2014中心市街地探訪012・・香川県高松市

Established in February 1890 as the 40th city in Japan, Takamatsu City is now a core city with an area of ​​375.14 km² and a population of approximately 420,000, and is the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. In 1910, the "Utaka Ferry," a railway connection between Uno Station in Okayama Prefecture and Takamatsu Station, began service, solidifying its position as the gateway to Shikoku. Furthermore, it serves as a major regional hub for both the public and private sectors of Shikoku, housing national agencies such as the Shikoku Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Takamatsu Legal Affairs Bureau, as well as the headquarters of Shikoku Electric Power Company and JR Shikoku. [JR Takamatsu Station] JR Takamatsu Station, the gateway to Takamatsu, is the terminal station for all lines connecting to Honshu ("Seto-Ohashi Line"), Ehime Prefecture ("Yosan Line"), and Tokushima Prefecture ("Kotoku Line"). The average daily ridership (2012) was 12,386 people. On the first and second floors of the station is a commercial facility called "COM Takamatsu," operated by a JR Shikoku subsidiary, housing about 15 shops. [Takamatsu Central Shopping Street] Said to be the longest shopping street in Japan, the "Takamatsu Central Shopping Street" is a 2.7km-long arcade that includes the "Marugame-cho Shopping Street." The "Crystal Dome" is located at what could be considered the heart of the Takamatsu Central Shopping Street, where the three shopping streets of Marugame-cho, Hyogo-cho, and Katahara-cho intersect. To its north is the department store "Takamatsu Mitsukoshi." [Takamatsu Marugamemachi Ichibangai] Completed in 2006, "Takamatsu Marugamemachi Ichibangai" is a shopping complex on a site of approximately 3,100 square meters. It consists of two buildings: the "West Block," a 10-story building with one basement floor and a total floor area of ​​approximately 10,134 square meters, and the "East Block," an 8-story building with a total floor area of ​​approximately 6,441 square meters. Each building houses shops, with condominiums on the upper floors. [Hyogomachi] Named after the location of the Takamatsu Domain's armory during the Edo period, "Hyogomachi" extends west from the Crystal Dome, across the north-south connecting "Chuo-dori," and is the closest shopping street to JR Takamatsu Station. [Kataharamachi] The Kataharamachi shopping street extends east from the Crystal Dome to the area beyond Kotoden's Kataharamachi Station. It is divided into the Western and Eastern shopping streets by "Ferry-dori." [Lion Street] Lion Street, which runs parallel to the east of Marugame-cho Shopping Street, is a shopping street almost entirely filled with restaurants. [Minami-Shinmachi] Continuing south from Marugame-cho Shopping Street and crossing National Route 11, you will reach Minami-Shinmachi Shopping Street. This Minami-Shinmachi is a historic shopping street that once had many wealthy merchants and mansions, and some shops seem to have been operating since the Edo period. [Tamachi] Further south from Minami-Shinmachi is Tamachi Shopping Street. This shopping street, which had its arcade completed in 1957 ahead of other shopping streets, is relatively wide at 380 meters in length and 11 meters in width, extending to the south side of Kanko-dori (Tourism Street). [Tokiwa-cho Shopping Street] Tokiwa-cho Shopping Street, which extends east from near the Tamachi Police Box at the border of Minami-Shinmachi and Tamachi Shopping Streets, continues towards Kotoden Kawaramachi Station. The shopping street as a whole has many vacant stores, and while there used to be a major supermarket, it has since withdrawn. [Kotoden Kawaramachi Building (formerly Takamatsu Tenmaya)] To the east of the Tokiwa-cho shopping street is Kotoden Kawaramachi Station, which is now a station building. Takamatsu Tenmaya, which opened in 2001, closed on March 31, 2014. Its peak sales in the fiscal year ending February 2004 were 15.1 billion yen, but this dropped to 8.9 billion yen in the fiscal year ending February 2013. Currently, it has reopened as the Kotoden Kawaramachi Building, with stores such as Beams and Starbucks Coffee on the first floor, Loft and Miyawaki Bookstore on the second floor, and cram schools, restaurants, and government services on the ninth to eleventh floors. [Takamatsu Kotohira Electric Railway] The Takamatsu Kotohira Electric Railway, affectionately known as "Kotoden," is a leading private railway in Kagawa Prefecture, operating three lines: the Shido Line, the Nagao Line, and the Kotohira Line, connecting Takamatsu Chikko Station (the closest station to JR Takamatsu Station) to Kotoden Shido.