Tokyo's Ameyoko Market is the city's street food paradise. There is no debate. The market street runs for 400 meters along the Yamanote Line from Okachimachi to Ueno Station. There are hundreds of shops selling all kinds of delicious foods but its the market's past that makes it unique.

▶︎ HISTORY
Ameyoko was Tokyo's black market during the US Occupation between 1945 and 1952, a place where you could get expensive and highly regulated goods like sugar.

▶︎ The "Ame" in Ameyoko means CANDY in Japanese.
But "ame" also stands for "AMErica" since the market sold so many good broght in by US Servicemen during the occupation. You can still see sun glasses, watches, and Zippo lighters sold on the street to this day.

The market has changed a lot over the last 75 years.
After being a black market, it became home to Tohoku's seafood in the 1950s since nearby Ueno is the city's gate to the north of the country. In the 1970s and 80s, immigrants from abroad made their homes in the area and there is a growing variety…