[Takikawa / Sanrakugai] Walking the Night District — Arcade Shops and Bar Streets
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Visited: Saturday, July 12, 2025
Photos and descriptions reflect conditions that night.
An 18-hour ferry from Oarai to Tomakomai started the loop around Hokkaido. Two days left — and this was the last night of filming. Tomorrow was only the trip back to Tokyo.
I’d come from Furano to Takikawa — population 36,515. It was 9:51 p.m. Outside the station a covered shopping sidewalk had gone still this late. Big roadside stores, a thinner center — that was the impression walking through.
A green JR mark and 滝川駅 light the façade. White wheelchair symbols sit alone on the dark asphalt. No taxis, no buses.
Around the Station
The arcade is lit, but empty. Shutters down; tactile paving runs on alone. Less a shopping street than a closed corridor after hours.
Ahead, though, three men. One pulls a blue suitcase; a white shirt catches the streetlight. Travelers between trains, more than tourists out for the night. Footsteps sound louder than they should.
Past the shopping street, a white arch reads 三楽街 — Sanrakugai — and below it, 三楽街で逢いましょう, “let’s meet at Sanrakugai.” The signal is red. A dark car slips under. Restaurant and bar signs wait beyond; at this hour the entrance stays quiet even as it opens onto that street.
On the sidewalk: a red chochin and a lightbox for 居酒屋 番屋 (Izakaya Banya). A man in white walks past. Across the street a yakiniku place still shows light. Not crowded — but here, shop lights and a few people. Red from the lantern on the pavement.
On the corner, a big board: いろはにほへと (Irohanihoheto), with うまいものがいっぱい above it. Food photos in the windows; the inside still warm. Empty crosswalk. Warm shop, cold street — side by side.
Farther in, vertical neon for mahjong and snack bars. Cracked sidewalk; an orange-and-white barrier at the curb. Someone in white crosses; a white car waits. Late foot traffic on a bar street — thinner than Furano’s Heso earlier that night.
Beside a pink-tiled wall, a white board reads らーめん. Above, a round sign says 猪木 (Inoki). Two white cars in a small lot. A red light at the far end. Bright signs; no one stepping in or out while I pass.
Back toward the station arcade, a few people stand talking under the green pillars. Shops closed; the circle of people is what’s left. Dark bushes on the left, white streetlight cutting the asphalt.
Looking down the arcade again, the tactile line disappears into black. A nobori and a bike-shop board stay put. No figures. Different temperature from Sanrakugai’s reds and yellows.
I end at the plaza. Wide paving, bikes in a rack, a bright covered walk with nobody on it. That night in Takikawa: the hush of the arcade, then the warmer lights of Sanrakugai.
Video: Night Walk Around Takikawa Station
The full walk is available on The Street Archive | MACHIDORI. If you enjoy the atmosphere, consider subscribing to the channel.
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