I recently wrote about Futako-Tamagawa Rise and the planning of Tama New Town and bringing people who were moving to Tokyo to planned developments.
And it may be a surprise to people who are familiar with the popular Takashimaya department stores that the first western-style Takashimaya was created in the Futako-Tamagawa area in 1969 and referred to as Tamagawa Takashimaya.
But Takashimaya’s history goes as far back to 1831 when the first store was opened in Kyoto by Shinshichi Iida. And more Takashimaya stores opened, specializing in gofuku (formal kimonos) and thus expanding to Tokyo and Osaka and later being incorporated.
As Takashimaya also became an export business in 1876, by 1903, Takashimaya would have offices in London and Paris and would later expand to other locations. Moreso after World War II and opening a store in New York City where it would be a major goto area on Fifth Avenue in 1958 and close in 2010.
While the company went through tough times, in 2008, there were talks of planned merging with H20 Retailing (parent of the Hanshin Department Store and Hanku Department Store chains) and would literally become the largest department store operator in Japan but the merger was canceled in 2010.
But Takashimaya will be known as the upscale department store and in Tamagawa, it’s further enhanced by the stores right near it.
While Omotesandou is often compared to Beverly Hills and Ginza is known for its high fashion, this area for the Futako-Tamagawa area is known for its swank shopping, awesome restaurants and just overall, cool cultural area.
Definitely a shopping area worth visiting!
