Birthplace of Ultraman — streetlights, manhole covers, even the station jingle are all heroes
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
Near Soshigaya-Okura Station there are three shopping streets, each with an arch at its entrance showing the hero in a flying pose. The streetlights on the Soshigaya Minami Shopping Street are shaped like the faces of Ultraman, Ultraseven, and Baltan Seijin. The manhole covers near the station are also engraved with designs of characters from the Ultraman series.
These three streets are collectively called Ultraman Shopping Street, extending north, west, and south, totaling about 3 kilometers. Before the train arrives at the station, the platform also plays "The Ultraman Song" and "The Ultraseven Song".
From our street photos, greenery ranks 244th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the highest-ranking category for this neighborhood.
The Soshigaya Shopping Street to the north has banned vehicle traffic from evening onward since 2017. Further north, the street is lined by the Soshigaya Danchi housing complex. Soshigaya Elementary School and the City-run Kinuta Library are both within this neighborhood.
For commuting, Express and Rapid Express trains do not stop here; since 2018, Semi Express trains and those running through to the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line both stop at this station.
From our street photos, sidewalks rank 378th out of 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the weakest category for this neighborhood. The streets around the station are narrow, with many one-way lanes. Between Seijo-Gakuen-mae Station and Kanpachi there is a north–south band of narrow alleys (not entirely within this neighborhood) where houses were built without any farmland consolidation, so it's easy to get lost if you don't know the area.
The station was built in 1927 when the Odakyu Line opened, sandwiched between Shimo-Soshigaya in Chitose Village and Okura in Kinuta Village, so the station name combines both sides. The original headquarters of Tsuburaya Productions was in Kinuta, about 800 meters south along Soshigaya-dori, which is why this area is called the birthplace of Ultraman.
In April 2005, the headquarters moved to Hachimanyama, and in the same month, the three shopping streets formed Ultraman Shopping Street. The following year, hero arches were erected at the entrances of all three streets. In 2008, the old Kinuta office building was announced to be closing, and the land was returned to Toho.
The Soshigaya Danchi housing complex, built between 1955 and 1956, is being rebuilt in four phases, with phase one demolition starting in fiscal year 2024. The new phase one, with 325 units, is expected to be completed in fiscal year 2030, with some units planned to be rented to residents aged 60 and over. All four phases are expected to be completed around fiscal year 2041, though the schedule may be adjusted.
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.
Maps show the shops and the sights. What a street is like, you only know by walking it. TidyMap uses AI street imagery analysis and public facility data to turn each area's street environment and everyday convenience into something you can compare. Search an address and look at the street outside first.
How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. Street environment scores use AI assessments of imagery; convenience scores use public facility data.
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