TokyoTomo Travel Guide

The combination of old Showa townscape and movie marquees was a great idea to revitalize the town that lost its energy from aging and depopulation of the community. Talking about town-promoting art, there is another sightseeing spot in Ome that cannot be missed. That is, “Showa Retro Packaging Museum.”

Old familiar candy wrappers and bottles from Showa era are exhibited here. Admission fee is 300 yen, but the range of their collection is simply surprising; snacks and giveaways of mid 1950s, old bottles of Coca-Cola, caramel box, free gift from Glico, tinplate toy, and so on. This facility does live up to its name being a museum. Interestingly, the second floor of this Showa Retro Packaging Museum has “The room of Yuki-onna (Snow-woman),” as the snow-woman described in Yakumo Koizumi, a.k.a. Patrick Lafcadio Hearn’s “Kwaidan” is said to have taken place in Ome.

I would also recommend you to drop by “Ome Akatsuka Fujio Kaikan” beside Showa Retro Packaging Museum. Fujio Akatsuka is the giant of Japanese gag cartoon in Showa period, who is the author of the masterpiece “Osomatsu-kun,” “Himitsu no Akko-chan (The Secrets of Akko-chan),” and “Tensai Bakabon.” The cartoon characters, Iyami, Chibita, and Nyarome never fails to lose its popularity among Japanese.

You can easily spot the building with the silver statue “Hand-standing Bakabon’s Papa” and signboard with the character, Iyami. Inside, the building is composed of eight exhibition sections. The hall is full of Fujio Akatsuka’s taste, with his original pictures and the replica of a room in the apartment “Tokiwaso” where Fujio Akatsuka spent his first years as a manga artist. There is also a shop where you can buy some character goods. Admission is 400 yen. By the way, you can also check the golden version of “Hand-standing Bakabon’s Papa” around the exit of Ome Station.

“Showa Gentokan” near Showa Retro Packaging Museum is also interesting to see. Here, many works of Ome’s signboard painter, Bankan Kubo are exhibited, as well as the installation by “the Poet of Diorama,” Takaki Yamamoto. Admission fee is 200 yen. Lit by an unshielded bulb, the detailed diorama of a night in Showa period carries a nostalgic and wistful air.

There are more to enjoy strolling in Ome. Walking around the town, art objects of cats can be seen everywhere. It seems that these cats were installed upon an event related to maneki-neko (welcoming cat). To name a few, the bus stop near Showa Retro Packaging Museum and Ome Akatsuka Fujio Kaikan is called “Ome Neko-machi 1-chome (1st Ome Cat Town).” Unfortunately, neko-bus from “My Neighbor Totoro” will not be stopping at this bus stop, but still, this is a spot with the most artistic atmosphere in Ome.

Beside the bus stop with illustration of cats, there is a phone booth in a Gaud’s style. Numbers of welcoming cats are installed in the nearby Sumiyoshi Shrine by the approach. All of these welcoming cats are humorous and heart-warming. When I visited the town, there was a flea market held by the entrance of the shrine.

With retrospectives of Showa, Ome is an intriguing town where art and history coexist.

See Part 1

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.

An hour west from the middle of Tokyo by JR Chuo Line takes you to Ome, a town with abundant nature surrounded by mountains of Okutama. Being the entrance to Okutama, Ome is a historical post-town in the upper stream of Tama River. Many people visit the area for hiking from its convenient location, and the city has also been long famous for its “Ome Marathon.”

Ome is also well known for its “Showa-retro scenery.” Buildings with old movie marquees are seen along Kyu Ome Kaido Avenue, 100 south of JR Ome Station. Painted pictures of both domestic and foreign films takes us back to the good old feeling of Showa. The best way to enjoy Ome is to take a train. As soon as you walk out of Ome Station, you will be greeted by the movie marquee of “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” the 1943 Hollywood movie that made a big hit starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman.

Take a walk to the east from the station, the look of Sumie Street will catch your eyes; the drug store, umbrella shop, stationary shop are all old with a look of Showa period. Even the products in the store are carry a flavor of Showa, with the displays and old signboards from those days. The great part is that these shops are kept in its original shape without getting out of line. Signboards with old movie stars from Showa is set up in front of these shops. The pictures can look somewhat different from the movie stars on the film, but the witty drawing patterns are interesting and worthwhile to see.

In the past, this area has been colorful with three movie theaters. Back in the mid 1950s, cinema was the only entertainment in Japan as television was still not common. Everyone was taken with the stars in the Hollywood movie, yearning for the rich and smart American culture. The signboard of “Kinema-dori (Cinema Street)”on the narrow alley reminds passers-by of the good old days when movies were the source of hopes and dreams.

Signboards of unforgettable blockbuster movies are still installed around the area, including “Rio Bravo” with John Wayne and Dean Martin, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross. Signboards of distinctive films are also there, such as “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock, and “Moby Dick” starring Gregory Peck.

Other than Western films, the town also has billboards of Japanese masterpiece; “Adolescent Detective Gang” written by Rampo Edogawa, “Tange-sazen” with Tsumasaburo Bando, and Hibari Misora’s “Hanagasa-dochu.” I found out that these signboards were drawn by a specialized signboard painter, Mr. Bankan Kubo. These billboards disappeared as cinema became less popular, but the art festival held in 1993 motivated Mr. Kubo to draw the signboard again for the first time in 20 years. The signboards bring back memories of those who know the old days, but becomes an art piece for the younger generations, making Ome an interesting sightseeing spot to visit.

See Part II

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.