Ginza is the Chuo area of Tokyo, which is south of Yaesu and Kyobashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yurakucho and Uchisaivaicho, and north of Shinbashi.
The area is Tokyo’s popular upscale shopping area, home to many world-renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops. Ginza is considered one of the most expensive, sophisticated and luxurious areas in the world.
Historically, Ginza was part of the old Kyobashi district of Tokyo City, which, along with Nihonbashi and Kanda, formed the core of Shitamachi, the original city center of Edo (modern Tokyo).
The Ginza District was created on the site of a former swamp that was filled in in the 16th century. The name “Ginza” comes from the fact that a mint was established here to produce silver coins in 1612, during the Edo period.
After a devastating fire in 1872 that destroyed much of the area, the Meiji government declared Ginza “the epitome of modernization“. The government’s plan was to build refractory brick buildings and create wider, better streets connecting Shimbashi station to the foreign concession at Tsukiji.