The Kojima district has been known as a “textile town” since the Meiji era.
As its name suggests, Kojima Jeans Street is home to nearly 40 shops specializing in jeans and denim. These range from stores regarded as pioneers of Japanese-made jeans to custom-tailoring boutiques and shops specializing in denim accessories.
This area was once known as the Ajino Shopping Street. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was the liveliest district in Kojima, bustling with women working in sewing factories who came here to shop for daily necessities.
Over time, however, the area declined due to population aging and the rise of large-scale retail stores.
Even Kojima’s famous jeans industry mainly consisted of manufacturing factories, and there were few places where tourists could actually purchase products directly.
Attention then turned to the old buildings and vacant shops that had once housed businesses such as banks and post offices within the shopping street. Local manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce worked together with property owners one by one to open retail stores, leading to the birth of Kojima Jeans Street.
Today, even the vending machines and public restrooms are decorated with denim-inspired designs.
The pavement itself is colored indigo blue, and the red lines running alongside the white road markings are designed to resemble red stitching sewn onto white fabric to prevent fraying. These carefully crafted details are among the unique charms of the area.