Happy Road Oyama Shopping Street

In short

Happy Road Oyama Shopping Street is a covered arcade shopping street extending right from in front of Oyama Station on the Tobu Tojo Line. It was established in 1978 as the largest arcade shopping street in Itabashi Ward, bringing together about 200 shops along an overall length of about 560 meters. The street is located along the Edo-period Kawagoe Kaido highway.

• ​Arcade right from the station​​: When you exit the south ticket gate of Oyama Station, an arcade canopy is right before your eyes, already part of the shopping street.
• ​A full array of daily living shops​​: Specialty stores for fresh produce, fresh fish, and meat are lively, and many people also visit to enjoy eating snacks as they stroll.
• ​Decorations overhead​​: Seasonal decorations adorn the arcade, including carp streamers that "swim" around Children's Day.

History and Highlights

​Happy Road Oyama Shopping Street​ is an arcade shopping street extending from the south exit of Oyama Station on the Tobu Tojo Line. The street lies along the Edo-period Kawagoe Kaido highway. Following the opening of Oyama Station in 1931, shops began lining up centered around the station, and after the war ended, it bustled with a black market. During the period of rapid economic growth, residences along the rail line increased, and the area came to flourish greatly as a shopping street for ordinary local residents.

In 1977, two shopping streets merged: the "Oyama Ginza Shopping Street" near the station and the "Oyama Ginza Bikan-gai" to its west. In the following year, 1978, an arcade about 560 meters long was completed, becoming the largest arcade shopping street in Itabashi Ward, and was given the nickname "Happy Road Oyama." It is said that behind the merger and the construction of the arcade was a sense of crisis felt by the shopkeepers regarding the construction of Sunshine City in Ikebukuro.

Today, about 200 shops gather along its total length of about 560 meters. In recent years, Urban Planning Road Auxiliary Route 26 was planned to cross through the middle of the shopping street, leading to the removal of a portion of the arcade. Redevelopment progressed around the intersection of the road and the shopping street, being completed in 2024 as "Cross Oyama," which brought into being two residential tower buildings and public plazas.

Viewing and Experience Points

• ​Street intersecting the railway crossing​​: As you exit the south exit of Oyama Station, the arcade directly in front of you is already a corner of the shopping street. The main thoroughfare is about 30 meters to your right with your back to the station. Numerous shops line the street that intersects with the Tobu Tojo Line railway crossing.
• ​Specialty stores for daily living​​: A feature of this shopping street is the vigor of its specialty shops for vegetables and fruit, fresh fish, and meat. There are also stores for shoes, bags, and watches; true to its concept of "a relationship for a lifetime," it offers everything needed for daily life. At "Toretate Mura," which is operated by the shopping street, fresh vegetables from various affiliated regions and seasonings rich in local character are on offer. Many people also visit looking forward to eating while walking.
• ​Overhead decorations​​: High up in the vaulted arcade, seasonal balloon art and other decorations are displayed. Around Children's Day, it is a tradition for carp streamers colored by children from nearby nursery schools to swim overhead.

Walking Tips

Oyama Station is reached in about 5 minutes via a 3-stop ride on a local train from Ikebukuro Station on the Tobu Tojo Line. Regarding the place name "Oyama," alongside the theory that it comes from the plateau terrain of this area, there is another theory that the road called "Komatsuya Yokocho-do" was one of the "Oyama-michi" routes used to make pilgrimages to Mt. Oyama in Kanagawa Prefecture. Near the west entrance of the shopping street, Komatsuya Yokocho-do intersects with the Old Kawagoe Kaido highway. Try walking all the way from the station to the west entrance while browsing the shops.