"The Honch" ---- is also どぶ板通り

When the Japan Imperial Navy's Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was established in the late 19th Century, the nearby "Hon-Cho" residential & commercial district, was where shops and restaurants were set-up to cater to the Japanese sailors and shipyard employees, etc.

After World War II, the Hon-Cho shopping & entertainment street continued its business, except that its customer base shifted to include U.S. military personnel ..... and, at some point, with all the U.S, Navy ships' liberty parties and other sailors going there for "rest & recreation", the area came to be known as "The Honch"...

       











Notice the name at the bottom in blue letters?  .....  "Dobuita"  .....  That is what Japanese people call The Honch ..... the complete name is: どぶ板通り  Dobu-Ita Dori, which literally means "Covered Creek Street"...

As mentioned above, from the 1860s through the 1940s, the Hon-Cho shopping street catered to customers from the nearby Yokosuka Naval Arsenal ..... originally, there was a small stream or creek (called: どぶ  "dobu") which ran along the street; and, as things got busier over time, it became a nuisance and a traffic hazard ..... so, the Naval Arsenal manufactured a bunch of thick steel plates (板  "ita") which were then laid-down to cover the creek, thereby making the street safer and more convenient for pedestrians and wheeled traffic.