KOENJI JUNJO SHOTENGAI

The Gate to Koenji’s North
[updated August 2022]

Two stops from Shinjuku on the JR Chuo train line and a few steps across from the north exit of JR Koenji Station stands the arch to north Koenji and the entrance to one of the neighborhood’s most popular shopping areas, Koenji Junjo “Pureheart” Shotengai. Koenji is also famous for its scene of local comedians and musicians. As with the other shotengai (shopping street) in Koenji, it is filled with restaurants, bars, “live houses”, and second hand stores, making it a go-to location for a variety of entertainment 7 days a week; Matsunoki Shokudo, Bar 365, and Hard Off are some notables. And being the entry point to north Koenji, it is also a convenient way to access the other fun-filled shopping streets such as Koshin Dori to the West and Azuma Dori to the East.

There is also some interesting shōtengai history tied to the street, which flourished prior to World War II as “Koenji Ginza Shotengai”. After the novelist Shoichi Nejime wrote the novel “Koenji Junjo Shotengai” about this shopping area in the late 1980’s, the shotengai officially adopted the name. The Junjo arch in front of the north exit of Koenji Station has also become a symbol of Koenji, a town that ranks consistently among the top areas in Tokyo in terms of affordability. Come to Junjo Shotengai to experience a lively shopping district in the subcultural town of Koenji.

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Writer/Photographer: Diego