Yanaka and Nezu: old Tokyo from Nippori to Nezu Shrine: a walk in Tokyo

The best-preserved shitamachi streets in central Tokyo: temple lanes and a cherry-lined cemetery, an artist's house-studio, a bathhouse turned gallery, the lantern-lined Yanaka Ginza shopping street and the winding Hebimichi lane down to Nezu Shrine.

Best time: Late morning to sunset on a weekday (many Yanaka Ginza shops close on Mondays); finish at Yuyake Dandan near sunset if you reverse the middle part.

The route, stop by stop

1
Nippori Station
Leave by the west exit and climb the slope into Yanaka. 5 min
2
Tennō-ji (Yanaka)
Temple of which Yanaka Cemetery was once a part, until the two were separated in the Meiji period. 10 min
3
Yanaka Cemetery
Wide, quiet paths between old graves, the tomb of Tokugawa Yoshinobu (the last shogun), and Sakura-dori, the cherry avenue through the centre. 25 min
A large old cemetery once part of Tennoji temple, with wide quiet paths, local cats and the graves of famous Meiji-era figures such as Shibusawa Eiichi; the last shogun, Tokugawa…
4
SCAI The Bathhouse
A former public bath, now a contemporary art gallery showing Japanese avant-garde and international artists; check the current show. 15 min
5
Asakura Museum of Sculpture
House and studio of the sculptor Fumio Asakura (1883-1964), now a museum. 45 min
The house and studio of the sculptor Fumio Asakura (1883-1964), which he designed in 1936 to blend modernism with Japanese tradition. At its heart is a rock and water garden he…
6
Yuyake Dandan
The 'Sunset Steps' at the top of Yanaka Ginza, named for the evening glow over the street. 5 min
7
Yanaka Ginza
About 60 shops on a 170 m lantern-lined street: buy street food as you walk (croquettes and pork cutlets, sweet potatoes, chestnuts) and look for the seven lucky-cat statues. 40 min
The shotengai that best keeps the shitamachi feel of Yanaka, thriving while many old shopping streets decline: small independent shops sell meat, fish, vegetables, tea and…
8
Hebimichi
Hebimichi ('snake road'), a narrow winding back lane through Yanaka towards Nezu, typical of the shitamachi alleys. 15 min
9
Nezu Shrine
One of the historic sites tucked among the back alleys of Nezu, a calm place to end the walk. 30 min
Built on its present site in the early 1700s on the order of shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, in the style of Nikko's Toshogu; the original buildings are Important Cultural…

Walking directions

Yanaka and Nezu: old Tokyo from Nippori to Nezu Shrine

The route, stop by stop

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