Good Ole Shopping Street in City in Japan’s Ibaraki Pref. Evokes Showa Era Nostalgia, Was One of the Busiest in Its Prime

By Gaku Terakura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

10:30 JST, January 20, 2026

INASHIKI, Ibaraki — There is a shopping street that greatly retains the atmosphere of the Showa era (1926-89) in the center of Inashiki, Ibaraki Prefecture. Located on the south side of Kasumigaura, the country’s second largest lake, Edosaki Shotengai (Edosaki shopping street) was in its prime during the 1960s and was among the prefecture’s busiest shopping streets. Some of the establishments there still evoke nostalgia for those days.

First, go to the north end of the shopping street to visit Edosaki Station. However, it is not a train station but, rather, it’s a bus terminal with no sign of a railroad.

“Bus services have been available here since the days when the now defunct Kokutetsu [Japan National Railway] was still around,” said Kazuyuki Togo, who runs a traditional Japanese confectionery shop nearby, as he reminisced about the past. “Shoppers and students used to get on and off the buses constantly.”

Adjacent to the bus terminal is the “station” building, a simple, wooden structure constructed in 1968. In the past, an employee was regularly stationed there and sold tickets to passengers. Now, the building serves as a waiting room.

There is a community center called Edosaki Shoyukan near the bus terminal. The facility’s name comes from the historical fact that soy sauce (shoyu) brewing thrived in Edosaki during the Edo period (1603-1867). The structure itself used to be a ryokan inn built more than 90 years ago. After the inn shut down, local shop owners and others rented the building and renovated it. Today it is used for various purposes, such as an event venue.

The sidewalks of the shopping street are covered by long roofs built in the Showa era. According to those knowledgeable about the street, the covered sidewalks were built in the late 1960s by shop owners and others who spent their own money to construct the roofs. Back in those days, it was rare for a local community to do such construction work without relying on the local administration. Their way was hailed as the “Edosaki style,” and groups of observers, even those from outside the prefecture, would come to see the street. Apparently, the street was so crammed with people at the time that one could not see the ground.

There are still a long-established sushi restaurant, a clock shop, a china shop and others along the street. But there are also many businesses that have permanently closed their shutters. Shop owners are worried about the future of the street.

Their shared view is that they do not know how long they can keep the street lively, but they are willing to protect it. Now that more than half a century has passed since the prime of the shopping street, I cannot help but feel the loneliness that comes with the passing of time. But I also feel a strong desire to return to this place someday.

Edosaki Shotengai

Address: Edosakiko, Inashiki, Ibaraki Prefecture

Access: It is a one-hour bus ride from Tsuchiura Station on the JR Joban Line to Edosaki bus terminal. By car, it is an about 10-minute drive from the Inashiki interchange on Ken-O Expressway (Metropolitan Intercity Expressway)

Hours: Edosaki Shoyukan is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.