Taitō-ku

[upbeat music]

Tokyo's Taito Ward is planning to ban new private short-term rental accommodations known as minpaku in residential areas.

The ward is home to popular tourist spots like Asakusa and Ueno, but officials cite increasing complaints about bad behavior of lodgers for the decision.

The move comes after the Japan Tourism Agency released a notice that effectively allows municipalities to ban such lodgings.

Taito Ward submitted on Tuesday a draft ordinance banning new private short-term rental services in residential neighborhoods and other areas where inns and hotels are restricted.

The ward has seen a surge in the number of these accommodations after a law took effect in 2018 legalizing such businesses in residential areas.

The municipality says it's received many complaints.

These include improper garbage disposal and loud noise.

Before we get into the history, let me orient you geographically.

Asakusa is in the northeastern part of central Tokyo in Taitoku, Taito Ward.

It sits on the west bank of the Sumidagawa, roughly eight kilometers northeast of Ginza, about 20 minutes on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line from Ginza Station, which will take you directly to Asakusa Station.

From Shibuya, it's about 35 minutes on the same line, a direct shot across the city.

There is one more layer of Asakusa's history I want to mention briefly.

Because to understand this neighborhood fully, you need to know about what stood just to its north.

About 15 minutes on foot from the temple, in what is now a quiet, ordinary residential area of northern Taitoku, was Yoshiwara, the largest licensed entertainment quarter in Japan.

Yoshiwara was established in 1617 in a different part of Edo that relocated to its current site after the catastrophic Meireki no Taika, the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657, which destroyed most of wooden Edo, including the original temple complex at Sensoji.