Old School Shibamata

A Neighborhood on Tokyo’s Outskirts

I say this quite often on social media but one of the things I like most about living in Tokyo is the fact that the city offers endless opportunities for discovery. You see, you could literally spend an entire lifetime just delving into all of Tokyo’s nooks and crannies and never exhaust the supply. There’s just that much to see and do. The city is very much like an onion or one of those Russian Matryoshka dolls. Every time you strip away the outer layer, there’s always another one waiting beneath it. As you might imagine, I often find myself helplessly overwhelmed by the sheer possibilities for novel adventures. Frankly speaking, not a single day goes by where I don’t stumble upon something new.

Speaking of potential escapades, today we are going to be taking a look at a little known area that recently popped up on my radar while doing research for my bucket list. Known as Shibamata, this rustic town lies on Tokyo’s easternmost periphery. Seeing as the region still holds much of its yesteryear charm, it is the perfect half-day getaway from the hustle and bustle of the world’s most hectic megalopolis. While Shibamata barely has any name recognition overseas, the town is an old time favorite amongst Japanese elders. These reverent souls fondly recall this location as the setting for the highly popular film series “Otoko wa…