All closed due to illegal business! The “Surprisingly Cheaper than Tobita Shinchi” Chon-no-Ma in Kannami Shinchi, Amagasaki!

Kannami Shinchi ” in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, has drawn many male customers from all over the country as a colorful district comparable to Tobita Shinchi in Osaka. The “Chon-no-Ma” (a kind of “room for lovers”) had been operating illegally for 70 years under the guise of “free love,” but in November 2009, the business was busted and all the stores were closed. A local resident said, “The current town of Kannami-shinchi is a very interesting place to visit.

Kannami Shinchi was known for its lower prices than Tobita Shinchi, and the quality of the young girls working there was very high.

After the bust, the police began to remove all the goods from the area in a matter of days. I remember well how police officers in patrol cars monitored the removal operations. Although the number of people who came to the area after the simultaneous closure of the stores and restaurants has decreased dramatically, there are still a few stores that are still in business as restaurants and bars.

What does the site that once flourished as a colorful district look like now? We walked around the area thoroughly.

After a 10-minute walk from Hanshin Amagasaki Station through the shopping arcade, which was buoyed by the strong performance of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, the former site of the Kannami Shinchi district comes into view. Perhaps because it was a three-day weekend when I visited, the shopping street was bustling with people, but once I entered the site, the wave of people suddenly ebbed away. It was deserted, as if the previous lively atmosphere was a lie, and there were hardly any passersby.

There are 37 row houses in a row, and many of them have a sign saying “Owned and managed by Amagasaki City. There are about four stores that have changed their business to stand-up drinking, a little drinking, and BBQ.

After watching for a while, a large black car pulls up to one of the stores that is open for business. We could see strong-looking men getting out of the car, canned beer in one hand and snacks in the other, and leaving at a quick pace. It seems that some customers still go there.

In May of last year, Amagasaki City announced its policy of purchasing the former Kannami Shinchi site, clearing the land, and selling it to the private sector. It was reported that the acquisition of the land and building would be completed by March of this year. However, as of July, there were still some stores in operation.

It was clear that the eviction negotiations were not going well. When we approached a resident passing by, he told us, ” Amagasaki is an area where trouble is relatively common. There are row houses in a row here, so I still feel uneasy about security.

Why have eviction negotiations been unsuccessful? A woman who used to work at Kannami Shinchi revealed, “The owners felt that the eviction fee paid by the city of Amagasaki was too low.

The owners felt that the eviction fee offered by Amagasaki City was too low. However, it was difficult to operate the business in its original form, so most of them agreed to the sale as if they were giving up halfway.

When the gusas came to Kannami Shinchi a long time ago, it took a number of years to revive it. There may be some people who are hoping that it will be revived again. There are people who run restaurants to make a living.

Originally, the rent in Kannami Shinchi was unusually low compared to the neighborhood. Even now, the owner is renting the space to young people at a discount. There are also people who sublease their properties. Even so, it doesn’ t look like they are making any money. ……

There is an elementary school about a two-minute walk from the old Kannami Shinchi. Some people objected to the manners of the male and foreign customers who attended the colored district, saying that it was not good for their education.

Mr. Yamada (pseudonym, in his 70s), who runs a restaurant in the adjacent shopping street, has been appealing to the city to eliminate Kannami Shinchi for more than 20 years during the 70 years he has lived in this town. Looking back on the history of the Kannami Shinchi, he opens his mouth with a heavy heart.

In the Showa period, Kannami Shinchi was open during the daytime. Naturally, small children saw it. It was a terrible educational experience. Customers on their way back from Kannami would come to our store and talk loudly about vulgar things, such as how much it cost and which woman was in good shape.

That’s not a good look for the local people. From our point of view, it is a hindrance to business. Foreign tourists started coming in at some point, and they were littering everywhere, and all kinds of language was being exchanged. It was chaos.

The sudden arrest of the woman was due in part to the following circumstances.

After the former female mayor, Kazumi Inamura, took office in 2010, there was a trend toward eliminating things that had been gray until then. Kannami was one of them, and although it was ostensibly an illegal sex business, the biggest problem was the fact that Miteco (a minor) was working there.

I think the police were trying to find the timing and reason for the roundup. I feel that after more than 20 years of everyone speaking out, it’s finally happening. Even though Kannami has disappeared, the Yakuza are still around here, and there are still shootings. There are also arson incidents and thefts are frequent, so I wouldn’t say that security has improved dramatically. ……

What will happen to the Kannami site in the future? What will happen to the Kannami site in the future?

About 70% of the land owners have already agreed to sell. However, some owners have already passed away and some stores are still in business, so it is taking time to purchase the land.

Still, we feel that the sale is proceeding more smoothly than we initially expected. We have explained to them that we are no longer able to operate in the same form, and we have gained the understanding of those stores that are still in the food and beverage business.The city’s policy of clearing the land and selling it to the private sector has not changed. We plan to continue negotiations with the aim of completing the sale by the end of this year.

Of course, there are those who oppose the plan. A man in his 50s who says he loves Amagasaki very much lamented, “Everything is bad.

I think it’s not right to apply the current trend of saying that everything is wrong to Amagasaki,” lamented a man in his 50s, who says he loves Amagasaki dearly. The city will continue to support the landowners.

The city will continue to persistently negotiate with the landowner.