Established after the end of the World War II, Ameyoko was originally a black market, similar to Akihabara. While in Akihabara the products were mainly electrical appliances, in Ameyoko the main attraction was the sweets. And the sweets were mostly imported from America, hence the original name of Ameya-yokocho アメヤ横丁, which can be translated as “Candy store alley", but Ame also means America.

Today, Ameyoko is a vivid place, filled with shops selling an astonishing variety of products at (sometimes surprisingly) low prices. But whether you’re interested in shopping or not, I think that Ameyoko should be a must see place for any visitor to Tokyo…

Ameyoko, Ueno, Tokyo

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Japanese ghost story, Hoichi the earless