In winter, 200,000 people a day browse the flea market, and a thatched-roof magistrate's residence stands beside the road
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
In Setagaya 1-chome, within this neighborhood, there's a street called Boroichi-dori, and every year on December 15 and 16 and January 15 and 16, the flea market sets up along this street and the surrounding area. About 200,000 people pour in on a single day, and the City office asks nearby residents to walk there as much as possible.
Besides used clothing, today's market also has antiques, used books, flowers and plants, and toys. Next to Boroichi-dori stands the thatched-roof Setagaya Daikan Yashiki, whose front gate faces directly onto this street. On days when there's no market, the Kamimachi bus stop in this neighborhood has several bus lines bound for Shibuya Station.
From our street photos, buildings rank 89th among 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo; cleanliness ranks 132nd, and these are the two highest-ranked categories for this neighborhood.
On the grounds of the Daikan Yashiki there's also the Setagaya City Local History Museum, whose permanent exhibition is free to visit. It opened in 1964, the first public local history museum in Tokyo.
Public transit ranks 303rd among 395 neighborhoods, the weakest category for this neighborhood. The railway station in this neighborhood is Kamimachi Station, served only by the Setagaya Line, running one way to Sangenjaya and the other to Shimo-takaido. In 2020, this neighborhood had about 221 residents per hectare.
On the four days of the market, Boroichi-dori and the surrounding roads are closed to traffic from 7am to 10pm, and there's no parking at the venue. The Setagaya Line runs a special temporary schedule on these days.
In 1578, Hojo Ujimasa permitted a free market to open in Shinjuku, at the foot of Setagaya Castle, and this is where the Boroichi flea market originated. The Oba family, who later served as daikan, moved to Kamishuku—present-day Kamimachi—after the free market opened.
After Setagaya Castle fell into decline in 1590, the market became a year-end market selling farm tools. In 1633 the Ii family took over Setagaya domain, and the Oba family became daikan; the Daikan Yashiki seen today was rebuilt in 1737.
The market later became known for trading used clothing, and in the Meiji era it got the name "Boroichi". It was busiest between 1935 and 1944, with as many as about 2,000 stalls. The Daikan Yashiki was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1978, and the market became an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Tokyo in 2007.
The Daikan Gyoretsu, a procession reenacting the daikan's inspection tour of the market, began in 1968 and in recent years has been held about once every five years. The next one is scheduled for fiscal year 2027.
Compared with the 395 Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
Hospitals with inpatient beds (2020 data), public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area, high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, parks of 1 ha or more, and large shopping malls and department stores. Many Tokyo junior high students attend private schools, so junior high catchments are only a guide.
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