Apr 12 (Virtual Explore) - Shimokitazawa was a former farming village that turned first into a dense residential area, and later into a thriving arts and music community. It has been described as bohemian, hippie, artsy, indie, and in recent times, hipster; Shimokitazawa is all of these things.
Before becoming the maze of thrift stores that the neighbourhood has become today, Shimokitazawa was once a simple agricultural community at the start of the last century. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1921 caused a great deal of damage in the area and forced many residents to pack their bags and move somewhere safer. Residents from this agricultural area also endured the bombing of the Second World War some years later. It was around this time that, under American occupation, Shimokitazawa began a secondhand clothing market for American soldiers. We can still see remnants of this history today. This, combined with the hippie movement of the 1970s, resulted in Shimokitazawa’s unique atmosphere that we see today.
