In Japan, a “Shotengai” (商店街) is a traditional shopping street/district featuring small, local businesses. It’s a nice place to hang out, go shopping, and adds a lively feel to a neighborhood.
I used to pass through a Shotengai in Western Tokyo (in Nerima City) every day when I used to live there. Unfortunately, this shopping street is on its final days as the city is constructing a road to cut through it.
This is what it used to be like. Smaller-sized restaurants, grocery stores, and businesses are the common theme along the street. This is located adjacent to a train station.
All activity here is pedestrian, which is how a shotengai typically is. This is great for people in the area to have a place close by to shop and hang out.
I found this street to be convenient, as it allowed me to stop by a convenience store or a grocery store on the go.
Not a lot of activity here when I was there last month, though. Many of the businesses there closed over the past couple of years.
To put it simply, this area recently got rezoned for taller buildings. The city is looking to capitalize on it with high-rise apartments like you see in the above photo. Part of this development falls on top of the aforementioned shotengai.
This road will also expand into the shopping district to connect with the rezoned area around the station.
This street connects directly to the pick-up and drop-off area of the train station, and the expansion through the shopping district will connect two main roads at each end of the street.
Traffic flow will benefit from this construction, but at the expense of pedestrian convenience, which probably accounts for over 80% of activity here. I honestly don’t really see the need for the road to expand.
Change is a Part of Life
It’s disappointing to see a once lively shopping street die out. I wish the city could’ve come up with ways to go around the shotengai and maintain the lively vibe in the area. However, new apartments are necessary. Tokyo is a city growing in population, and people need places to live. The rezoning around the station is understandable.
I had a bittersweet feeling returning to New York City after this trip. Although I lived in Tokyo for 18 years, the city keeps moving while I’m away, and what made Tokyo for me while I was there will never be the same. This change in my old neighborhood was perhaps one of the ways that made me think that.
Featured image by the author.
