Where the name Hirai 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.
Hirai has a much older name than its modern railway station suggests. A document dated 1398, the Kasai Mikuriya Land Register, records a settlement called Shimo-Hirae. One theory interprets Hirae as a reference to a stretch of water extending into flat land. The spelling later changed to Hirai, although the exact reason and date of that change remain uncertain.
Walk northwest from Hirai Station and you reach the Old Nakagawa River. The district is almost entirely flat, enclosed by the Old Nakagawa to the west and the Arakawa and Nakagawa river corridor to the east. Farming settlements occupied this low ground for centuries. Rivers served not only as sources of water but also as transport routes. The Hirai ferry connected the village with roads leading toward Gyotoku.
In 1889, several surrounding settlements were consolidated into Hirai Village. The construction of the Arakawa floodway later transformed local boundaries and the landscape itself. The modern neighborhood name Hirai was established in 1932. A walk from the station to the river reveals why water and low-lying land have always been central to the area's identity.
→ Walk northwest from Hirai Station to the former ferry crossing near Hirai Bridge. Compare the Old Nakagawa River with the surrounding flat residential streets. Continue toward the Arakawa to understand how this neighborhood developed between major waterways.
Sources (in Japanese): 江戸川区立図書館『江戸川地名の変遷とその集解』中世の村名, 江戸川区立図書館『江戸川地名の変遷とその集解』明治以降の町村名
Before Hirai Bridge existed, travelers crossed the Old Nakagawa River by boat. The Hirai ferry operated here until 1899, connecting the settlement with the Gyotoku road. Historians believe the route was used to carry salt produced in Gyotoku, in present-day Chiba Prefecture, toward Edo. Pilgrims visiting Hirai Shoten Temple also used the crossing, making the riverbank an important meeting place for merchants and travelers.
From the ferry, the road continued eastward through farmland. Near a junction called Yotsumata, now within the Arakawa river corridor, it crossed the old Sakura road before continuing through Higashi-Komatsugawa and Ichinoe toward the Imai ferry. The landscape consisted of fields, waterways, and narrow roads. Crossing a river meant waiting for a boat rather than simply walking across a bridge.
Hirai Bridge opened in 1899, ending the ferry's role. That same year, Hirai Station opened on the Sobu Railway. Land readjustment and factory construction followed during the Taisho period, and shopping streets developed near the station in the early Showa years. After World War II, many factories moved away and housing replaced industrial land. Walking between the station and river reveals the transition from ferry village to railway suburb.
→ Visit the former Hirai ferry site in Hirai 6-chome and look across the Old Nakagawa from Hirai Bridge. The riverbank is now a pleasant pedestrian area. Return toward the station through the shopping streets to compare the older river crossing with the commercial district that grew around the railway.
Sources (in Japanese): 江戸川区文化財・史跡「平井の渡し跡」, 江戸川区『都市計画マスタープラン』小松川・平井地域
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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).