Japan Guide
Tokyo
Ikebukuro
Marsh and farmland until a hundred years ago, Ikebukuro is a product of the train age. Its first station was completed in 1903 and now six lines connect the area with central Tokyo and the low-cost dormitory suburbs to the north and east. Cheap accommodation and good transport have attracted an increasing number of expatriates, typically Chinese and Taiwanese, but including a broad sweep of other nationalities, which lends Ikebukuro a faintly cosmopolitan air. And, while no one would yet accuse Ikebukuro of being hip or trendy, the area is slowly smartening up.