Kabukichō Ichiban-gai Street

The Kabukicho Ichiban-gai arch frames the entrance to the district with a blaze of neon red letters. Following the Second World War, city planners intended to build a grand Kabuki theater here to bring high culture to the reclaimed marshland. The theater plans eventually collapsed due to funding problems, leaving the name behind. Instead, the area became a dense grid of entertainment clubs and small bars. A local merchant association finally erected this gate in nineteen sixty-nine to mark the neighborhood boundary.