Yanaka

Yanaka is a low-rise district in Taito ward, just north of Ueno, where narrow lanes, wooden shopfronts and small temples have survived since long before the high-rises went up elsewhere in the city. Its best-known stretch, Yanaka Ginza, is a covered shopping street lined with butchers, bakeries and snack stalls selling goods at old-town prices. Nearby, Yanaka Cemetery's tree-lined paths and Tennoji Temple's bronze Buddha make it one of the few central Tokyo areas that still feels like the old capital.

Yanaka sits within Taito ward, a few minutes' walk from Nippori and Sendagi stations, and forms part of the Yanesen area (Yanaka, Nezu, Sendagi) prized for retaining Tokyo's pre-war shitamachi character. Its main draw is Yanaka Ginza, a pedestrian shopping street of roughly 70 independent shops, best viewed from the Yuyake Dandan steps at sunset. Yanaka Cemetery, once part of Tennoji Temple, holds the grave of the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and its Sakura-dori is popular during cherry blossom season. Most shops trade from 10:00-18:00 and many close Mondays, making the district a self-guided walking itinerary rather than a single ticketed site.