Watching a place come to life is always interesting and so it was one chilly December evening in Hibiya. Visiting Hibiya was accidental and just happened to be the place I ended up after wandering around the streets of central Tokyo for most of my day. It turned out to be a fortunate accident given that my wanderings to that point had not yielded much in photographic terms. Feeling a bit weary and in need of a coffee I came across a café with a window bench and settled in to relax a while and do some people watching.

In front of me was a rather appealing single-storey brick structure punctuated by a series of arched entries, on top of which commuter trains shuttled backwards and forwards. In their day the archways would have provided access to all manner of goods stored within the vaults. Given Hibiya’s location between Marunouchi and Ginza, the location was strategic. However, in today’s economy of high-tech warehousing I did not have to wait long for an answer to my question of how the vaults had been repurposed.

As dusk descended the scene transitioned. More people appeared from both directions, not surprising really when one considers that Marunouchi and Ginza are each large employment hubs. As well as increased pedestrian traffic, the activity around the vaults grew. Neon signs lit up, internal lighting revealed the innards of the vaults, advertising signs adorned the pavements and it became clear that the old storage vaults had become a restaurant strip. The location is thus still strategic with a location between two large employment hubs serving the love of Japanese workers for a meal and/or a drink at the end of a working day.

Accidental finds are always the most enjoyable when travelling and in this instance, where to have dinner became an easy decision.

(Please click on any of the following images for an enlarged view.)