Japanese commercial street and its effect on community development: the case of Ningyocho

Faced with the demand for functional transformation of traditional commercial streets in the context of rapid commercial development, Japan has had some relatively successful cases. After land consolidation, building renovation and business upgrading, some traditional commercial streets in the centre of Tokyo, Japan, are thriving again. They not only attract many tourists and invigorate the community economy, but also retain the local folk traditions and cultural atmosphere. These cases provide us with the ideas of the transformation of traditional Chinese commercial streets. Among them, the traditional commercial streets in Nihonbashi still maintain a high degree of commercial prosperity and community vitality. This paper takes one traditional commercial street in Nihonbashi, Ningyocho, as the study case. The spatial structure, commercial supply of the street are investigated, so as to obtain an inspiration for improving the material form and carrying function of Chinese and other countries' commercial service in urban communities. It is found that the vertical spatial organization of the buildings in the commercial street of Ningyocho is often combined with other structural characteristics of the architecture in various forms. It is aimed at solving the problem of construction and reducing functional separation between high-rise buildings under the background of high density land use. As a commercial street that serves wide areas, Ningyocho's most attractive part for the outside crowd is actually its various restaurants, which makes up more than 30% of the business. Meanwhile, other entertainment and life service facilities are more limited and only meets the needs of residents within the block. Its community commerce not only satisfies the consumption of basic living goods and cultural entertainment, but also provides community public space and communication place for local residents. Elderly care, childcare assistance, environmental protection and other functions closely related to the society determine the significant contribution of Japanese community commerce to equalization of public services.