Tokyo holds the promise of bright city lights, unrivalled pop culture and excellent sushi. But in a city that’s bigger and busier than any other, the neighbourhood of Yanaka offers a welcome change of pace.
Sitting just minutes away from the city’s busy Ueno Park, Yanaka was the area we first stayed in when we arrived in Japan and the last place we visited before we left. And it totally stole my heart.
Touted as one of Tokyo's most traditional districts, having been mostly unaffected by both World War II bombing and the area’s many major fires, Yanaka offers insight into a Tokyo of days gone by. Not in a loud, Disney-esque, tourist attracting kind of way, but in a quiet, endearing, we-are-just-going-about-our-business-in-this-adorable-neighbourhood kind of way. It’s also known as “cat town”, with a sizeable cat population and lots of cat-themed charm.
The main strip of Yanaka Ginza starts with steps known as Yūyake Dandan, meaning Sunset Steps, unsurprisingly a popular place to watch as the sky goes pink at dusk. This run of shops, stalls and cafes is an unpretentious but charming display of unchanging everyday life. Locals buying essential produce mix with curious tourists and while it’s rarely quiet, it’s also always possible to be able to look around at all the interesting low level buildings around you and take it all in - by no means a given in Tokyo.
Here you can buy delicate sweet doughnuts in the shape of cats tails, traditional Japanese pottery and Niku no Suzuki, little minced meat cutlets that are the area’s famous street food stars.
Beyond the steps towards Nippori station, open fronted shops boast rails of some of the prettiest-yet-cheapest kimonos we found anywhere, sold alongside vintage treasures at prices too tempting to possibly leave behind.
But as great as the shopping and the street food is, much of Yanaka’s enchanting sense of calm comes from an altogether less obvious source, its ornamental and vast cemetery. Far from being a grey, dark and sad spot, Yanaka Cemetery features a grand cherry blossom-lined boulevard that transports you from the station either through to Yanaka Ginza or south, deeper into the district.
In the surrounding small streets, back-packed small children return from school alone and elderly homeowners water the many plants that line their building facades, all fully unphased by the few tourists that do pass through.
The best bit for me? Probably the brilliant lady selling incredible kimono for as little as £3. Sign up to paid subscription for my map showing exactly where to find her and to read my tips on top places to eat, drink, shop and stay in Yanaka.
Ueno
Of course we did explore onwards into Ueno, for the park, shopping and the promise of swan-shaped pedalos.
Arriving in early April at the end of this year’s cherry blossom, Ueno Park was alive with stalls and scattered with falling petals marking the sad end of a super early Sakura season.
The scale of the park and its promenades, along with its temples, make it a stunning destination regardless of the season or whether you are visiting the area’s zoo or museums.
We gleefully headed out onto the jetty of the park lake to hire two person pedalos (despite the fact that it’s an activity I associate more with Spanish beaches than Japanese cities) for a unique perspective of the Tokyo skyline and and a break from the bustling tourist crowds.
With the threat of both rainfall and nightfall we moved on to explore the Ameyoko Shopping district, a warren of shops and stalls selling everything and anything, set in the shadow of the massive main Ueno Station.
Senso-ji
Across to the other side of the Taito City Ward is one of Tokyo’s most visited temples, Senso-ji. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was one of the most traditionally touristy places we went to - incredibly busy with a mix of international tourists and Japanese children on school trips and stall holders selling them souvenirs.
The temple’s beautiful structures and bright colours are a huge draw, but our favourite part was drawing omikuji, our paper fortunes (despite lacking in any faith, buddhist or otherwise). At one of the temple’s pagodas you drop 100 yen in a box, select a stick at random while making a wish, then open the drawer that corresponds to the number on the stick to reveal your fortune.
If the fortune tells you something good, you can keep it, if it’s something bad, you can tie it to a structure at the side of the pagoda and resolve to change your destiny (or indeed remind yourself that you don’t actually believe in destiny). It’s an enchanting exercise, whatever you belief system.
Tokyo Skytree
We headed east on foot from the traditional delights of Senso-ji to the altogether more modern heights of the Tokyo Sky-Tree. At 634 metres it’s the world’s tallest tower and second tallest building, a behemoth of a structure shooting out of a huge shopping centre and offering unbelievable views.
The shops below are as great as they are difficult to navigate, with seemingly endless food courts and boutiques to weave your way through. Our highlights included the dedicated Studio Ghibli store, the famous/infamous Kirby Cafe and shop (book way in advance here) and the best character shop we found in all of Tokyo.
But getting a ticket to the top of the Skytree is a must (unless you are afraid of heights). You can buy tickets from a screen on arrival, or in advance online. These views need to be seen to be believed and even attempted explanations seem futile. Every time the lift to the top opened all you could hear were gasps, as everyone emerged and started to take in the sheer scale of the city below.
We visited on our final day in Tokyo and it felt like a suitably mind blowing way to finish what had been a mad adventure.
This sees me signing off on our Tokyo tales and will be my final post of 2023, but the good/bad news is there's still more Japan spam to come.
For more on Yanaka, paid subscribers will find my mini neighbourhood guide and map below.
In the new year I will be back with 48 Hours in Kyoto and 48 Hours In and Around Osaka (including a bonkers beach trip and the futuristic yet infuriating joys of Super Nintendo World).
Thank you for your support this year and for reading this Substack. I’m excited to take you to new places in 2024.
My Yanaka Guide below
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