JTinTokyo (2024)

28/03/2022

This Kyo Machiya building is Osugi Shoten, a seller of antique kitchenware, calligraphy, and furniture located in the Ebiyacho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward. The website intojapanwaraku.com/travel/1151/ discusses the items sold in the gallery and the owners approach to selling their products. The shop sounds very traditional, and very patient, in its approach to selling. The photos suggest a shop bursting with product.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

26/03/2022

This is Estate Shin, a real estate agent that deals exclusively in Kyo Machiya buildings. This building is located in the Naoiecho district of Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward. The extremely high second floor ceilings are unusual and I haven’t yet seen another Kyo Machiya building with such a high second floor. Google Street View shows that a beauty salon called Roman (ロマン) occupied this building in 2009. The appearance of the first floor was radically different at that time; the first floor was then completely unrecognizable as a Kyo Machiya building. The firm was in business well before taking over this building. Its website was established in 2000 and the firm is likely older. Their website address is: 京町家.jp which may be difficult for many readers to locate. Googling “Kyo-Machiya Specialist Estate-Shin” will produce the firm’s website as the top entry.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

25/03/2022

This is Kojima Shoten, a wholesale kimono fabric firm located in the Miyamoto-cho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward. According to the firm’s website, they dye and maintain kimonos, the latter including stain removal, washing, and general repairs. The firm was established in Showa Year 7 (1931). I suspect that the building may date from this period.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

24/03/2022

This Kyo Machiya building is one of the “Kyo no Ondokoro” (京の温所) buildings renovated by Wacoal Corporation for use as boutique hotels. Wacoal is well known maker of women’s lingerie and other clothing founded in Kyoto in 1946. Wacoal began the Kyo no Ondokoro project in 2017 for the purpose of restoring neglected, unoccupied Kyo Machiya buildings. The renovation is designed to keep the restored building’s outer appearance and inner structure as intact as possible. According to the Kyo-Ondokoro.Kyoto/en/ website, Wacoal rents the restored building from its owner for a 10 year to 15 year period before returning the building to its owner in its renovated state. I find this a fascinating way to restore and preserve historical buildings.
This particular building appears to have been restored in 2019; the building was definitely in a deteriorating condition prior to the restoration. For those interested in seeing the condition of this building prior to its renovation on Google Street View, the address is: Kyo no Ondokoro Gosho Nishi #6 Kamigyo-ku, Monyo Atomachi 291 (京の温所　御所６京都市上京区門世跡町291).

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家
#京の温所

23/03/2022

Life on display. Futon or bed covers hanging out the window getting fresh air. A family’s bicycles. Helmets, umbrellas, soccer balls. And a Kyo Machiya row home with a wooden facade. Located in the Kitamachi district of Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

21/03/2022

It’s uncommon in general to see kura (traditional storage buildings) when walking around Kyoto and rarer still to be able to see them easily visible along a city street. This kura, located in the Hoteiya-cho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward along Fuyacho Dori, appears to be part of a complex of buildings on a single property used as a residence or series of residences. A second kura (not pictured here) is located in the same complex just a few meters away. Both kura and the other buildings in the complex have seen little change in their appearance over the past decade.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#倉

#蔵

20/03/2022

This Kyo Machiya building, located along Aburanokoji Dori in the Yamada-cho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward, was until recently the location of a kimono wholesaler called Mantoku (万徳). I say recently because this building had a (fairly elegant) sign with the company name until about 2018 while the most recent (2020) Google Street View has a for-rent sign on the front of the building, a sign not visible in these very recent photos. My guess is that the building is currently used as a residence. The building has seen little change in its appearance since at least 2008 except that some lovely wood siding visible in 2008 has long-since been covered up with metal siding. The immediate vicinity has seen the demolition of four or five Kyo Machiya buildings in recent years, two of which have created a parking lot across the street.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

19/03/2022

This home, located along Oike Dori in the Shinsen-encho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward, is an excellent example of how a relatively simple renovation can do wonders for a Kyo Machiya building. Google Street View shows that this building was in a somewhat rundown condition in early 2018 and was transformed into its current condition between early 2018 and May of 2019. The renovation included the removal of a small garage/storage area on the ground floor’s right side and the widening of the entrance door.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

18/03/2022

This is one of a number of gorgeous Kyo Machiya buildings located along Gojo Dori just west of Gojozaka hill in the Gojobashi Higashi district of Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward. Gojo Dori is a broad and very busy, noisy street and walking along this street is not very pleasant. Passers by here are usually interested in getting up the hill to more glamorous locations so these buildings get less attention than they deserve. This building appears to be a private home although I am not able to verify this at present. Google Street View photos show only minor changes in its facade over the past 13 years.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

17/03/2022

This Kyo Machiya building is located in the Kyogoku-cho district of Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward. The first floor area was used as a general store until at least 2009 and continued to be used as a takkyubin pickup and delivery center by Yamato until about 2013. The building has been used as an upper floor residence and lower floor storage room ever since. A similar style Kyo Machiya building nearby was demolished around 2014. This neighborhood is a good quality commercial area and the building will be at risk of demolition unless it can be converted into a restaurant or similar use.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

#京町家

15/03/2022

This Kyo Machiya building, located in the Ebisuno-cho district of Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward, has a brand new business called Biyo Shinkyu Salon Green. The business name literally means Beauty Acupuncture Salon Green and the firm offers facial acupuncture. The previous business here was a fusion Japanese-Italian style restaurant called Kamon (花門) that appears to have closed sometime in the past year. Interestingly, the wooden signage you see here has nothing to do with either business and in fact was the signage for a previous business here selling tea-related utensils. Google Street View shows that this firm was still in business in 2009. The next Street View photo for the location is in 2013 and Kamon was already in business then. I wonder if the owners are requiring tenants to keep this traditional signage.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

#京町家

14/03/2022

Japanese people love their pets and this Kyo Machiya building, which was once a handcraft supply store, seems to have become a shrine dedicated to the love of people’s pets. First, some information about the store. The store’s name was Rakudaya (らくだや) and, from Google Street View photos, the business appears to have been in operation as recently as 2018. Information suggests that the business was selling its product online as late as 2017. Photo three shows a close up of the window which features adorable photos of dogs and cats pictured as saying their names. Also included are Pet Saver Emergency Rescue Technician and First Responder certificates for someone who likely lives in the building. I’ve covered up this person’s name to respect their privacy. Note the cat visible in the second floor window in photos one and two. The location is Hinokuchi-cho district of Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

13/03/2022

Kyoto has lots of alleys and backstreets with interesting buildings that are either difficult to get to or easy to miss. This Kyo Machiya building falls in the latter category. A small piece of the building caught the corner of my eye as I walked along Muromachi Dori just south of Nijo Dori in the Takoyakushi-cho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward. I walked down the narrow alley and was able to see the building in its entirety. The late afternoon lighting was fortunately good to get this shot. The experience left me wondering how many of these buildings in Kyoto are hidden away.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

12/03/2022

Volcanic rock is often used to build outer walls for residential properties but it’s being used here on this Kyo Machiya building as part of the facade itself. This l, coupled with a mixture of colors and materials on the upper floor combines for a striking effect. The nice soft sunlight hitting the upper floor helps as well. Located in the Shochijucho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward just southwest of the Imperial Palace.

#日本建築
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

11/03/2022

This is a little story about a little shine in front of the Kyo Machiya building, pictured in photo one, and a little old lady, pictured in photo three, making her morning offerings and prayers at this shine. The little old lady lives in the Kyo Machiya building shown in photo two. I was taking photos of the Meiji era (late 19th/early 20th century) building shown in photo one at 6:30 when she came out of her home. She struggled to cross the narrow street with the aid of her little wheeled supporter, her tiny body huddled over her walker. I watched discreetly from a distance as she brought out drinks and food for the gods and she said prayers. I could see that her effort was monumental and that there was nothing more important to her than making that trek across the road. The gods must have been pleased with her. I turned away and continued on my quest to photograph Kyoto and its old buildings and thinking about the strength of the human spirit and perseverance in the face of difficult odds.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

#京町家
#明治時代

10/03/2022

I finally made it to some of best known tourist attractions in Kyoto this morning having toured the Gion district and walked up Ninenzaka. The latter place is where this photo of a Showa era (??) building was taken, one of a number of restaurants, trinket shops, sweets and ice cream shops for the teens and young adults and kitchenware for the adults. If you want to see interesting, meticulously maintained Kyo Machiya buildings, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re a young person, you’ll probably have fun. Just don’t go looking for Kyoto there though because it’s a kind of Japanese Disneyland. Unlike Disneyland, the buildings there are real and old even if the place doesn’t feel real. But it was worth going.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

09/03/2022

A reader left a note in the comment section yesterday suggesting that I visit the Nishijin area of Kyoto. This neighborhood is just a bit north of where I am staying so I set out this morning for a tour of the area. In the process, I learned that the name Nishijin (西陣) means literally “western camp” and refers to a military camp commanded by the 15th century warlord Yamana Sozen who had a mansion in the area and who died in his camp here in 1473. The Kyo Machiya building pictured here is located in the neighborhood and houses an arts fashion accessory store called a&su. According to their website jamiesdaydream.com, the business opened in October of 2020. The site notes that the proprietor was educated at Columbia University Teaching College in New York where she earned a graduate degree. This means that she probably speaks English. You may contact her at [email protected]. I don’t have her name, so apologies there.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

08/03/2022

I’ve arrived in Kyoto and just finished my first day photographing the city’s vintage buildings. The building pictured here is Kinmata (近又), a very famous, very old and very expensive traditional Japanese restaurant and Ryokan located along Gokomachi Dori just north of Shijo Dori in the heart of central Kyoto. According to the restaurant review site tabelog.com, the restaurant’s origin dates to 1801. I don’t believe that this building dates from the restaurant’s founding although I haven’t come across any information yet on the age of the building pictured here.

#日本建築
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

#京町家

07/03/2022

I’m heading off to Kyoto tonight and will be in Kyoto for the next five days to shoot photos and perhaps a video or two for this channel. Today’s post features Takemura, a Japanese sweets shop located in the Kandasudacho district of Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. This building dates from 1930, the same year that the business was founded. The building has been designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan government as a Selected Historical Building.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

05/03/2022

This magnificent building is part of a collection of early 20th century buildings preserved at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum located in the western Tokyo suburb of Kodaira. This building was originally located in the Shirokanedai district of Tokyo’s Minato Ward, a hilltop location quite removed from the sh*tamachi area of Tokyo where most of the Tokyo buildings I post about are located. The building was constructed in 1928 (five years after the great earthquake) in a part of the city lightly populated prior to that earthquake. With the exception of the little to***co box on the right side of the first floor, the building appears here as it looked when constructed. Such fixtures for selling to***co can still (very rarely) be seen in Tokyo.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

04/03/2022

This is a well tended Kyo Machiya style residential building located in an unglamorous middle class neighborhood on the west side of Shimogyo Ward. I say well tended because the building’s current good appearance has changed little over the past 12 years save for the removal of an air conditioning unit from the lower floor’s roof. In fact, the entire block has seen few changes over the past 12 years, save for one new home built adjacent to this building. The lack of change is in sharp contrast to other parts of the city, particularly neighborhoods with better access to the city’s tourist sites.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

03/03/2022

This is the Yokoyama family house, a home constructed in 1855 during the late Edo era and which is located in the Senju district of Tokyo’s Adachi Ward. According to the Adachi Ward website, the home was renovated in 1836, a renovated designed to restore the building to as original an appearance as possible. The Yokoyama family is said to have been wealthy merchants in the paper wholesaling business.

#日本建築
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#江戸時代
#江戸時代の建物

02/03/2022

I’m planning a trip to Kyoto next week to get more photos for cittaaukoto_japan. Today’s post is of a Kyoto soba-udon neighborhood restaurant called Sanjo Sarashina that was opened in 1930, very likely at this location. The location itself is in the Shioyacho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward. Nothing costs more than 1,000 yen (about $9 US) and most dishes are less than 600 yen. The neighborhood is distinctly working class and there’s less gentrification here than in other parts of the city and fewer tourist hotels. Note the Communist party poster on the lower right side, proudly declaring their membership in the proletariat. This is one of those buildings and places that could easily be in Sh*tamachi Tokyo.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

01/03/2022

This cute little pre-war Machiya style building is located in the Iriya district of Tokyo’s Taito Ward. It’s clear that there was a small business here on the first floor once upon a time from the appearance of the windows and door as well as the old awning mechanism. However, the building’s appearance is virtually unchanged since 2008 except for the addition of a second air conditioning unit in the early 2010’s.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

#町家

28/02/2022

This Kyo Machiya building is home to the Umezono Cafe and Gallery. The firm specializes in pastries and sweets. The location pictured here is in the Fudocho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward and is one of four cafes that are part of a local chain of cafes in Kyoto. According to their Instagram account (), the company was founded in 1927 although it appears from Google Street View that they came to this building sometime between 2009 and 2013.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

27/02/2022

This Meiji era building, constructed in 1897 and which was originally a liquor store, is now the Sh*tamachi Museum Annex Building. The building, now located in the 2-chome division of Tokyo’s Taito Ward Ueno Sakuragi district, was originally located in the nearby 6-chome division of Yanaka district. The museum contains artifacts donated to the museum from Taito Ward residents from the Taisho and early Showa eras.

#日本建築
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#明治時代
#明治時代の建物
#下町風俗資料館

26/02/2022

This Kyo Machiya home, located in the Nishi Matsuya-cho district of Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward, is one of many renovations of Kyo Machiya buildings in this part of the city in recent years. The building was a bit run down and somewhat neglected as recently as 2015. Its renovation began in mid-2016 and its transformation to its current appearance was completed sometime in 2018. This particular block has several boutique hotels in similar buildings where current daily rates are in excess of $200 US.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

25/02/2022

This pre-war building houses a restaurant called Izumi no Ana an izakaya/dining bar located in the Kanda Sudacho district of Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. A review in tabelog.com notes that the owner started this restaurant around 2018 after having been trained in an izakaya for a number of years. The building is one of two remaining pre-war buildings on this block several adjacent vintage buildings having been demolished during 2021. The building has seen at least two other restaurants come and go during the past 14 years. The appearance of the first floor facade has changed along with the change in restaurants during this time. The second floor metal cladding is probably original but has a much better appearance now than in 2008. The restaurant is said to be quite intimate and has attracted a strong following with local residents. Perhaps these local residents, many of whom live in newer mid rise buildings nearby, will enable old buildings like this to survive for the foreseeable future.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

24/02/2022

This rare example of a pre-war kura (storage building) converted into a residence is located in the Nishi Nippori district of Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#倉庫リノベーション

23/02/2022

Pink can be a wonderful color for a building. Bold and yet soft. Daring and yet subdued. This pink Kyo Machiya building is located in the Shimokuro Moncho district of Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward on the city’s northwest side. The box for the air conditioning unit is a nice touch, something very Kyoto and something one would never, never see in Tokyo. The appearance of this house hasn’t changed much over the past 14 years.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

22/02/2022

I love seeing soft reflected light on a building and recently was walking through the Tsukuda district in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward in the early afternoon when I spotted the reflected sunlight hitting the pre-war Machiya buildings here. The building on the right is a restaurant called Koji (幸持、コウジ). At least, this is the reading given in tabelog.com for this restaurant. It’s said to be a yakitori, kushiyaki izakaya at night and a tatami mat shop during the day! It seems that these are separate businesses run by different people. According to a 2012 review in tabelog.com, the restaurant was featured on television on multiple occasions in the past with the double businesses here being a feature of interest. The interior is said to have a very old-style Showa era feeling.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#町家

21/02/2022

This is AWOMB (pronounced アウーム or, literally, Aum), a combination restaurant and clothing store located in the Ubayanagi-cho district of Kyoto’s Nakago Ward. The location about a seven minute walk from Karasuma Station, the city’s commercial crossroad. Their website (awomb.com) and Instagram account page () suggests that AWOMB’s mission is to connect traditional Japanese food, clothing and housing with a modern perspective. The business is dedicated to renovating Kyo Machiya buildings. The building shown here is adjacent to the original restaurant and was in the process of being renovated as expansion space for the restaurant when I took this photograph last fall. This expansion in the middle of the pandemic is quite impressive. I’m planning to return to Kyoto soon to do more photography and plan to stop by to see how the business is doing.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

13/02/2022

The late afternoon sunlight falling on this early post war kanban kenchiku (signboard style) building was entirely reflected. Located in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo’s Chuo Ward.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築

12/02/2022

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き

#京町家

11/02/2022

This pre-war Machiya style row house is located in the Uenosakuragi district of Tokyo’s Taito Ward. The current building here is a duplex (or perhaps triplex) that’s a remnant of buildings that likely lined this block at one time. One can see that the second floor has a much lower ceiling than does the first floor and that the second floor sits back from the street. It seems that this building style is more typical of early 20th century Kyoto than of Tokyo. The building seems to have housed a beauty salon as late as 2014 but it has been entirely residential since.

#日本建築
#昭和レトロ
#古い建物
#レトロ建築
#下町
#古民屋

#古い建物が好き
#看板建築