08 Okachimachi／御徒町

I the Edo period, Okachimachi meant a town (Machi) for lower-class samurais (Kachi) who were not allowed to ride horses, and many lower-class samurais working for the Tokugawa shogunate government lived in the area around Okachimachi station.  After the Meiji restoration, the area became a major entertainment district in Tokyo, which gradually shifted to the area around Ueno-Hirokoji subway station (the west side of Okachimachi station).
Below are the photos of the east side of Okachimachi station.

There are about 600 wholesale and retail jewelry dealers in a small area on the west side of Okachimchi station called Jewelry Town Okachimachi.

Takeya is a large-scale discount store known for its characteristic purple building, which was filmed in “Tokyo-ga” by Wim Wenders.

Higashi-Ueno Korean Town has a long history since around 1948.  Although its scale has reduced in the past decades, there are good Korean barbecue restaurants, grocery stores and an excellent meat shop.

Satake Shopping Street is the second oldest shopping street in Japan (the shopping street association was established in 1898).  There are about 60 stores and restaurants along the shopping street, which is about 330 meters long and has a full roof arcade over it.

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