A woman wearing a cap and a mask rode her bicycle through the dimly lit aisle

At the south exit of Shinjuku Station, there is a fashion building called NEWoMan, which is targeted at high quality and genuine adult women, and if you go to the Takashimaya department store, you can find high brand stores. The area has a slightly stylish atmosphere. There are also stores selling sporting goods and outdoor equipment, which may give the area a healthy image. However, I believe that the real owner of the south exit is not such sporting goods stores, camping goods stores, or high-brand stores. The real master is WINS Shinjuku.

WINS Shinjuku is an off-track ticket office of the Japan Central Racing Association located in Shinjuku. In layman's terms, it is a place where horse racing tickets are sold. WINS Shinjuku was opened in 1949, just after the war, and was originally located in Shinjuku 3-Chome. It was then moved to Shinjuku West Exit and then relocated to its current location in 1965, which means it has been in the same place for about 60 years.

Sixty years ago, there were no sporting goods or camping goods stores, let alone NEWoMan, and Shinjuku Freight Station was located where now the Takashimaya department store is. WINS Shinjuku has been here since those days and continues to do business. Even now, when horse races are held, the streets are filled with people who have come to buy tickets, which reminds me that it is the owner of Shinjuku South Exit, which is a part of public gambling.

Unfortunately, WINS Shinjuku was closed on this day because it was not a horse race day. The area was quiet, with no one coming to buy tickets, nor were there any security guards on the street nearby to control traffic. The tunnel-like passageway in front of it was only occasionally used by people passing through.