Horinouchi-cho in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, is a town where a sense of mystery and nostalgia still intersect. Located within walking distance of Keikyu Kawasaki Station, the town has developed a unique culture with a complex intertwining of history and customs. The area is approximately 0.0648 square kilometers. As of March 31, 2005, the population was 1,431 and the number of households was 1,288.

Horinouchi-cho in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, is a town where a sense of mystery and nostalgia still intersect. Located within walking distance of Keikyu Kawasaki Station, the town has developed a unique culture with a complex intertwining of history and customs. The area is approximately 0.0648 square kilometers. As of March 31, 2005, the population was 1,431 and the number of households was 1,288.

During the Edo period (1603-1867), this area was a part of the Kawasaki-juku section of the Tokaido Highway, and women called "iimori-onna" (women in charge of meals) worked in inns and served travelers as prostitutes. The area around Odoro and Horinouchi, east of Kawasaki-juku, was known as a place where men on their way to Edo enjoyed their last games, and the townscape was full of sophistication and sex appeal.

After the Meiji period (1868-1912), with the spread of the railroad, the inn lost its role as an inn, but geisha houses and rental rooms remained in Horinouchi, and the culture was eventually supported by women called "Horinouchi geisha. After the war, the area was reorganized as one of the blue-light districts that emerged throughout Japan, with simple sex stores disguised as restaurants and inns in the front and women selling sex for short periods of time in the back.

This type of business was called "chon-no-ma," and was conducted in small rooms with only a futon on a tatami mat, a water closet, and a light. People sought there to have short encounters with each other and to find solace in solitude. These stores, operated without official permission, eventually became the target of prosecution.

In 1960, the first Turkish bath, "Keihin Turkey," opened in Horinouchi, and the area became known as an official entertainment district. In 1966, the law was amended to officially authorize Turkish baths, and the area soon developed into a soapland district. Horinouchi became the second largest soapland district after Yoshiwara in Tokyo.

However, from the 2000s onward, the Entertainment Establishments Control Law was tightened, and illegal businesses were exposed one after another. In 2005, "chon-no-ma" (brothels) were all busted at once, and the illegal employment of foreign women was also viewed as a problem. Today, business patterns have changed dramatically, and public safety is gradually improving.

In the Horinouchi area, there are cultural facilities such as the Tokaido Kawasaki-juku Exchange Center and Shinpuku-ji Temple, which offer a glimpse of what it used to be like. The area is also lined with restaurants offering a variety of tastes, such as the Italian restaurant Acello, the Chinese restaurant Panzutei, popular ramen stores, and conveyor-belt sushi restaurants.

This town has long been a place of "fun" and "relaxation," from the inns of the Edo period to the entertainment district of 2025. At the end of the miscellaneous alleys, many layers of memories are piled up. As you walk, you can faintly hear women's laughter and men's lamentations over the smoke and incense.