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Thank you very much for your continued support and cooperation for the activities of the Kumamoto City Kagomachidori Shopping Arcade Promotion Group.
After many years of deliberations, we finally have decided to create a website for our shopping arcade so that we can better introduce our shops to those living in and visiting Kumamoto, and so that we can better understand the opinions and impressions of those who visit us. We hope to hear from the visitors to our site and use these opinions to further improve our presence on the web.
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Masaki Taniguchi, Director,
Kumamoto City Kagomachidori Shopping Arcade Promotion Group |
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The Kagomachi Arcade is located in downtown Kumamoto City.The arcade runs a length of about 280 meters parallel with the Shimotori Arcade, Kumamoto's main shopping area. The Kagomachi Arcade is located in an area that blends both the old and the new. The Kamitori and Shinshigai shopping areas are a stone's throw from the arcade. Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto City Hall, Cocosa, the Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Parea, Renshoji Park, and the former residence of Lafcadio Hearn are located nearby, and Tsuruya Department Store, Parco Kumamoto, Carino Shimotori, and Nichiren Renshoji Temple are all located along our arcade.
The Torichosuji tram and bus stops alongside Densha Dori (Route 28) at the entrance to Kagomachi Arcade boast the highest passenger traffic of any tram or bus stops in the prefecture (excluding the Kotsu Center in Sakuramachi), and they also offer excellent views of the castle.
In Japanese, "Kagomachi" means "palanquin town" (a palanquin is a type of basket or box in which a person would sit and be carried around town by two people. They are also called "litters" or "sedan chairs"). A long time ago, this area used to be called Kandawara or Takadawara because it was where the rice fields (kanda) owned by the the Yotsugigu Shrine were located. Lord Kato Kiyomasa moved Yotsugigu Shrine and its properties to the eastern banks of the Shirakawa River when he started to build Kumamoto Castle, and the land became home to a number of samurai residences. Lower ranking samurai were the most common residents, and those tasked with carrying the domain lord and other nobility in palanquins lived here, earning the area the name "Palanquin Alley" and "Kagocho." Also, the street to the east was called "Noboricho," or "Flag Town" because the residents there would fly flags during times of war, and the street to the west was called "Sumocho," or "Sumo Town" because it was where the sumo wrestlers of the domain lord lived. These names became offical in 1879, and were in use until 1965.
Our shopping arcade was established in May 1972 as the Kumamoto City Downtown Promotion Group. The original arcade roofing up to Denshadori was completed in October 1973, and the current arcade roofing was completed in March 1992. The name of the managing organization was changed to the Kumamoto City Kagomachidori Shopping Arcade Promotion Group and the area was renewed. Further construction was done on the arcade in March 2007, further revitalizing the area to its current state.
According to a survey done by Kumamoto City in 2010, an average of 11,334 people pass by the west entrance of Tsuruya Department Store per day (4,170,000 people/year) and an average of 6,415 people pass in front of the Happy Building per day (2,340,000 people/year). There are currently 35 large and small buildings along both sides of the arcade used by about 100 businesses. In recent years, the downtown area has shifted from shopping-focused to offering more dining options and a variety of services, and from 9AM til 3AM, you'll see we're the most bustling, awake area downtown.
As part of the downtown community of Kumamoto, we hope to act not only as a place where visitors can shop for daily items, but also function as a place for communication, exchange, and making memories that is thought of highly by a wide number of local residents. We hope to accomplish this by working with other neighboring shopping areas and relevant government organizations. We look forward to hearing any comments or insight visitors to Kagomachidori may have.
January 2012
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