Soba and Udon Counter, Asakusa Underground Street, Tokyo

Soba vendor serves customers at a counter in Asakusa Underground Street, a Tokyo shopping arcade beneath the Ginza Line station.
Soba vendor serves customers at a counter in Asakusa Underground Street, a Tokyo shopping arcade beneath the Ginza Line station.

Asakusa Underground Street runs beneath Kaminarimon-dori near Asakusa Station, connecting to the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. Built in 1955 atop a former air-raid shelter, it's often cited as the oldest surviving underground shopping arcade in Japan. The narrow passage holds a mix of small food stalls and shops, including this counter serving soba and udon, alongside tailors, barbers, and secondhand clothing dealers that have operated there for decades. The Ginza Line, which opened in 1927 as Japan's first subway line, still runs directly past the arcade's storefronts.

Photo taken in March 2023.

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