Map and Pictures of Roppongi Neighborhood, Tokyo     •     worldneighborhoods.com

Roppongi (六本木) is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan^(pics), famous as home to the rich Roppongi Hills area, an active night club scene, and a relatively large presence of Western tourists and expatriates; though the majority of visitors and residents are Japanese and other Asians. It is in the southern portion of the circle described by the Yamanote Line, south of Akasaka and north of Azabu. The area features numerous bars, nightclubs, strip clubs, restaurants, hostess clubs, cabarets, and other forms of entertainment. Among the Western expatriate community, the area tends to be favored by business people, students, and off-duty US military personnel. Overall though, the neighborhood caters to a younger crowd. In the past, Roppongi had a reputation as an area with high Yakuza presence, whether as customers at Roppongi establishments, conducting business, or managing or owning clubs and bars in the area. Although still exerting some influence in Roppongi, in recent times they appear to have shifted much of their presence to other districts in the Tokyo area.

The name "Roppongi", which appears to have been coined around 1660, literally means "six trees". Six very old and large zelkova trees used to mark the area; first three were cleared, and the last was destroyed during the Pacific War. Roppongi was not extensively populated until after the Meiji Restoration. In 1890, the Third Imperial Guard of the Imperial Japanese Army was moved to a site near Roppongi (now home to the Pacific bureau of Stars and Stripes). The influx of soldiers led to the area's rise as a nightlife district, briefly interrupted by the Great Kanto Earthquake which flattened the area in 1923. Roppongi was administratively part of Azabu Ward from 1878 to 1947.

After World War II, during which the area was again destroyed, this time by aerial bombing raids, the United States Army and Allied government officials occupied several facilities in the area, beginning Roppongi's reputation as a foreigner neighborhood. Several large US military installations were located in the nearby area, with Hardy Barracks probably the most significant. In large part due to the US military presence, the area soon became crowded with Western-oriented shops, bars, restaurants, prostitution establishments and "hostess bars."

Starting in the late 1960s, Roppongi became popular among Japanese and foreigners alike for its disco scene, which attracted many of Tokyo's entertainment elites. Contributing to the international scene was the location of several foreign embassies and foreign corporate offices in the Roppongi area. However, many dance clubs shut down in the recession following the market crash of 1989.

How to get to Roppongi Neighborhood

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Roppongi Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line.