Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog

Did you know that in the current Chuo-ku, there used to be a place where a thousand cars fall on a day during the Edo period?

All of them are places where many people gather, so it means that a large amount of money is used.

That kind of place was the Sangasho below.

(1) Fish banks along the banks of Nihonbashi
(2) The play town in Nihonbashi Sakaimachi and Fukiya-cho
(3) Yoshiwara (Shin-Yoshiwara) prospered as a castle town
※The first playhouse in Edo began when Saruwakaza raised a tower in Kyobashi in 1624, and then moved to Negimachi (Nemachi, now Nihonbashi Horidomecho) and Sakaimachi (now Ningyocho) at the order of the Shogunate. Has been relocated.

By the way, Shijo-cho and Yoshiwara were originally located in the neighborhood of the current Ningyocho, but after the great fire of Edo in 1657 (1657), "the Great Fire of the Meiryaku era (furisode fire)" in 1659 (1659) Moved to the back of Asasakusa. In 1659, the Ohashi Bridge (Ryogoku Bridge), which was first bridged to the Sumida River, was completed on December 13 of that year.

Today's title "Takao Inari Shrine" tells the sad story of Takao Sendai, the second generation of the geisha tower "Miuraya" in Shin-Yoshiwara that occurred in 1659. For me, the image of Sendai Takao is dubbed with the Oiran "Nokaze" that appears in the popular TV drama "Ni-jin".

A passage spoken in the pillow of Rakugo's "Sendai Takao / Ukiyodoko".
"Oh, yeah, I've always said that this person wants to leave his name. Well, it's not easy to say what he did, and that the name will remain. I don't say that there's no name left. Well, there are quite a few Oiran riddles left their name. Oh, in the past, in this o, oh Yoshiwara, it was said that pine was about the pine, and he sold very insight. And the customer also said they paid a lot of money and were willing to buy that insight." What a story that starts with?......。

To sum up this story, Sendai 620,000 stones Tsunamune Date receives the second generation Takao of Manji in Miuraya, the so-called Sendai Takao, and later takes him to Shiba's Shimoyashiki by boat, Mitsumata (the current Kiyosu Bridge on the Sumida River) It is said that there was a slashing it on the street. (Left: near the present Mitsumata)
There is also a popular theory that Takao had a affair named Shigesaburo Shimada, so he did not listen to the Tsunamune, and he contracted Tsunamune with twenty gold, the same weight as Takao's weight.

It is said that Takao's body drifted a few days later on the shores of Kita-Niihori in this area of Okawabata (Sumida River), and the monk who had set up hermitage at that time was withdrawn and buried thickly. The sympathy of the people gathered at the pitiful end of Takao, built a company there, worshiped her divine spirit Takao Daimyojin, and made it Takao Inarisha.
It is very rare for Inari-sha in Japan that now has a real divine spirit (actual skeleton) as enshrined deity.

Location of Takao Inari (Nihonbashi-Hakozaki-cho, Chuo-ku: right next to IBM's office)
In the Meiji era, there were Inari Shrine and the Hokkaido Pioneering Envoy Tokyo Branch Office (later the building at the time of the opening of the Bank) in this area. Later, along with the construction of the current Mitsui Warehouse, shrine hall was moved to its current location with sacred object of worship.

A phrase that Takao is said to have given to Hou Sendai
"You are now around Komagata."

The grave of Sendai Takao is located next to the entrance of the Danya Cemetery in Jodo sect, Asakusa, Taito-ku.

On Saturday, Kabuto-cho is full of traffic and has a quiet atmosphere. On the way from Edobashi to Kabuto-cho, along the bridge facing the Nihonbashi River, Mitsubishi Warehouse, completed in 1930, appears as if it were a large ship moored on the riverbank.

As you walk to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Arrows around Mitsubishi Warehouse, the small shrine that appears on your left is Kabuto Shrine. Standing covered with pillars and bridge girders of the Metropolitan Expressway, this shrine has a tradition that originates from this area called "Kabuto-cho".

In the first place, the lucky charm is said to be the helmet of Taira no Masakado, but during the rebellion of Johei, about 1070 years ago, Hidesato Fujiwara attached a helmet to the neck of Masakado on the way to Kyoto, and at that time it was reported that only the helmet was buried in the soil and a mound was built and memorialized there. And this mound is called Kabutoyama, and it seems to be the oldest tradition that a shrine was built in this place and only the rock remained.

In addition, in the role of the nine years before that happened in the 1050s, Yoshiie Minamotono put a helmet on the rocks of this area on the way to the conquest of Oshu and prayed for victory, and in the Gosannen War in the 1080s Yoshiie Minamotono, who returned to Oshu, buried various helmets there for praying for Toi Zhenjo.

※The Kaede River is a river that once existed. It diverted south near Kabuto-cho on the Nihonbashi River, and was once a canal of about 1.2 km to the confluence of the Kyobashi River and Sakuragawa River, but its appearance disappeared due to the landfill that began in 1960. Was.

After leaving Kabuto Shrine, pass in front of the visitor reception on the west side of the Stock Exchange (Tokyo Stock Exchange Arrows), you will see a building with a retro feeling of the early Showa era at the corner. In the middle of Kabuto-cho, it is a building that reminds us of the old days when the expression is perfect, such as standing unintentionally in the valley of a high-rise building around it.

Actually, this building is "Yamani Shoken", which is still operating properly, and it is a quaint building that looks like a 3-story or 2-story building depending on the direction of viewing. Since it was completed in 1936, it was Historic buildings 75 years ago. The first floor is probably made of granite, and the outer walls of the second and third floors are made of bricks. The round window on the third floor is like a rose window, reminiscent of a church stained glass, and the clay roof tile, which covers the entire building, has a moderate slope and a stunning balance. For a moment, you can enjoy a space as if you were lost in a corner of the old town of Europe.

And next to this Yamani Shoken, there is another building that has a similar retro feeling. This building was also a securities company, and until a while ago, the signboard of "Naruse Shoken" was displayed. The entire building is characterized by a massive and solid structure made of granite stacked. The completion date is 1935, so this is also a 75-year history.

Currently, the company has changed its name to Philip Securities, a securities company affiliated with the conglomerate in Singapore. The front facade is based on symmetrical, and you can feel the beauty and strength of the straight line in a simple design. The front entrance is also equipped with an external light that gives a retro feel, accent to the facade. I happened to have an employee, so I heard the story, but when I asked if the floor was marble, it used to be a wooden floor, but due to the spread of computers, the floor was raised to hide the wiring of the run cable, It is said that it has changed to a modern style carpet. Nevertheless, when I looked inside from the back entrance, the floor was covered with fine tiles, and the wooden pillars and the stairs leading up to the upper floor were able to feel the brilliance of "Ibushi silver" with a history of more than 70 years.

In a big city where old buildings were demolished and turned into modern forms, it was a moment when I was impressed by the fact that the buildings of the early Showa era were still alive, and at the same time felt nostalgia as watching old albums .

On the opening day of Tsukiji, "Yamacho-san", which has a small shop in a corner of the rest area facing "Nami-dori", which is always crowded with many people, is popular with kushishi egg-yaki ("Kushitama").
It is a stand-up gourmet that we recommend during the walk around Tsukiji Outer Market. It's just the right size to eat while walking, and you can choose something warm and cold, as well as sweet and less sweet.

The price is 100 yen per skew. Outside Tsukiji, a fierce battlefield for egg-yaki, the only egg-yaki that is sold with reasonable skewers is here "Yamacho-san". By all means, please.

I would like to introduce some of my favorite food.
Did you know that Tsukiji is not called a sea bream-yaki shop, but called a tuna-yaki shop?
Fresh fish sea bream and tuna are also traded in the market, but there is only one tuna grill shop in the out-of-office market without bream grilling.

The tuna-yaki "Sanokiya" has a small shop on the left immediately after entering the first alley from Harumi-dori St. side. There is a cute signboard at the frontage of the store, about one frontage, so you can find it immediately.
"Sanokiya"'s tuna grille accurately expresses the bulge of the fuselage, which is a characteristic of tuna, and the swelling stomach is filled with plenty of ingredients "Anko". The raw material of the "Anko" is Tokachi red beans, and the red beans use the finest variety called "Toyoho".

There are two types of tuna grilling, "hon tuna" and "medium toro". It is said that the stomach of this tuna contains Kokura Ann, and the Nakatoro contains Kokura Ann and "Anzu". The finished tuna grill has wings like a dumpling, and the surface crisp and inside can enjoy the texture of the fluffy. By the way, "hon tuna" is 150 yen. "Nakatoro" costs a little more than 180 yen.

Outside Tsukiji, you can sample at various shops, but we recommend "Ichikushi Tamagoyaki" and "Tunayaki" for tasting.

Yamacho (Kushitama)
4-16-2, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Business hours 06:00～15:30
Regular holidays: Sunday, public holidays, market holidays

Sanokiya (Tuna grilled)
4-11-9, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku
Phone: 03-3543-3331
Business hours 07:00～15:00
Regular holidays: Sunday, market closed day

The Mitsui Tower, which boasts as a landmark of Nihonbashi's so-called "Mitsui Village", is home to Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, which is famous as one of the world's leading luxury hotels.

Recently, across Nihonbashi Chuo-dori, just opposite Mitsui Tower, "Cored Muromachi" and "Nihonbashi Muromachi Nomura Building and Yuito" will welcome us with a modern look as a new face of Nihonbashi.

Even so, it seems that "smoke" is not the only thing I want to go to the top floor of Mitsui Tower, which boasts a particularly high height. The 39th floor above ground (approximately 195m height) boasts the highest height in the Nihonbashi area. On the 38th floor, there is a reception at Mandarin Oriental Tokyo.

From the entrance on the first floor of Mitsui Tower to the elevator hall dedicated to the Mandarin Hotel, we will proceed through the dim lighting while manually opening the heavy door. There are three elevators. Confirm that the reception floor is on the 38th floor on the display board and go up to the reception in the sky at once.

I was brought to the height of the 38th floor in no time, and first went around the lobby. The standing position of Mitsui Tower is built so that you can see both east and west directions directly.

Looking west from the lobby, you can see the buildings in Otemachi as close as you can pick it up, and far beyond you see the skyscrapers in Shinjuku Fukutoshin. If you go down the stairs on the west side and look under the window, you can get a bird's-eye view of the Bank's head office from directly above. As you know, from the top, it is well known that the roof of the Bank is shaped like the yen, the Japanese currency. This is the 38th floor of the Mandarin Hotel where you can see its shape clearly.

And the highlight is the spectacular view of the east side seen from the men's toilet on the 38th floor. It's a stylish toilet, as expected, Mandarin hotels around the world. There are two doors before you get to the bathroom. When you open the first door, you expect the restrooms to be lined up there, but there is another door. I wondered if there was one toilet for both men and women, and when I opened the second door, a sight that was completely glass-covered eyes spread.

This toilet faces the east side, with a full view of the rooftops of Colled Muromachi and Nihonbashi Muromachi Nomura Building Yuito below, and the eastern end of Chuo-ku, the Sumida River, which undulates like a blue dragon, and even from all over Koto-ku, all the male figures of the Sky Tree can be monopolized. There was no one in the bathroom other than me, so I thought this excitement to everyone and shy. I dropped the ter. We don't expect the restroom in the hotel to become a tourist point, but we can't recommend a toilet tour with a large group. If you have a few people, why don't you go to the restroom on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Hotel for a later school?

However, what is the structure of women's toilets?......？

This year's Golden Week, which is not awakened by the influence of Great East Japan Earthquake, does not seem to be the bustling streets of Tokyo.

On the last day of Golden Week, May 8th (Sunday), I enjoyed "Silver Bra" alone to see how Ginza Chuo-dori was like.

On a regular Sunday, in front of the famous brand shop facing Chuo-dori, tourists from Asia lined up before opening, and it is a quiet air like a lie that various languages were flying around Was flowing.

I started walking along Chuo-dori from the Shimbashi side, but the time was before H&M around 10:30 am. Even that popular H&M doesn't have any customers before opening at 11:00. A woman standing on the wall of a stylish H&M building looks down on the sparse sidewalk.

I knew for the first time, a digital clock with a simple design made of metallic materials is placed on the sidewalk in front of H&M. Isn't such a stylish watch only here on Ginza Chuo-dori?

We will walk along the sidewalk on the H&M side, which is blocked by the building and cannot reach the sunlight, to the intersection of 4-chome. Still, people walking on the sidewalk are really sparse, and you can see the sight just looking at Ginza, one of Japan's leading shopping zones.

The Mitsukoshi front entrance at the intersection of 4-chome, which is always crowded with people waiting, has a quiet atmosphere, and it is surprising that the number of cars running on Chuo-dori and Harumi-dori St. is extremely small even if it is Sunday .

After passing the 4-chome intersection, it is the area where the most famous overseas brands are concentrated in Chuo-dori. It is a world-famous brand street that is comparable to Champs-Elysees in Paris and Sashizume Regent Street or Oxford Street in London. The big difference is that most of the famous brand shops in Kanochi have shops in old-fashioned stone-built buildings.

Over the past few years, including Ginza Chuo-dori, a brand-new modern building of famous overseas brand shops has been built in the area of Harumi-dori St., from one after another, and it is just like an exposition of contemporary architecture. Each brand incorporates its own identity and image into its architectural design, and demonstrates its presence in the same way as each brand logo.

Even so, the area around Ginza 2-chome to 3-chome is a brand shop heaven, and it has become a favorite of many foreigners as well as Japanese. I'm not very interested in the brand, but I suddenly stopped and looked at the design of the store architecture that expresses the presence of the overseas brand shop that decorates Ginza Chuo-dori, and the eccentricness of the store facade.

Apple Shop is a computer brand that feels the world's typical architectural design. The symbol mark "Apple (apple)" is drawn on the metallic front facade. Perhaps because "i-Pad2" was just sold, the inside of the store was crowded with many apple enthusiasts. As a personal matter, I purchased "i-Pod 160GB" at the Apple shop, which I wanted to contribute a little to the consumption after the earthquake.

On the other side of the apple shop, the chalk department store "Matsuya" with front glass lays as if overwhelming the viewer, and on the first floor, the world brand "Louis Vuitton" stands dignifiedly.

Immediately after passing the apple shop, there is a brand "Channel" that everyone admires, a cartier across the alley, a cartier on the other side of the cartier across Chuo-dori, and a brand shop that everyone knows, such as Bulgaria and jewel Tiffany.

However, even after the opening hours of each brand store, there are sparse customers inside the store, and the drastic decrease in the number of Chinese tourists who swept Japan until before the earthquake seems to have caused great damage to these brand shops.

Please take a look. It is a state of Ginza Chuo-dori after 11:00 am on May 8th (Sun). I'm so lonely.
The spirit of Ginza is the spirit of Japan. It is cheerful Japanese and foreign customers who color the gorgeous Ginza. I sincerely hope that the old bustle will come back soon.

Come on! The cherry blossoms in Tokyo are finally approaching full bloom. Today (April 6) is fine from morning. Then, I'm excited to see the cherry blossoms in Chuo-ku.

First of all, Hamacho Park on the banks of Sumida River and at the side of Shinohashi. A bird's-eye view of the park as if you look down from the embankment of the Sumida River, you can see a whole cherry blossom sea. In the soft sunlight of spring, haze or clouds are in full bloom.

After this, we went to a row of cherry blossom trees on the Hamacho Green Road. The cherry blossoms in full bloom are in full bloom. 

And the cherry blossoms on Ningyocho Street are almost in full bloom. The cherry blossoms beside the clock tower on the street are in full bloom. The street, which is usually crowded with the cherry blossom festival in Ningyocho, has reached a quiet cherry blossom season this year.

Well, where shall we go next? Well, let's go to Tsukuda again!
The row of cherry blossom trees at Tsukuda River City 21, which had not yet been in full bloom on the 4th the other day, is a gorgeous appearance. Akashi on the opposite bank and the cherry blossoms on the banks of the Hatchobori side seem to be in full bloom.

If this weather continues, the cherry blossoms in Chuo-ku will be the best to see on Saturday, April 9 and 10 (Sun) on the weekend.