Takegawara Kōji — Japan's oldest arcade (竹瓦小路) 竹瓦小路
Opened on 1 December 1921, it is the oldest covered arcade still standing in Japan.
Takegawara Kōji is a small covered shopping passage in the Motomachi neighbourhood of Beppu, linking Ryūsen-dōri and the Takegawara onsen street. Completed on 1 December 1921, the wood-and-glass arcade (61 m long, 3 wide), lined with two-storey buildings, was built so that passengers landing at Beppu's old port could reach the Takegawara public bath, which had just been rebuilt at the time, without being exposed to the rain. It is now considered the oldest covered arcade still in existence in Japan, recognised as heritage of industrial modernisation in 2009. After the Heisei period several shops closed, but the arcade is still alive with about ten businesses, including a curry restaurant, a few snack bars and a wine bar: a small evening circuit rather than a daytime shopping centre.
Oita
Beppu
