Nakai, Tokyo: Somenokomichi Festival
A small, residential area near Shinjuku, Nakai puts on an annual festival in recognition of its fabric-dyeing heritage.
Nakai is a small, residential neighborhood just northwest of Shinjuku Station
The area is historically known for kimono fabric dyeing and screen printing
Every February, the Somenokomichi Festival honors this tradition
Tokyo may be viewed as just a big city on the surface, but drift just a little away from the main hubs and you’ll find yourself in very local neighborhoods.
Nakai, which is in the Shinjuku Ward, is one of those areas. If you’re in Tokyo in February, you might be in luck.
How to get there
Nakai is just a 10-minute train ride from Shinjuku Station. Both the Oedo Subway line and Seibu Shinjuku lines will take you there.
Somenokamichi Festival
For one weekend in February, the quaint neighborhoods of Nakai and Ochiai comes alive for the Somenokomichi Festival.
The area was home to about 300 fabric-dyeing businesses from the early Showa era to the 1930s, and were concentrated around the Kanda and Myoshoji rivers.
In recognition of this history, about 50-60 pieces of Kimono fabric are flown to create a “River Gallery,” and it’s the central, most photogenic part of the festival.
About 87 shops in the area display specially made curtains, called “noren",” in front of their shops.
In the neighborhood alleys, shops and craftspeople set up tables and sell their homemade fabrics and other items.
At some shops, you can watch as professionals dye fabrics and make handmade products. The festival also holds English tours available for booking.
I went for the first time in 2020. While it’s not a big festival or anything, it’s nice to get to see a local area of Tokyo celebrate its craftspeople. And it’s not overcrowded!
http://www.somenokomichi.com [J]
Owariya
Just a couple blocks north of Nakai Station is a soba (buckwheat noodle) shop. True to Tokyo’s flavor, the broth is strong.
To be honest, it was good but not a must go or anything. I went during lunch time, so I popped in and had a bowl of tempura soba. Satisfied.
MAP
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