{"product_id":"diy-miniature-house-kit-choshi-no-shitamachi","title":"DIY Miniature House Kit : Choshi no Shitamachi","description":"\u003ch2\u003eChoshi no Shitamachi – The Old Town Tavern\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e\"銚子の下町\"\u003c\/em\u003e — The Old Town of Choshi. Where the evening always starts the same way.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaper lanterns strung across the facade, glowing white against the dark tiled roof with its scattered autumn maple leaves. A sign above the entrance in bold Japanese characters: \u003cstrong\u003e銚子の下町\u003c\/strong\u003e — \u003cem\u003eChoshi no Shitamachi\u003c\/em\u003e, \"the old town of Choshi.\" Three \u003cstrong\u003ekoinobori\u003c\/strong\u003e  colorful carp-shaped windsocks flying from a pole at the right. A \u003cstrong\u003eShiba Inu\u003c\/strong\u003e sitting patiently at the door in his little green bandana, as loyal and unmovable as a good regular. And inside, behind the wooden counter: sake bottles lined up on illuminated shelves, plates of freshly prepared food, a beer mug with a golden head, lucky charms, a chalkboard with the day's specials, and warm amber light pouring over everything like the first drink of the evening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoshi no Shitamachi\u003c\/strong\u003e is a love letter to the \u003cstrong\u003eshitamachi\u003c\/strong\u003e  the traditional low-city neighborhoods of old Tokyo, with their izakayas, their lanterns, their dogs, their shopkeepers who know everyone's name and remember everyone's usual order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pieces:\u003c\/strong\u003e 218 pieces\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAssembly Time:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3 to 5 hours\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDifficulty Level:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3\/5\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAssembled Size:\u003c\/strong\u003e H 19 cm × W 14 cm × L 16 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLighting:\u003c\/strong\u003e Warm multi-LED integrated\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStyle:\u003c\/strong\u003e Traditional Japanese izakaya \/ Shitamachi old town \/ Autumn evening\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Standalone miniature house (360° display)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNot Included:\u003c\/strong\u003e Glue, batteries\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRecommended Age:\u003c\/strong\u003e 14+\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1028\/9378\/1322\/files\/DIY_Book_Nook_Kit_Choshi_no_Shitamachi.png?v=1775972501\" alt=\"choshi no shitamachi japanese izakaya miniature diy shiba inu paper lanterns sake shelf koinobori LED\" width=\"396\" height=\"396\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eShitamachi : The Soul of Old Tokyo\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShitamachi\u003c\/strong\u003e (下町) literally \"low city\" or \"downtown\" refers to the traditional working-class neighborhoods that formed the heart of Edo (the old name for Tokyo) before modernization transformed the city. These were the neighborhoods of craftsmen, merchants, fishermen and restaurant owners  places where community was not an aspiration but a daily fact, where everyone knew their neighbors, and where the izakaya at the end of the street was as important as any institution in the city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe great shitamachi districts : Asakusa, Yanaka, Nezu, Koenji  still exist in Tokyo today, though they are increasingly precious precisely because so much of the city around them has changed. They retain the wooden shopfronts, the narrow alleys, the neighborhood festivals, the old trades and the old pace of life that the rest of the city has largely left behind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoshi no Shitamachi\u003c\/strong\u003e captures the visual and emotional essence of this world: the izakaya as neighborhood anchor, the evening gathering place, the counter where strangers become regulars and regulars become friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Izakaya : Japan's Greatest Social Institution\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn \u003cstrong\u003eizakaya\u003c\/strong\u003e (居酒屋) is a Japanese gastropub  a place that serves small dishes alongside sake, beer and shochu, designed not for a quick meal but for a long, slow, convivial evening. The word combines \u003cem\u003ei\u003c\/em\u003e (to stay) with \u003cem\u003esakaya\u003c\/em\u003e (sake shop): a place where you stay and drink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe izakaya is one of Japan's most beloved cultural institutions present in every neighborhood, from the grandest districts to the smallest rural towns, serving the same fundamental social function: a warm, lit place where the day ends and the evening properly begins. The food is always good. The drinks are always cold. The conversation is always worth staying for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis miniature depicts a classic \u003cstrong\u003eold-town izakaya counter\u003c\/strong\u003e  the specific, unrepeatable type of establishment that the shitamachi culture produced and that no chain restaurant has ever successfully replicated.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"wood Miniatures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61585105027402,"sku":null,"price":79.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1028\/9378\/1322\/files\/DIY_Miniature_House_Kit_Choshi_no_Shitamachi.png?v=1775972533","url":"https:\/\/wood-miniatures.com\/products\/diy-miniature-house-kit-choshi-no-shitamachi","provider":"wood-miniatures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}