Where the name Higashi-ginza comes from, what stood here before the station, and what you can still spot on a walk today. Then the events near the station that we have checked on the official pages.
The streets around Higashi-ginza Station were once called Kobikicho, the Town of Wood Sawyers. During the expansion of Edo Castle under Tokugawa Ieyasu, craftsmen who cut logs into planks and beams are said to have been settled here. Their occupation gave the neighborhood its name. In 1612, the Sanjikkenbori canal was excavated, and a long, narrow settlement developed along its eastern bank.
Walk east from Kabukiza Theatre across Showa-dori toward Tsukiji. The old neighborhood occupied land between two waterways: Sanjikkenbori to the west and the Tsukiji River to the east. Boats brought timber and merchandise, while bridges connected the district with Ginza and Tsukiji. This was a working waterfront, very different from the luxury shopping district immediately to its west.
In 1951, Kobikicho was renamed Ginza-higashi, or East Ginza. In 1969, it was incorporated into the expanded Ginza neighborhood. The station name Higashi-ginza preserves a trace of this transition. Behind today's theaters and office buildings lies the history of a town built by craftsmen, boats, and canals.
→ Find the old name Kobikicho at the underground plaza beneath Kabukiza Theatre. Walk east across Showa-dori toward the expressway occupying the former Tsukiji River. West of the theater, the Mihara Bridge area marks the vanished Sanjikkenbori canal. Imagine the old town between these two waterways.
Sources (in Japanese): 東銀座エリアマネジメント「木挽町の歴史～水と橋で結ばれた町～」, 銀座公式ウェブサイト「ヒストリー・大銀座時代」
Long before the present Kabukiza Theatre, the neighborhood around Higashi-ginza was famous for live entertainment. During the Edo period, theaters including Moritaza, Yamamuraza, and Kawarasakiza operated in Kobikicho. Teahouses catered to audiences arriving for performances. To the west, the Sanjikkenbori canal separated this theater district from the commercial streets of Ginza, with bridges connecting the two sides.
In 1889, the first Kabukiza Theatre opened here, strengthening the area's connection with kabuki. During the late Edo and Meiji periods, the entertainment culture of nearby Shinbashi spread toward Tsukiji, bringing traditional restaurants and establishments associated with geisha. The foreign settlement at Tsukiji also introduced Western influences. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 devastated the district, and reconstruction brought major new roads, including Showa-dori and Harumi-dori.
The canals have since been filled in, and most of their bridges have disappeared. Yet a walk from Kabukiza toward Shinbashi Enbujo still passes theaters, restaurants, and streets shaped by centuries of performance culture. The area has changed dramatically, but entertainment remains part of its identity.
→ Start at Kabukiza Theatre and follow Harumi-dori east across Showa-dori toward Shinbashi Enbujo. Look for the former Mihara Bridge area and the expressway built over the old Tsukiji River. The two theaters and nearby restaurants recall the entertainment district that once thrived beside the canals.
Sources (in Japanese): 東銀座エリアマネジメント「東銀座エリアとは」, 中央区「中央区の沿革・ダイジェスト」
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We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).