Vintage Tokyo

This is a typical "gaado-shita", literally means under the tracks.
On my way to Hibiya Koen, I chanced upon an obscure part in this town, Yurakucho which is just next to swanky Ginza.

Most of these gaado-shita around Tokyo have been renovated into really boring bars, shops and restaurants with no distinct character at all since you'd also find them anywhere! I hope the city developers would not touch this nook!

You have these tiny bars all pressed together under the tracks with these treasures on the wall that will sort of tell you what was showing on the screens in those days. By looking at these posters, they might be from the 60s! Just as the Shinkansen (bullet train) debuted! The whole place rattles when a train thunders overhead, so it would not be hard to check on the last train if you go here on a nightout.


And this poster, I googled "Spawn of the North", a 1938 movie!



One more look at the gaado-shita as I emerged from the other end and into a modern part of Yurakucho where the Tokyo International Forum stands.