Harmonica Yokochō

photo by Stephen Kelly · CC BY 2.0

Born from the black market of '45: about a hundred shops in 3,000 sq m, open in the evening.

A grid of covered alleys in front of the north exit of Kichijōji Station, born from a post-war market in 1945. About a hundred shops in 3,000 square metres: by day fishmongers and cake shops, in the evening izakaya and standing bars. In the morning a good part of the shopfronts stays shut.

The alley began in 1945 as a post-war market (‘闇市’) in front of the new north exit of Kichijōji Station, and grew to hold about a hundred shops in 3,000 square metres (musashino-kanko.com, the Musashino tourist board, read in full in this session). The name comes from the comparison between the row of little shops with very narrow entrances and the mouthpiece of a harmonica, according to the same source.

ℹ️ A public alley, with no common hours: each place has its own, and many open only in the evening; in the morning a good part of the shopfronts stays shut. A morning market is held on the second Sunday of the month, 8:00–11:00 (GO TOKYO). Two minutes from the north exit of Kichijōji Station (JR Chūō, JR Sōbu and Keiō Inokashira lines). ⚠️ Several reviews report a surcharge on the bill (‘seating fee’) applied mainly to foreign customers in some yakitori bars.

🚉 Kichijoji · 3 min walk

Sources: musashino-kanko.com · ja.wikipedia.org · gotokyo.org · cntraveler.com

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