History of the area

Between 1603 through 1868, Ginza, named after the silver-coin mint (Gin = silver, za = mint), was known as the Japanese mint district. When a raging fire hit the area in 1872, developers sought to rebuild it, following a London image.

The wooden buildings that went down with the fire were replaced with Gregorian brick buildings and the avenues were developed to mimic that of a Paris shopping promenade.

In the year 1923, a catastrophic earthquake destroyed most of its original architecture. During World War 2, when American armies bombarded Japan, Ginza district was not spared. Rehabilitation efforts took place after these two tragedies occurred.

Today, most of its European-style buildings are gone, but a few older buildings still remain. One of which is the famous Wako building with its clock tower.