East Tokyo
The Low City, Dawn to Sunset
A west-running line across the old low city, timed to the hour each street opens — from a temple hall unlocked before seven, shutters still down along its approach, to a flight of steps named for the sunset.
4 stops · one day
The route
- 01
Tokyo · Asakusa · From Tokyo Stn · ~15-20 min · Better early
Senso-ji
Tokyo's oldest temple at its quietest: at dawn the 250-metre approach is near-empty.
What to look for
- Kaminarimon Gate — the signature gate with its giant red paper lantern
- Nakamise-dori — about 89 shops lining the 250-metre approach
- Main hall (Hondo) — the heart of the temple, enshrining Kannon; opens early each morning
- 02
Tokyo · Taito-ku / Ueno–Okachimachi · From Tokyo Stn · ~5 min
Ameyoko
Four hundred shops under a railway viaduct, prices shouted out loud — the postwar black market that never stopped trading.
What to look for
- The viaduct stretch — the section where shops trade directly under the railway arches, with trains passing overhead
- Fresh fish and seafood stalls — the loudest part of the street — vendors call prices and cut to order in the open
- Dried goods, nuts and sweets — the trade the street was named for, still sold by weight from open bins
- 03
Tokyo · Taito-ku / Ueno · From Tokyo Stn · ~5 min
Ueno Park
Tokyo's great cultural commons — Japan's oldest museum, a Le Corbusier UNESCO building, and a lotus pond, all in one park.
What to look for
- Tokyo National Museum — Japan's oldest and largest museum, founded 1882; Japanese art and archaeology across several buildings
- National Museum of Western Art — Le Corbusier-designed building (1959), UNESCO World Heritage; the best Western art collection in Japan
- Shinobazu Pond — a large pond at the park's southwest corner; lotus beds in summer, Benten-do island shrine, resident cormorants
- 04
Central Tokyo · Yanaka · From Ueno Stn · ~5 min
Yanaka Ginza
170 metres of postwar downtown Tokyo, five minutes off the Yamanote Line — and one of the city's few genuine eat-as-you-walk streets.
What to look for
- Yuyake Dandan — the flight of steps at the Nippori end, named for the sunset that falls straight down the length of the street
- The street itself — about 170 metres and roughly seventy shops, most of them small and family-run, from butchers and greengrocers to sweet shops
- The seven wooden cats — carved cats placed on the shopfronts and roofs along the street — spotting all of them is the local game