Tokyo, Japan - Yanaka

Now what we've pretty much covered the basics of travel to Japan (language, money, food, accommodation, transportation) I'm ready to discuss some of the amazing places I went.

Japan is divided into a bunch of sub-areas: prefectures and municipalities, which are then further divided into villages, cities, and towns. So when talking about Tokyo, I'm more likely to reference a specific town or city within Tokyo, such as Shibuya, or Kichijoji. You can never really just say "what's there to do in Tokyo?". It's just too big.

Yanaka:

Yanaka Cemetery

Buddha at Tennoji Teample

Yanaka is an older area of Japan rich with shrines and lighter on the sky scrapers, easily accessible from Nippori Station. The biggest draw to Yanaka may be the Yanaka Cemetery. Around 7 thousand graves are beautifully decorated and surrounded by walking paths and flora. The area is quiet and relaxing and definitely worth a stroll. The Cemetery also houses the ruins of a Five Story Pagoda, made famous by it's burning in 1957 during the Double-Suicide Arson Case.

At the edge of the cemetery closest to Nippori station, and at the end of Sakura-dori Street, is the Tennoji Temple. The cemetery used to be a part of this temple, but was confiscated in 1872 to be made into a public resting ground. A large bronze statue of Buddha sits to the left of the Temple grounds and the area is beautiful. With this being our first visit to a Temple we worried we may do something inadvertently offensive or go the wrong way somewhere. But the worries were unfounded, and two older Japanese men even tried to have a conversation with us, asking where we were from and how we were enjoying the town.

Leaving the Cemetery you can walk to Yanaka Ginza, a shopping street, at the bottom of a a long set of stairs, with an old feel and plenty to choose from. Several restaurants also line the street. There's a great mix of practical stores, food shops, and souvenir/trinket stores.

Buddha at Zensho-en Temple

Walking throughout Yanaka will bring you to a multitude of shrines and temples. Among them are Kannonji Temple, dedicated to the 47 Ronin who plotted revenge on their master's killer. It's alleged that some of their plotting took place at this temple. The Zensho-en Temple is home to a twenty-foot, golden Buddha. The largest area belongs to the Nezu Shrine, one of Japan's oldest. This beautiful woodsy area creates a beautiful stroll. Within the Shrine is another, smaller Shrine, the Otome Inari Shrine, led to by a path covered with small torii gates.

Torii Gates at Nezu Shrine

The entrence to the Nezu Shrine

There are many, many more small and large temples and shrines located in Yanaka alone. Although they're all accessible through a walk, it would take an entire day to visit them all. While that wouldn't be a bad way to spend a day, there are lots of suggestions for walking tours online that hit highlights of the city.

Otome Inari Shrine