![]() ![]() By the mid-2000’s the area had a reputation for its bohemian/Shōwa chic. The names seemed destined for mediocrity until 1991 when the area became a hub for performing arts (theater in particular) and slowly the area gained momentum as quirky boutiques and shops and restaurants came to be established there. Shimo-Kitazawa Station was built in 1928. You can easily see that it’s at the northernmost point of the county. The highlighted area is the Ebara District - or at least what was incorporated into Tokyo City. This is why the Shimo and Kami names still exist today at all.Ī Map of Tokyo City (basically the modern 23 Special Ward of Tokyo) This sort of thing happened all over Tōkyō, but the old names often would come back into circulation for bus, trolley, and train station names that needed to be differentiated. At that time, the villages were officially merged into 北沢村 Kitazawa Mura Kitazawa Village. When 東京府 Tōkyō-fu Tōkyō City was created, it absorbed the area into the city boundaries. Maps of the time confirm the presence of two small villages by the name of 下北沢村 Shimo-Kitazawa Mura Shimo-Kitazawa Village and 上北沢村 Kami-Kitazawa Mura Kami-Kitazawa Village. It was just part of the Ebara District of Musashi Province. In the Edo Period, this place was just country. The platform has no roof so it must have been a bitch in the summertime.īut the platform and tracks must be in the same places as they are now.Īlso, you can tell this is after WWII, as the kanji are written left to right. The oldest recognizable photograph I could find of Shimo-Kitazawa. A legitimate, modern Shimo-Kitazawa might exist sometime in the very near future. So if you wondered how these place names transition, there’s a good chance that we’re seeing a transition before our very eyes. There are too many examples of this to list. We also saw this with Nijūbashi, Kudanshita, Ebisu, and Omotesandō. Readers of JapanThis will remember how we’ve watched Iidamachi fade into oblivion as Iidabashi gained dominance simply because of the presence of a train or bus station. It’s interesting to me, because Shimokita (as it’s usually nicknamed) has a momentum that reflects changes we’ve seen in Tōkyō’s history. The area colloquially referred to as Shimo-Kitazawa is composed of two official areas Kitazawa and Daizawa. It’s definitely a hot spot.īut actually, there is no official place called Shimo-Kitazawa.īy this I mean, there is no official postal address called Shimo-Kitazawa. But don’t let that fool you the small Shimo-Kitazawa Station is busy as hell. It’s not the most accessible area, but that’s part of its charm. It’s not as commercial as the more urbanized centers like Shibuya and Shinjuku, and it has a nice balance of residential and boutique business culture. Because of its bohemian appeal, it’s popular with artists, musicians, college students and young professionals. Shimo-Kitazawa is located in Setagaya Ward. I’m about to tell you how popular this place is by starting off with a picture where there isn’t a human in sight. ![]()
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