My wife frequently says that the Ningyōchō of today is not the same as it was ten years ago. Or even five years ago. And nothing, in my opinion, epitomizes that sentiment more than the loss of our neighborhood tōfu shops. When I moved here fifteen some years ago there were six tōfu shops within a few minutes walk, one in Kakigarachō that was the first to go, perhaps because the tōfu wasn’t really all that good; three in Hamachō 2 chōme (the area near Meijiza Theater), one tōfu shop in Ningyōchō 2 chōme, Futaba Tōfu, which has been here since the Meiji period, and one in Ningyōchō 1 chōme, Takayanagi (my favorite), also dating from Meiji.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second shop to close was due to damage to its building from the 2011 earthquake. Next came a small shop I really liked that was close to Hamachō Park, one run by a father and his son. Not a lot of production, but it was good. The shop succumbed to developers, the land now an apartment building. Honestly though, I can’t blame them for cashing in on when they had a chance. I doubt anyone has ever found big money selling tōfu for ¥250 or so a piece.

The final Hamachō tōfu shop is in the process of being torn down, along with a couple of adjacent buildings. I remember the owners being surprised to see a gaijin in the shop the first time I shopped there. I hadn’t bought anything there recently, and I’m not even sure they were still operating. I suspect they more or less ceased production when they agreed to sell.

 

 

 

The End is Near!

 

 

There was also Tsukiji Tōfu, which I don’t believe is still around. It wasn’t an actual shop, or at least what I saw. Instead, it was someone on a bicycle who would pedal around Nihonbashi and Chuo-Ku, blowing a small horn to announce their presence. I bought from them a few times, not because it was particularly good or convenient, but just because it was one of the few examples of a traditional business. Plus, I wanted to support the hard-working rider.

Recently an old izakaya on Amazakeyokochō, Oishii, closed for good. As often happens in the area, it closed because after many years in business the couple that ran it decided it was time to retire. Soon after I noticed some construction work going in inside, my guess being that it was going to be a new restaurant, of maybe the new location of a displaced restaurant. I was quite surprised to see that it is a tōfu and yuba place called Yomoyamo (四㋲方八方, or ヨモヤモ). I haven’t been yet as it only opened ten days ago, but one of these days I will definitely give it a try.