AmeYoko Shopping Street

Ameyoko is one of Japan’s leading shopping areas, with over 400 stores lining a roughly 500-meter stretch between Ueno and Okachimachi Stations. It began as a black market developed from a community of some 400 soldiers returning home from Manchuria after the war. The two rival theories as to where its name came from are that it’s either a shortened version of Ameya Yokocho (candy shop alley) or America Yokocho (American alley). The street is known for its year-end bustle, and is beloved as a maze-like shopping street where specialty shops dealing in rare and valuable items gather.