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The following areas are covered in this episode:
00:38 Fukagawa, Koto
03:38 Morishita, Koto
07:30 Midori, Sumida
08:45 Kotobashi, Sumida
09:50 Kinshicho Station
12:48 Ishihara, Sumida
16:02 Asakusabashi, Taito
20:55 Ameya Yokocho, Ueno
About Fukagawa
Fukagawa (深川) is an area in Kōtō, Japan. It is one of the representative shitamachi of Tokyo. Formerly, it was a ward of the historical Tokyo City. In 1947, Fukagawa was incorporated into the ward of Koto, together with Suginami.
Fukagawa is named after its founder, Fukagawa Hachirozaemon. Originally, parts of Fukagawa below the Eitai river (excluding Etchujima) was sea; Hachirozaemon developed these areas with landfills.
After losing about 60 percent of the city in the Great Fire of Meireki of 1657, the shogunate ordered for Buddhist temples on the east bank of the Sumida river, and on both the north and west banks of the Onagi River, to be relocated. At the time, this area was occupied mainly by fishermen, with a population of just over a thousand. In 1695, it officially became the town “Fukagawa-Sagamachi.”
Fukagawa is known for its relations to the famous Japanese poet, Matsuo Bashō. In 1680, Basho moved to Fukagawa. Here, he wrote one of his most famous poems, Frog Poem.
About Ameya Yokocho – Just call it Ameyoko
People in Tokyo don’t call the area by its official name. Everyone just says Ameyoko.
Ameyoko became a huge marketplace after World War II. It started as a black market, selling many things that people who worked for the Occupation forces would get from the soldiers. It’s uncertain how it came to be called Ameyoko, but some people say that it comes from the Japanese word for candy, ame, while others say that it’s just short for American.
There are still a lot of sweets sold here.
There is a chocolate shop near the Ueno end of Ameyoko that sells in an unusual manner, almost like an auction. Tatakiuri literally means bang-selling. Vendors will often hit something, like boxes, with a stick, as they sell.
Here, the seller will add boxes of chocolate into the bag. He’ll keep adding them until the bag is full. No matter how many he adds, the bag sells for 1,000 yen.
10% off of 20% off of 30%
If it sounds confusing, it is. There are several stores that sell items at multiple discounts. There will be one sign saying 30% off. Then, another, saying that there is a special sale. Finally, a hawker will say that today is another special discount. The result is that often the mountains of stuff sold in front of stores are discounted up to 60 or 70 percent off the price on the label.
Sporting goods are often sold this way, and the brands are real, not knock-offs, although they may be from two or three seasons past. It’s a true bargain.
There are many fruit vendors that sell fruit on a stick. Melons, strawberries and pineapple are common, but the fruits are whatever is in season and ripe.
There is so much more to see and do. If you’re visiting friends, the crab, salmon roe, and other seafood are always appreciated as gifts. Or the matsutake mushrooms. These are always about half the price of most shops and a third of the price at department stores.
The bustling Ameyoko shopping street consists of two sections. Part of it is set like an open-air market, while the Ameyoko plaza is directly beneath the JR train tracks. The shopping street is an ideal place to buy souvenirs, see vendors hawking their wares, and sample some of Tokyo’s cheapest, rustic eats at the seafood restaurants or various shops offering foods from a diverse range of cultures.
Visit the street during late December, and walking is almost at a standstill. Popular with locals as the place to buy ingredients for traditional Japanese New Year foods, people flock to Ameyoko in the hundreds of thousands, hoping to snag a bargain.
Yet bargains abound any time of year. View trays of glistening, freshly caught fish that run for reasonable prices. Haggle cheekily with staff from one of the many fruit stalls for bags of fruit, also heavily discounted toward the end of the day.
Bar Hop in Ueno’s Ameyoko Recommended by Locals
Ueno is an area that is particularly famous among Japanese people who love drinking alcohol. It is filled with tachinomi-ya (a type of bar where people drink while standing) that are open from the early morning, specialty izakaya (Japanese-style taverns), and unique bars.
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