To everyone who came to know Joyful Minowa Shopping Street through the drama 『Reborn』.
In the drama, the shopping street is portrayed in memorable scenes as a place shaken by the threat of eviction and acquisition plans. However, Joyful Minowa Shopping Street is a living, active shopping street where you can still enjoy daily shopping, food strolling, and town walking, all while retaining its Showa-era atmosphere.
Whether you are visiting as a filming location pilgrimage or simply want to walk through an authentic old Tokyo neighborhood, we would be delighted if you could experience the true charm of this town.
The Shopping Street as Depicted in the Drama “Reborn”
“Reborn” is a story about a successful IT company president who is sent back 14 years into the past, restarting his life as a young man on the side of the shopping street he once drove into a corner. In Episode 1, “Akari Shopping Street” is portrayed as a place facing the threat of eviction and burdened with debt, serving as the setting for a major turning point in the protagonist’s life.
(Reference: TV Asahi “Reborn” Episode 1 / ORICON NEWS)
As the story progresses, the shopping street is depicted at the center of various events—preparations for a spring festival, clashes between people, a decline in customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and acquisition plans. Especially in the spring festival of Episode 5 and the critical developments of Episode 7, you can sense that the shopping street is portrayed not merely as a backdrop, but as a place where people’s feelings and lives overlap.
(Reference: Episode 5 / Episode 7)
But the Real Joyful Minowa Shopping Street Is “A Shopping Street That Is Still Alive Today”
Joyful Minowa Shopping Street is not a “declining shopping street” like the one portrayed in the drama. While cherishing a history that dates back to 1919, our shopping street continues to support the daily lives of local residents and offers visitors from outside the ward a place to enjoy town walking and food strolling. Along the approximately 465-meter street, you will find a variety of shops that are close to everyday life, including delicatessens, greengrocers, Japanese sweets shops, cafés, and stationery stores.
(Reference: Arakawa City Official Site)
The charm of Joyful Minowa Shopping Street is not only in the lingering Showa-retro atmosphere. Within these traditional streetscapes, daily shopping still takes place, people come and go, and conversations are exchanged in front of the shops. The fact that we are “a shopping street that is more than just nostalgic—one that is still properly used today” is the very charm we cherish.
Why Joyful Minowa Shopping Street Continues to Be Chosen as a Filming Location
One reason Joyful Minowa Shopping Street has been chosen as the setting for so many film and TV productions is the scenery that naturally retains the air of the Showa era. The depth of the arcade, the rows of signs, the storefronts of individual shops, and the lived-in expressions of the street—all of these scenes have been utilized in creating the worldviews of various works. We believe that films such as “Shoplifters” and “The Fish Tale”, along with many other dramas and visual works, have used this town as a filming location precisely because of the unique atmosphere only found here.
(Reference: Joyful Minowa Shopping Street Top Page)
Another reason is that, beyond the scenery, this is still a properly functioning, active shopping street. At Joyful Minowa Shopping Street, we share overall maps, shop introductions, and event information so that even first-time visitors can enjoy the town. We feel that not only preserving the scenery of the past but also properly conveying ways to enjoy it today connects directly to our appeal as a filming location.
Furthermore, because the entire shopping street is covered by an arcade, it is easy to walk through even on rainy days. Being less affected by the weather and allowing visitors to enjoy a stroll with peace of mind is a unique strength of Joyful Minowa—both as a filming location and as a place to visit.
(Reference: Arakawa City Official Site)
How to Enjoy Joyful Minowa Shopping Street on a “Reborn” Pilgrimage
For those visiting Joyful Minowa Shopping Street thanks to the drama, we would first like you to slowly walk through the entire shopping street. Scenes that appeared in the drama as “a shopping street in crisis” will show you a different expression when you actually walk through them. The presence of people, the lights of the shops, the voices of shoppers enjoying themselves, and the atmosphere of the old-fashioned signs and arcade—each and every one of these is the daily life of Joyful Minowa Shopping Street.
An Arcade That Is Easy to Walk Even on Rainy Days
One of the charms of Joyful Minowa Shopping Street is the ease of walking provided by its arcade. Even on rainy days, you can stroll without an umbrella, and being less affected by the weather is a major advantage for enjoying a town walk. Visitors on a pilgrimage to the filming locations can also leisurely take in the atmosphere of the shopping street.
(Reference: Arakawa City Official Site)
The Joy of Wandering Through Delicatessens, Cafés, and Local Shops
Joyful Minowa Shopping Street is a place that offers more than just a location pilgrimage. Pick out a side dish at a popular delicatessen, take a break at a café, or peek into a Japanese sweets or tea shop. The more you walk, the more you encounter shops whose charm is rooted in everyday life. For those visiting on a pilgrimage, we hope you will experience it not only as the stage of a drama, but as a shopping street where you can actually enjoy shopping and food.
(Reference: Member Shop Introductions / Arakawa City Official Site)
Enjoying the Old-Town Scenery Together with the Toden Streetcar
The scenery extending from the Minowabashi Stop of the Toden Arakawa Line is also a charm unique to Joyful Minowa Shopping Street. The overlap of streetscapes featuring the Toden streetcar and the arcade shopping street creates a downtown landscape that is distinctive even within Tokyo. It is a scene you can enjoy not only while savoring the afterglow of the drama, but also as part of an everyday Tokyo stroll.
More Than Just a Location Pilgrimage: The True Charm of Joyful Minowa Shopping Street
The charm of Joyful Minowa Shopping Street is not just the “scenery you’ve seen as a filming location.” Here, there is daily shopping, seasonal events, long-established shops, and newly added ones. While preserving the traditional virtues of the past, we strive to be a shopping street that visitors today can continue to enjoy.
Joyful Minowa Shopping Street also places great emphasis on the joys of food strolling and town walking. After being featured in Airbnb’s “Hidden Culinary Gems”, we have had more opportunities to be recognized as a town of food as well. We hope that those who became interested through the drama’s filming locations will actually walk, eat, and feel the warmth of this town.
(Reference: Joyful Minowa Shopping Street Top Page)
Summary | If “Reborn” Caught Your Interest, Come Visit the Real Joyful Minowa Shopping Street
The shopping street depicted in “Reborn” is a stage that carries a story of crisis and rebirth. Because of that impression, some people may hold a similar image of Joyful Minowa Shopping Street.
However, when you actually walk through this town, you will find the warmth of old times and the continuing liveliness of everyday life. Joyful Minowa Shopping Street is not merely a nostalgic place. While retaining its Showa-era atmosphere, it is a shopping street where people still come and go, do their shopping, enjoy food strolling, and which continues to be chosen as a filming location.
And we have not simply preserved that scenery. While cherishing the virtues of the old days, we have nurtured the town to fit the present era, and with our own hands, we have been reborn—little by little, again and again.
Whether you visit because of the drama or simply want to enjoy a town walk, we would be delighted if you could experience the unique atmosphere of Joyful Minowa Shopping Street. Please come and walk through the real Joyful Minowa Shopping Street.