The first photo shows Tatsumi-shindo in Monzen-nakacho, Koto-ku, Tokyo. As this vicinity was destroyed by the repeated air raids during the Second World War, the locals who lost their houses and the returnees from Korea, Manchuria and Taiwan abruptly built restaurants and bars here to live right after the end of the war. This is the origin of Tatsumi-shindo. Almost all of the 37 restaurants here are run using the original buildings, which creates an old atmosphere of those years. The next photo is Mikuni-koji in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. As soon as the end of the Second World War, many black-market stalls were open around Ikebukuro Station. Ikebukuro is one of the sub-centers of Tokyo. These black-market stalls were ordered to be pulled down by Douglas MacArthur, however, some of them were permitted to carry on their business in present Mikuni-koji district. Mikuni-koji was an illegal district at first, with brothels, drug trafficking and the like. But the illegal business had been shaken out little by little, and it has become a sound and safe restaurant district with a nostalgic atmosphere. Besides these districts, there are similar restaurant districts built right after the war, such as Nonbei-yokocho in Shibuya and Omoide-yokocho in Shinjuku.
Licensed tour guide, travel consultant,
Masahisa Takaki.
全国通訳案内士 高木聖久。
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