8 November 2025
False advertising
Takamatsu Shotengai
Takamatsu makes spurious claims about having the longest Shotengai (covered shopping street) in Japan, which therefore means longest anywhere since it is a Japanese thing. I am here to declare that Kobe is longer. I crowned Kobe the champion a week ago, I stand by that claim.
When I read about the claim made by Takamatsu, I expected it to be one long, linear covered street. The longest individual length is nowhere near the longest anywhere. Instead it is a series of sort of connected shopping streets and I genuinely feel that Kobe is bigger if you include one slightly misaligned street crossing diagonally across an intersection.
This controversial view may result in my arrest.
OK, at first I thought, this is a parallel non related bit and I will just walk down here and find the start of the proper one.
Then I just cut across to the main one with this perpendicular one. I am tired of typing Shotengai, so I will just use non descript terms.
Here is where I thought the start proper was, and I expected 2.7km of uninterrupted roof.
There is a domed section near the start, I couldn't capture it all in one shot.
Christmas illuminations have commenced.
This bit is my hotel, which is on top of the mall with the escalators. I am already annoyed about waiting for the lifts with the mall crowds to get to the 8th floor so I can change lifts. A stupid system. I think my next hotel in Okayama has the same setup too.
Here is the next bit, I think there actually is a roof covering the road.
Free concert, Jesus of course.
As you head further along the main bit, it thins out a bit, but not to Tokushima levels of desolation.
No roof over this bit!
Off to the side is a big shop on top of a non JR train line. I did not properly explore. It was about here that I saw the map explaining that the total length is all the different non related bits of Shotengai combined, and I am convinced Kobe is bigger.
I gave up trying to measure 2.7km once I realised it was all lies and went for ramen, an unappealing colour, but very nice.
The back streets between all the Shotengai areas are also quite busy, much more so than Tokushima. Apparently by population, Takamatsu is 414k, Tokushima is 250k, but the way they count population here is misleading as it is not metro area or built up area, it is by council or county area, similar to the USA.
Tomorrow is supposed to rain... hiking may be delayed.