Nakae Store

Nakae Shop Building: The Last Sakura Nabe Restaurant Standing in Tokyo's Yoshiwara

Standing quietly along Dote-dori street in the Nihonzutsumi district of Taito Ward, Tokyo, the Nakae Shop Building is a two-story wooden structure that has witnessed more than a century of Tokyo's transformation. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2010, this Taisho-era building is not merely an architectural relic — it is a living restaurant, the last surviving sakura nabe (horse meat hotpot) establishment from the once-thriving Yoshiwara pleasure quarter. Here, visitors can dine within the very walls of a cultural property while savoring one of Tokyo's most distinctive local cuisines.

Historical Background: From Yoshiwara's Golden Age to Today

The story of the Nakae Shop Building is inseparable from the history of Yoshiwara, Edo-period Tokyo's licensed pleasure quarter. After the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657, the Yoshiwara district was relocated to the area near the Nihonzutsumi embankment, where it flourished for centuries as a center of culture, fashion, and entertainment. The embankment road connecting Asakusa to Yoshiwara became a bustling thoroughfare for patrons, and a vibrant dining culture grew up around it.

Among the foods that emerged from this milieu was sakura nabe — horse meat hotpot. According to tradition, the dish originated when visitors who had spent all their money at the pleasure quarter sold their horses to local merchants, who then prepared the meat in a style inspired by the beef hotpot that was fashionable in Yokohama during the Meiji-era Westernization movement. Sakura nabe quickly became the fast food of Yoshiwara, with over twenty restaurants lining the streets near the Yoshiwara Great Gate at its peak.

Nakae opened as one of these sakura nabe shops in 1905 (Meiji 38). The original building was destroyed in the Yoshiwara Great Fire of 1911, rebuilt, and then collapsed again during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. The current structure was erected the following year, in 1924 (Taisho 13), by skilled shrine carpenters. Remarkably, it survived the devastating Tokyo air raids of World War II when an incendiary bomb landed just three buildings away but failed to detonate. Today, Nakae is the sole surviving sakura nabe restaurant from the Yoshiwara era.

Why It Was Designated: Architectural Value as a Cultural Property

The Nakae Shop Building was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) on September 10, 2010. The designation recognizes several key architectural qualities that make this structure significant.

The building faces west onto Dote-dori street, with a span of 5.9 meters across the front and a depth of 10 meters. It is a two-story wooden structure with a total building area of 55 square meters. Both the first and second floors are arranged as traditional tatami-matted dining rooms (zashiki). The second floor features wainscoting on the walls, and the transoms (ranma) above the doors are adorned with bamboo lattice panels incorporating motifs of pine, bamboo, plum blossom, and cherry blossom — a rare decorative touch fitting for a sakura nabe establishment.

The roof is a gabled (kirizuma) style covered with san-gawara pantiles, oriented on a north-south ridge parallel to the street. The noshi-gawara coping tiles are stacked high along the ridge, creating a tall and imposing street-facing facade characteristic of early Showa commercial architecture in this part of Tokyo. Together with the neighboring Dote no Iseya tempura restaurant, the two wooden buildings form a rare surviving streetscape from the pre-war era.

Architectural Highlights and Attractions

Stepping inside the Nakae Shop Building is like traveling back in time to the Taisho and early Showa periods. The first floor greets visitors with characteristically low lintels (kamoi) and a compact, intimate dining space. A steep wooden staircase leads to the second floor, where the craftsmanship becomes even more evident.

On the second floor, visitors can admire the exquisite ranma transoms, where bamboo latticework frames delicate carvings of pine, bamboo, plum, and cherry blossoms. The cherry blossom motif is particularly meaningful, as it echoes the name "sakura" in sakura nabe. The floor also features a rare pillar made of ebony (kokutan), a prized hardwood known for its exceptional density and difficulty to work — a testament to the skill of the shrine carpenters who rebuilt the structure. A small veranda-like space on the second floor offers a glimpse of the surrounding streetscape.

Throughout the interior, items associated with notable patrons are displayed, including calligraphy by the writer Mushanokoji Saneatsu, signatures from the kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro XI, the composer Dan Ikuma, the sumo wrestler Chiyonofuji, and the rakugo storyteller Sanyutei Kinba III.

Sakura Nabe: Tokyo's Heritage Cuisine

While the building itself is the designated cultural property, it is the sakura nabe served within that gives the space its living soul. Sakura nabe is a sukiyaki-style hotpot made with thinly sliced horse meat, cooked in a distinctive shallow copper pot with a sweet miso-based broth. The first-generation owner of Nakae invented the secret miso sauce recipe, which remains unchanged to this day.

The restaurant uses domestically raised horse meat, sourced from dedicated farms. The meat is aged for five to eight years, far longer than the one to two years typical of horse meat used for sashimi, resulting in exceptionally tender and flavorful cuts marbled with sweet fat. The shallow pot was traditionally designed for fast cooking — patrons heading to or from Yoshiwara wanted to eat quickly — and the meat is best enjoyed at a medium-rare sakura pink, the very color that gives it its name.

In recent years, the restaurant has also introduced a vegan sakura nabe option, certified by the NPO VegProject Japan, making this historic cuisine accessible to a wider range of diners.

Visitor Information

Nakae is located along Dote-dori street in the Nihonzutsumi area, approximately a 10-minute walk from Minowa Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. The restaurant is closed on Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday). On weekdays, it is open from 17:00 to 22:00, and on weekends and holidays, it opens for lunch from 11:30 and serves through the evening until 21:00. Reservations are recommended, especially on weekends. Despite its cultural property status and refined cuisine, the restaurant maintains a casual atmosphere — there is no dress code, and guests are welcome in everyday attire.

As the building is an active restaurant, visitors wishing to see the interior should plan to dine there. The exterior, however, can be appreciated at any time, and the sight of the wooden facade alongside the neighboring Dote no Iseya building offers a memorable glimpse of pre-war Tokyo streetscape.

Surrounding Attractions

The Nihonzutsumi and Yoshiwara area is rich in historical interest. Nearby, visitors can explore the site of the former Yoshiwara Great Gate (Yoshiwara Omon) and the Yoshiwara Shrine, which served the pleasure quarter community. The Sanya-bori Canal, once a waterway that carried pleasure boats between Asakusa and Yoshiwara, has been converted into the scenic Sanya-bori Park. A statue of "Ashita no Joe" (Tomorrow's Joe), the beloved boxing manga character set in this neighborhood, stands near the Namidabashi intersection.

The area is also within walking distance of the Otori Shrine (famous for its Tori no Ichi festival), Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, and the lively Iroha Shopping Street. For those interested in architecture, the neighboring Dote no Iseya building, also a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, makes for a complementary visit.