Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BASEBALL GAME, TOKYO DOME
Ikebukuro and the north
Marsh and farmland until the dawn of the twentieth century, Ikebukuro (
ା
)
is a product of the train age. Its first station was completed in 1903, and eight
lines now 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 also including a broad sweep of other nationalities, which
lends Ikebukuro a faintly cosmopolitan air. It's by no means as trendy or hip as
Shinjuku or Shibuya, and for the short-term visitor there are no compelling
reasons to visit. However, to some this very lack of star status and cool
pretension is Ikebukuro's appeal.
