Where in Japan looks and feels the most “Showa” in 2023.

9 comments

1. In many offices. Compleste with fax machines and fully suited men in the blistering heat.

2. All government facilities.

3. Almost any small city, most of them seem frozen in time at the end of the 80s in terms of infrastructure.

4. Neighborhood sentos, ski hotels in not so popular resorts, shotengai (shopping streets) in small towns.

5. How about visiting an old kissaten to get those Showa-era vibes?

   I walked past a place in Ueno recently called “Galant” that looked like it would fit right into a 1970s or 1980s “asa dorama” on Fuji Terebi. It still served coffee jelly parfait and had the little models of the parfait displayed in an old glass cabinet outside.

   There’s also Cafe de l’Ambre in Ginza and Parlor Kimuraya in Shimbashi.

   Of course, perhaps the two exemplars of Showa-era kissa, in different ways, are Coffee Seibu in Shinjuku (plush red velvet booths with stained glass) and Kayaba Coffee in Yanaka (old, wood-and-tatami, plain). The latter is well-known for its tamago-sando (egg sandwiches).

6. Hakodate in Hokkaido, lots of Showa-era seafood places

7. Pachinko.

8. Have you tried the [Open Air Museum](https://www.tatemonoen.jp/english/)?

   They basically recreated areas in Japan in different points in time. I think Showa could be one of those periods.

   And if not, it’s still a fun place to go.

9. The Ramen Museum in Shin-Yokohama.