Koenji
I lived in Koenji for two years, so this one’s personal. It’s Tokyo’s vintage and underground stop: around 70 second-hand shops, record stores, live houses — and a shrine where people pray about the weather.
The Koenji route
The Look Shotengai vintage run → Kitakore Building → Kosugiyu sento — any day but Thursday
The spots on the route
Look Shotengai
The vintage run — the covered shopping street where the second-hand shops stack up, and the first stop on the route.
Kitakore Building
Koenji’s underground side under one roof — a warren of small, independent shops.
Kosugiyu
The neighborhood sento, and the soak at the end of the route. Go any day but Thursday — it’s closed Thursdays.
Koenji Hikawa Shrine
The weather shrine — where people pray about the weather.
Field notes
Notes by Jenner, from places I have actually been. More notes are on the way — the full guide is coming soon.
Look Shotengai vintage run — around 70 second-hand shops, plus record stores and live houses.
The weather shrine — Koenji Hikawa, where people pray about the weather.
Kosugiyu sento is closed Thursdays.
I lived here for two years. This one’s personal.
Five stops from Shinjuku is just the start.
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