kodama (supervised) "Restore / Edo Information Map" (Asahi Shimbun, 1994).