Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog

Now, the Tokyo Marathon has become a feature of Tokyo in February.
The course around famous places in Tokyo is very fun for the viewer, but it is very popular for citizen runners because it is a rare opportunity to run in Ginza and Nihonbashi, so it is very popular, and this year's application is 10 times It was.
Under such circumstances, a classmate who was together from kindergarten to junior high school was fortunate to run by lottery.

I couldn't imagine since I was a child, but I have run a number of full marasos so far, and the Tokyo Marathon is the second time.
That said, I just got sick at the end of last year and I was very worried, so I decided to go to cheer with my local classmates.

For both runners and supporters, the easiest to find is the intersection of Irifunebashi, which turns after Honganji in Tsukiji and turns to Tsukuda-ohashi Bridge.
It's just around the exit of Shintomicho Station.
This place is second-third of the course, with wadaiko's performance and water supply points.
At the same time, it can be said that it is a place where you can get excited to prepare for the final difficulties, such as the up and down of the super steep angle of Tsukuda-ohashi Bridge from here.

　　　　　　<Tsukiji Honganji-mae>　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　<Tsukuda-ohashi Bridge>

I was listening to the expected passage time from the person himself, so if I thought I should go a little before because it was cold, when I was walking ahead of the ward office, a classmate who went early said, "I have passed now!" Contact!
I was sorry that I couldn't make it in time due to the difference in touch, but after a while, I disbanded with the classmates who gathered, saying, "If it is in this condition, I will not go in a good time."
If you check it on the homepage later, the time is 4 hours and 53 minutes.
From the person himself, "I worked hard until Irifune Bridge, but the rest was terrible. It's the year of yappa." I received an email.
However, I was relieved to finish safely.

During the race, the streets leading to Ginza, Nihonbashi Chuo-dori, Harumi-dori St., Shin-ohashi-dori St., and the streets leading to it were closed, so if you wanted to go right in front of you, it was a little inconvenient to go there, but it was interesting to be able to go through a different route than usual while thinking about a place where you could pass like a quiz.
　

　　　　　　　　　　<In front of Irifunebashi>　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　<Classmate from kindergarten>

If you can enter again next year, everyone will go to cheer! Yoshino-kun!

If you go up the stairs at Tsukiji Market Station on the Oedo Subway Line, you will see the Asahi Shimbun right in front of you.
There is a security guard at the entrance, and it is an atmosphere where unrelated people cannot enter, but in fact, this building is also a path to the Hamarikyu Asahi Hall, where concerts are often held. The concourse on the second floor to get to the hall contains facilities that can be used by the general public, such as restaurants and cafes.

The bookstore in it is BookCumu (BookCumu).

According to Mr. Watanabe, the store manager, most of the visitors are still related to the Asahi Shimbun, so the first thing that comes to notice is books on political, economic and current affairs.
Although it is a small shop with less than 20 tsubo, there are many humanities science books such as Iwanami Shoten, Misuzu Shobo, Fujiwara Shoten, which are only super-large bookstores such as Yaesu Book Center.
Furthermore, in Bunko and Shinsho, in the Ginza area after Kondo Shoten and Asahiya Shoten disappeared, in addition to Iwanami Bunko and Shinsho, which are only found in Kyobunkan, Tsunogawa Sophia Bunko, which contains many Japanese classical literature, Kodansha Gakugei Bunko, and Chikuma Gakugei Bunko, are piled up in books that stimulate intellectual curiosity.

Above all, in the "Media Journalism" section, books on all media other than newspapers, such as magazines, television, and internet, from basic journalism theory to the latest developments in the IT era, are lined up. It feels like a bookstore in a newspaper company.
This is a corner created with the advice of a reporter once saying, "Because it is a bookstore in a newspaper company, even if it is narrow, if it is a corner for media and journalism."
The reporter died early, so it seems that it is also the so-called memorial corner.

In addition, of course, there are new books and magazines published by Asahi Shimbun Publishing, and back issues such as Weekly Asahi and Aera are in stock until about a month ago.
(Because it happens to be out of stock or out of stock, be sure to check the stock by phone before visiting the store.)

The business is from 10:00 to 18:00 from Monday to Friday, so it may be difficult for those who work in the daytime, but it is a few "bookstores where shelves talk about" that can only be understood by book lovers .
If you have a chance, please come and visit us.

BookCumu (BookCumu) Asahi Shimbun Headquarters

5-3-2 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku Asahi Shimbun, 2nd floor
Telephone 03 (3543) 2428

Business hours Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00
Regular holidays Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays

The new Kabukiza Theater is less than two months before the opening on April 2.
Despite the announcement of the performance of persimmon dropping, he lost to Danjuro following Kansaburo last year, and God said that if he did not overcome severe trials, large flowers would not bloom. It looks like you are.
However, Kabuki has been continuing since the Edo period, overcoming various crisis situations.
Even though it is a giant star crash, the alternative stars will surely come out again.

The new Kabukiza Theater is the hall of fame of such Kabuki.
The other day, the sheet was finally removed and it was possible to see the whole picture.

　In front of Kabukiza Theater (from Harumi-dori St.)

This Kabukiza was built in 1889, centered on Ouchi Fukuchi, against the backdrop of the movement of drama improvement, and was initially Western-style exterior.
However, the Imperial Theater, which opened in 1911, was in a pure Western style, and was rebuilt in a Japanese style palace style in order to counter this.
However, in 1921, it was burned down due to a short circuit, and during the reconstruction, it was temporarily suspended due to the Great Kanto Earthquake, but in January 1925, the exterior was reopened with Momoyama style.

There is a program of "New Construction Early Spring Opening Performance" at this time, but the exterior on the cover is quite similar to the current one.
By the way, the performers are Ieyasu Tokugawa, the fifth generation Utaemon Nakamura, and the Kyogenshi Ukon, the fifteenth generation Uzaemon Ichimura.

Later, it was burned down by air raids in May 1945.
It was restored in 1951 and continues to this day.

So, when I heard that Kabukiza was rebuilt for the first time, many people thought, "What will happen to buildings with such a history?"
I'm one of them.

I thought that if I felt uncomfortable with the modern design, I would halve the pleasure of seeing Kabuki, but as expected, Mr. Kuma Kengo says, "I will make use of the current form as much as possible."

If you think carefully, even when you are a teenager, you will feel short of breath if you run up with a dash (especially the steep stairs from the 3rd to 4th floors grow up in a narrow house in the downtown area and get used to it. It was quite hard), and the structure of the building that is very hard to say barrier-free.
It is true that there were various problems during day and night replacement, such as the narrow entrance of the subway, which was crowded with many people and made it impossible to pass through the road.
I wondered if it would be inevitable to rebuild, but since the construction started, I was expecting and anxious, and I couldn't help but look up every time I passed nearby.

First of all, I wondered what would happen when the tower building attached to the theater was built, but as the front fence gradually lowers, when I saw that characteristic Momoyama-style roof framework, I was really excited!
The civilization hall side came to be visible first, but although the entrance of the props has changed a little, I was happy to see it almost unchanged.
Rather, the separate building with the restaurant, which was added later, disappeared, and it happened to be the same as the photo taken by my father in 1975.

　　Kabukiza Theater in 1975　　　　　　　As of February 3, 2013

Also, whether the inside of the building is reproduced, despite the large theater, the unique atmosphere like an old playhouse is reproduced.
It's good to be beautiful, but the shop with various items lined up as if you turned the toy box upside down, is an exciting atmosphere that can not help but think, "Oh, I came to Kabukiza to see a play." It was still indispensable because of the atmosphere.
In addition to nostalgic foods such as Anmitsu, Monaka's cub ice cream, Kintsuba and doll grilling, of course, various goods of actors are lined up, but there was also a "Left Danji Colon".

And in the corridor on the third floor, there are photos of famous actors who died, and I thought, "I wanted to see the 15th generation Hazaemon, who was born earlier and was said to be an exquisite man." .
If the new theater also has a similar corner, you may not be able to do it by looking at the photos of Kansaburo and Danjuro.

But even if such actors never come out again, there are a lot of actors who are looking forward to the future, including their two sons.
Kabuki will change little by little along with the new theater, but I think it will surely continue to give wonderful excitement to many people.
　 　

　　From the Showa-dori side　　　　　　From the Tsukiji side　　　　　　　　　Tsukiji side side side