Yanagawa-mura

photo by 妖精書士 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Every year the business owners elect, by public vote, a ‘村長’ (mayor) of Yanagawa-mura from among those who say they love the neighbourhood most: the official page already documents the fourth vote.

The official site publishes the results of the second and third elections, as well as the call for the fourth (‘ヤナガワ村を最も愛する『村長』を一般投票で選出します’), a sign that the ritual has become a recurring one. The neighbourhood also holds a seasonal festival, the ‘ヤナガワ村祭り’: an autumn edition in 2025 with food, live music and cosplay, and a spring one set for 10 May 2026.

Yanagawa-mura is the name the business owners give to the neighbourhood of venues around Yanagawa-chō and Takasaki Chūō Ginza street, in the centre of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, which also extends to the neighbouring areas of Yoriai-chō and Shin-Konya-chō. It was once a lively nightlife district and still keeps a Shōwa-era atmosphere; ‘Yanagawa-mura’ is a revitalisation project run by the area's own business owners, who call the area by that name. The businesses listed on the official site include a Japanese restaurant (ゆうき), a Korean grill (ホドリ), a snack bar (アズーラ), a vintage sweet shop (だがしや わっか), a florist (DORAMA) and a tobacconist (保坂たばこ店).

ℹ️ Opening hours are not given on the project's official site: those of the individual venues and businesses in the area apply.

🚉 Takasaki · 19 min walk

Sources: yanagawa.one · yanagawa.one

All series · Open the map