Yanaka Ginza

Yanaka Ginza, a shotengai or shopping street between Sendagi and Nippori is taste of old Tokyo. Dilapidation is key in this neighborhood, where many houses, shops (and their owners) date back many decades. A great place to sample some traditional “street food”, like korroke (Japanese croquet), taiyaki and katsu, or pick up some traditional Japanese pottery, tea or cat themed merchandise.

The surrounding area is also home to several temples, shrines, a large cemetary and cats! Yanaka is perhaps the best spot in Tokyo for cat spotting as it houses a number of friendly feral felines.

Recently (and perhaps inevitably) a few slightly more hip cafes are creeping into the hood, but there’s still some distinctly “non third wave coffee” options (like yanaka coffee) if you want to keep it old skool.

So, in summary then – traditional Tokyo plus cats.