Kingyo Street and Yanagimachi Shopping Quarter
Follow shopfront aquariums through Yanagimachi, a castle-town shopping street that turns Yamato Koriyama's goldfish culture into a free, everyday walk.
Verified site photographs are being prepared.Discover Kingyo Street and Yanagimachi Shopping Quarter
Kingyo Street is the goldfish-themed walk through the Yanagimachi shopping quarter, not a single aquarium with a ticket gate. The association's current guide describes a north–south route of about 500 metres from Yanagi 1-chome to 4-chome. Participating shopfront tanks hold more than 200 fish, with roughly 25 varieties currently on display; the exact selection changes with the shops' animal-care needs. The street runs through a castle-town quarter said by its local association to have been laid out under Toyotomi Hidenaga as one of the Hakomoto Thirteen Towns. Goldfish farming is a separate part of the city's history: Yamato Koriyama's current visitor material describes the industry as established here from the Edo period. Today, the shopkeepers combine that identity with ordinary businesses, small local stories and optional ways to explore, so the best visit is a gentle browse rather than a checklist of guaranteed open tanks.
Follow the tank map along the street
The fish displays are spread across shopfronts from Yanagi 1-chome to 4-chome, not collected behind one admission gate. The association's live map separates the participating aquariums from food, shopping, repair and experience businesses, and its current shop guide lists 31 member businesses. The street homepage reports about 25 varieties and more than 200 fish, while the digital map covers around 30 locations. These are association-wide snapshots: a shop may be closed, a tank may be temporarily unavailable, and neither number promises a fixed set on the day you visit.
Trace the goldfish story back to the castle town
Yanagimachi is part of the historic quarter said by its shopping association to have been laid out under Toyotomi Hidenaga as one of the Hakomoto Thirteen Towns. The city's goldfish history gives a more precise origin tradition: in 1724, Yanagisawa Yoshisato came from Kai (today's Yamanashi) to take up the Yamato-Koriyama domain, bringing the start of local breeding with him. The city says samurai pursued it as side work near the end of the Edo period, and former retainers and farming households continued it after the Meiji Restoration. It also identifies water quality, irrigation and farm ponds that supported small organisms used as fry feed as local advantages. These points describe the city's wider goldfish industry, not the history of every shop on this street. Yanagimachi had other trades too: nearby Hakomotokan Konya interprets the area's indigo-dyeing history and offers separately managed experiences, so visit its own guide for booking and access details.
Try the paper stamp walk or digital fish collection
The association's 御金魚帖 (Okingyocho) booklet invites visitors to collect a different goldfish stamp at member shops during their business hours. The association lists a standard booklet at ¥500 and two Hidenaga-themed editions at ¥600; the stamps themselves are free, and the listed sellers are Tohon, Honke Kikuya and Narikoma. Its newer 金コレ (Kingyo Collection) is a browser-based activity: scan a QR code beside a participating tank to add that fish to a phone collection, with optional missions and card battles. The association says no app download, account or fee is required. Collection data stays on the phone; use its in-app transfer code before changing devices, and do not expect prizes or point exchanges. Tank QR codes depend on fish health and shop care, so the available collection changes.
Keep the visit considerate and practical
This is a working shopping street, not a closed pedestrian attraction. Walk on the public footway, leave shop entrances clear, and ask before entering a store or photographing people. Do not tap tanks, feed fish or use flash against the glass. Individual shops set their own opening times, prices and photography rules; the street itself has no single visitor desk, admission charge or shared opening schedule.
Link it with the castle-town walk
The association's model walk starts at Kintetsu Koriyama Station, visits Koriyama Castle Ruins, descends to Honke Kikuya at the north end of the shopping street, continues south to Koriyama Hachiman Shrine, then returns north through the shops. The association estimates about 120 minutes for that wider circuit, before extra time for tanks, meals or shopping. This route is a suggested town walk, not a guided tour or guarantee that each stop is open. The castle ruins and shrine have separate access conditions; check their individual guides and current notices.
What to look for
Storefront tanks with a changing selection of goldfish
A short walk through a historic castle-town shopping quarter
Optional Okingyocho stamp route and phone-based Kingyo Collection
Photo notes
No photographs are currently cleared for MyNara publication. Obtain written permission before using association or shop imagery, avoid identifiable shoppers and respect each business's photography rules.
Make a day of it
Explore guides close to this map point, then check the actual route before travelling. Distances below are straight lines, not walking distances or travel times; map points may not be entrances.
Sources & editorial status
Original MyNara draft based on the linked sources. Sources reviewed 24 October 2026. Opening arrangements, prices and offers may change; use the operator's current information before travelling.
- Yanagimachi Shopping Association — Kingyo Street and tank displays
- Yanagimachi Shopping Association — current shop map, transit and model walk
- Yanagimachi Shopping Association — current Kingyo Collection rules, phone-local save and fish availability
- Yanagimachi Shopping Association — current Okingyocho editions, prices and sellers
- Yanagimachi Shopping Association — member shops and present tank participation
- Nara Prefecture — Yanagimachi Shopping Street / Kingyo Street visitor introduction
- Yanagimachi Shopping Association — district history and group background
- Yamato Koriyama City — goldfish-industry history