Jul 23, 2014 - 1 min read

Motomachi Shopping Street, Yokohama

The birthplace of “Yokohama Traditional”

Community writer

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After Japan finally ended her isolationism and the port of Yokohama opened to the outside world in 1859, Western businesspeople rushed into Yokohama. They lived in the Yamate settlement, and Motomachi Shopping Street was born to meet their living needs. In the 1970s, an original fashion called “Yokohama Traditional” was the craze among young people all over Japan. Today’s Motomachi is for a relatively older generation, perhaps those same people who loved their fashion in the 60s and 70s! Long-established shops benefit from a deep-looted popularity with these long-term customers. The very first “special price sale” in Japan began in Motomachi. And even now, more than 400,000 people flock to their “Charming Sale” twice a year.