#shitamachi = blue-collar eastern Tokyo

[todayintokyo]

Shitamachi houses. I love the street gardens (did you spot the chicken statue in the top photo?), and I wouldn’t mind living in that modern grey house, or sitting on that rooftop garden next to the little willow, or enjoying the ultimate shitamachi luxury: a real garden of your own with a tree and a wall and the whole caboodle. The last photo is a hoarder’s home, a surprisingly common sight in Tokyo. When it gets really bad, it’s called a gomi-yashiki or “garbage house”.

[todayintokyo]

Walking through Shitaya, a neighbourhood in eastern Tokyo. The torii and foxes are at Ono Terusaki Jinja (小野照崎神社), known as a shrine for actors and scholars.

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Washday in the shitamachi

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Eastern Tokyo automobiles and tumble dryer ;)

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Urban wisteria

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Shitamachi shrine and cherry blossoms

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In the language of Tumblr: shitamachi aesthetic. Incidentally, see those greenish tiles on the left? They’re made of copper and acted as fire prevention in days of yore.

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Urban garden and plum tree

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Episode CCXI in “Tales of the shitamachi: Who needs a garden if you can have a sidewalk?”

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When I say houses in the shitamachi are narrow, I really mean narrow, as in the width of one car. It’s quite long (deep?), though.

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Shitamachi house: the street doubles up as garage and garden. 

[todayintokyo]

willbemother said: Many plant pots are always on the pavement. Sitamachi people like putting plant pots on the pavement?

@iwillbemother, yes! I took all these photos (this afternoon) (just for you) (grin) in the short walk from my apartment to the nearest station. I think shitamachi people love pot plants because we don’t have enough space for gardens, so we turn sidewalks and balconies and roofs into green spaces. :) PS: Yes, that’s a last stubborn patch of ice in that top photo. The narrow alleys in the shitamachi don’t get much sunlight. PPS: Don’t you love the little ornaments?

[todayintokyo]

Autumn colours in the shitamachi

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Shitamachi version of wabi-sabi

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You know it’s summer in the shitamachi when you hear wind chimes everywhere.

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Homes and businesses (often in the same building) in Tokyo’s shitamachi. That last one made me smile. “It’s just a J, really...”