Mr. Sato heads to the neighborhood of a famous TV drama and finds a nostalgic taste of a youth he never had.

Welcome back to Fading Tokyo, in which our ace reporter Mr. Sato sets out to take one more, and possibly one last, look at train stations in Tokyo that are scheduled for renovation construction, which could end up permanently altering the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhood. Following his visit to Araiyakushi-mae Station on the western edge of downtown Tokyo, today Mr. Sato is headed to the east side of the city, to Horikiri Station in Adachi Ward.

Horikiri Station is a wooden building, a rarity for a rail stop in today’s Tokyo. The station’s name comes from the words horu and kiru, meaning “dig” and “cut,” which is appropriate because while the station sits next to the Arakawa River, the body of water used to be in a different place, and its current position is the result of a flood control canal that was dug out and opened in 1924. The Arakawa River now flows right over the spot where the station used to be, but for the past 102 years, Horikiri Station has been in its current location, although the exact construction date of the current building isn’t known.

▼ The Ryomo special limited express train passes by Horikiri Station on its way to/from Gunma and Tochigi Prefectures to the north, and the contrast in size between the train and the building really drives home how long the station has been here.

Horikiri Station is also close to the canal that connects the Arakawa and Sumida Rivers, and right away Mr. Sato’s eyes were drawn to the canal’s gate, with its signal light for ships looking to move from one river to the other.

With train tracks, rivers, and roads all converging here, there’s a complex array of stairways and overpasses for getting from one side of the cluster to the other. The planned renovations are meant to make the process easier and less confusing to navigate.

The surrounding neighborhood is mostly a quiet residential area, but it has a major claim to fame in that it’s the setting of Kinpachi-sensei, a landmark Japanese TV drama about a middle school teacher and his students that ran for eight seasons scattered between 1979 to 2011. Over the years, the series’ plotline dealt with a variety of evolving social issues in a thoughtful, heartwarming manner, and so today Mr. Sato would be walking to the section of the Arakawa riverbank where the Kinpachi-sensei opening sequence was filmed, with a bit of a detour toward Ushida Station, the next stop on the Tobu Skytree Line from Horikiri.

▼ The first part of Mr. Sato’s route

The cityscape was a mix of old and new as he walked, such as a playground tucked underneath an overpass, but with a fresh coat of paint on its swing set.

As for why Mr. Sato was headed this way instead of going directly to the riverbank, it was because he wanted to stop by Hinodeya, a local restaurant where the Kinpachi-sensei cast and crew became periodic customers while filming the series. Unfortunately, it turned out that Mr. Sato had timed his arrival too early, and Hinodeya, which doesn’t open until 11 a.m., wasn’t receiving customers yet.

So it turned out Mr. Sato would be going to the river before lunch after all. Rerouting, he headed north from Hinodeya, going through and underpass so low that he almost had to duck his head to make it to the other side.

However, this change in plans turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it meant that stumbled upon a beautiful under-the-radar sakura spot, the cherry blossom tree-lined Ofumikiri-dori Street.

▼ The second part of Mr. Sato’s route

Following the street to its eastern end puts you at the grassy riverbank, and after climbing the steps up to it, Mr. Sato was greeted with the nostalgic, liberating scenery that often waits for you at the edge of Japan’s major river-bordered cities.

By the way, we mentioned earlier that Horikiri Station’s old location is now underwater, right? It’s about where the arrow is pointing in this photo.

Obviously, Mr. Sato had to recreate the Kinpachi-sensei opening while he was here. Turning to look to the north, he spotted a white bridge in the distance that he recognized from the show, so he headed in that direction.

However, Mr. Sato didn’t have the luxury of a full TV crew to set up his shot for him, so he had to estimate the angles, record himself, and then check the results afterwards.

The first take didn’t go so well, and neither did the second.

But just like Kinpachi-sensei encourages his students to always believe in themselves and never give up, so too did Mr. Sato keep trying, until he got it just right!

He also snapped a photo with which to make his own title card for the still-in-production-in-his-mind TV drama Hidepachi-sensei.

▼ Fun fact: Mr. Sato’s first name is Hidenori.

OK, now it really felt like a visit to Hinodeya was in order, and since the place was now open, Mr. Sato retraced his steps and returned to the restaurant.

Looking at the exterior of Hinodeya, you don’t expect it to be anything fancy, and it’s most definitely not.

What it is, though, is a fantastically authentic old-school casual Japanese local neighborhood eatery, with a menu filled with things like ramen, curry.. and fried rice. Quick, simple, hot meals…and also filling, comforting, and nostalgic meals.

Mr. Sato was saved from the paralyzing dilemma of having to pick just one when he saw that Hinodeya offers a ramen and half-size curry rice combo for 1,100 yen (US$7.10).

The ramen was a thing of beauty to look at, with a visibly juicy hunk of chashu pork and even a swirly-patterned naruto fish cake, a classical touch that’s becoming less common in newer ramen restaurants. The soy sauce-base broth had a touch of sweetness to it, and as Mr. Sato ate he could feel the soothing sensations of its flavor profile seeping into his body.

The curry rice, too, was a perfect embodiment of the sort of flavors you fall in love with as a kid, never tire of, and sometimes suddenly find yourself wanting to go back to. Hinodeya’s take on the dish doesn’t just feel like Japanese curry rice, it feels like Japanese diner curry rice, a sort of perfection born from simplicity.

Hinodeya’s flavors are so evocative of the uncomplicated joys of youth that even though Mr. Sato had never been here before, for a brief moment he felt like as though he’d grown up in this neighborhood, stopping by for a plate on a regular basis after walking along the river on his way home from middle school. So should you find yourself in the mood for some first-time-visit nostalgia too, you can still find it in this part of Tokyo.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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