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Most of the tourists, the first time to Tokyo, it is inevitable to go to the “Asakusa Temple”. But I later heard Asakusa to head big, in front of the eyes of the great number of people.
It is not the same as Shibuya, Shinjuku view. Because the commercial center is mainly modern, people and neon, huge electronic screens, street performances and so on, these visual elements have a kind of mutual support, the formation of the city market area to make people excited. It's a bit like watching a Hong Kong movie as a kid, with a sense of street storytelling, hustle and bustle.
🤗 01 Asakusa Temple Neighborhood
Asakusa Rokku, Hanayashiki, Hoppy-dori, Sukiyoshien, Sumida River, etc.
Asakusa is also a bustling city, once called the “No.1 downtown in Edo”, but compared to Shibuya and Shinjuku, it has its own complex attributes:
The ancient elegance of the temples, the urban sophistication of the downtown area, and the sight of tourists from all over the world in kimono, all mixed together, elegant, vulgar, traditional, modern, grounded, and abstract, might be called the contemporary flavor of Asakusa.
Yasunari Kawabata quoted Junichiro Tanizaki's description of Asakusa: "There is no place that flows as intensely as the Asakusa area. This area cuts a vortex, a special kind of vortex, out of the slow tides. And this vortex, year after year, expands its annual cycle, widens its ripples, and continually annexes and nurtures in passing what floats by around it."
As long as you leave the tourist-heavy areas, there are still a few places in Asakusa that are somewhat enjoyable.
There are quiet streets with a view of the Skytree.
And all the old flavors from the old days.
There are also several old-fashioned izakaya (pubs) in Hoppy-dori, where rows of bright light bulbs shine in the midday sunlight, adding to the sense of the common people and the atmosphere of the town.
You can enjoy the old days of Shitamachi by eating soft and tasty beef suji and drinking shochu on the street.
Another day, I bought an eel onigiri (rice ball) at Hatsunekoji Eatery Street, and there was no place to eat it, so I just stood in a small corner of a deserted alleyway and nibbled on it quietly (there is a real sense of shame when you eat on the road... ......).
It's right in front of Asakusa Hanayashiki, the oldest amusement park in Japan.
One could faintly see a corner of colorful entertainment and hear the sounds coming from inside, mixed with laughter and the occasional squeal, and the air was filled with the smell of joy and nostalgia.
While we're on the subject of food, I'd also like to recommend Shou Shikien in Asakusa.
Their matcha ice cream is very well made, and there are seven levels of matcha flavors to choose from, with “Level 7” using the highest grade of matcha from the award-winning tea plantation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which is really good as it has a strong flavor without being too sweet.
I won't go into all the other details. As long as you leave some room for sightseeing, Asakusa has a different side to it.
What many tourists don't realize is that Asakusa is also home to some of the island's living fossils of traditional performing arts.
Since the end of the 19th century, Asakusa has been a center for performing arts and popular entertainment, and has been home to many theaters. In the Sixth Ward, photographs of famous actors, singers, and entertainers who graced the stages of Asakusa's major theaters during the Showa period hang from lampposts on both sides of the street.
When I watched Takeshi Kitano's biopic “Asakusa Kid”, I realized that the “French Block” in Asakusa's Sixth Ward can be considered the starting point of Takeshi Kitano's career. He worked here as an elevator operator back then, and later went on to study under a teacher to make his debut as a funny artist.
Takeshi Kitano's years at the “Seat of France” were a time of laughter, tears and embarrassment that is hard to describe.
He once said, “Asakusa is everything”.
As time passes, the whirlpool of Asakusa still expands year after year, annexing and nurturing something newer. And those old days, for Takeshi Kitano, may contain the meaning of forever.
In my opinion, these stories and traces of time are also the most moving thing about Asakusa.
🤗 02 Hapu-bashi Props Street
More than 170 kitchen grocery stores with a lot of beautiful artifacts.
Around Asakusa, there are two other neighborhoods where you can go shopping in about 20 minutes on foot.
The first one is “Habashibashi Produce Street”.
With a length of 800 meters and about 170 stores on both sides of the street, it is said to be the number one shopping street for professional cooking utensils in Tokyo and Japan as a whole, with a history dating back to 1912.
My first visit I was taken aback by the heads. This aesthetic is not very understandable, but I have to say that the positioning of this street is also clear at a glance ......
Props Street is full of kitchen and dining related items, but it's not boring at all. There are both popular kitchen groceries as well as a variety of small stores. You can dive in and look around for a long time.
There are also stores specializing in knives, brushes, and more, so it feels like you've exhausted your kitchen's possibilities. The Tsubaya Boudin store, for example, has over 1,500 knives of all kinds, which is a real shock to a lazy kitchen person like me who can't do without a knife.
But I still prefer to look at the cups and plates, the aesthetics of Japanese life are all there.
There is a high density of stores here, so you can browse from store to shop.
When you come to Asakusa for the first time, it's hard to avoid buying souvenirs at Nakamise Shopping Street. I'd say you can really skip that side of the street, because there are so many good things to see in Hababashi.
However, it's still mostly residents and Western tourists who come here.
Speaking of which, I can't help but feel a little bit emotional: from what I've observed in Tokyo over the past year or so, the depth of the tourist experience is not as deep as it is for Westerners. When I saw foreigners busy packing a meter-long knife and various cups, plates and dishes on the prop street of Hapu Bridge, I couldn't help but think that they probably have a set of travel strategies that are completely different from ours.
🤗 03 Zaoqian
There are many small handmade stores and cafes.
There's also a neighborhood called “Zaoqian” near Asakusa, which is also my favorite neighborhood. (For those who like the urban style, you can go to the more famous “SKYTREE”)
However, as the word “hide” suggests, the aesthetic of Zaoqian is a bit secretive. If you don't look hard enough, you'll find this neighborhood a bit old and desolate. It's one stop away from Asakusa, but it feels like two different worlds.
If you want to be at least 8 out of 10 in terms of leisure and 9 out of 10 in terms of literary hobbies, you should go to Zaoqian again. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll scold me.
Compared to Hapu Bridge, this place is both good and bad.
It's good because there are a lot of cafes, so it's a good place to walk around. The small stores are mostly handicraft stores and independent design studios, which are a mix of work culture and artistic style, and have a more advanced taste.
Highly popular confectionery + cafe “Kissa Hanmochi”
The reason it's not a good place to shop is because the stores are scattered and some of them are hidden away.
But that's exactly why, if you want to stroll around, you can immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of this neighborhood - if you don't have three cups of coffee, examine a few pieces of handmade pottery, and finish a slow brunch in front of the Sumida River, I'm afraid you won't be able to be sure it's really not shabby, but artsy ～～😂.
Cafe (蕪木)
People like me, who have a preference for shabby aesthetics, can appreciate its coolness and dilapidation.
Sometimes it reminds me of what Kijiro Kajii said, “It's like a street with a purpose that is about to return to the earth after being eroded by the wind and rain.
Of course, Zaoqian wasn't really broken. That's just part of its sedate vibe. Sometimes it feels romantic, or detached, all sorts of things.
When it's sunny in the fall, I suddenly want to go to Zaoqian, just walk along the bank of the Sumida River, enjoy the breeze, and sit at a riverside cafe with a wide and transparent view.
As for the little stores in Zaoqian, I won't go into all of them. However, some of the small personalized stores are hidden on the second floor, so it still takes a while to pick them out. Take your time!
You can make your own notebooks and ink at the “Kakimori” stationery store.
Frobergue, a vintage bookstore where you can buy loose pages.
All kinds of simple store signs, and a lot of handmade craftsmen's stores are hidden upstairs.
There's a density and an emptiness to Tokyo, and I've often switched between the feelings of walking from Asakusa to Zaozen, or from Ueno to Nippori, and I'm always amazed by the city.
- Author:japan guides
- URL:https://japan-guides.com/article/culture-122
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