Nipponica

Dozens of shops, restaurants and bars lining the streets of Tateishi Nakamise, a covered shopping arcade – or shotengai – in the capital’s eastern suburbs will make way for a new development. It will transform the skyline, but also change beyond recognition an entire community whose roots lie in the destruction caused by the second world war.

Across Tokyo and other Japanese cities, shotengai that sprung up during the Showa era [1926-1989] are in a losing battle against property developers, depopulation and a consumer culture that demands convenience.

On one side of the local railway station, a tall screen partially hides cranes preparing the ground for apartment blocks, shops and a multi-storey local government office. On the other, families that have run shops, bars and restaurants for two or three generations are bracing for the inevitable arrival of the wrecking balls.

This one hits close to home as I live on a famous shotengai that luckily is still bustling. When supported and funded properly by cities, these areas are communities unto themselves and should be protected. So much connection is lost when these unique alleys are replaced by cookie cutter developments.