TSUKIJI FISH MARKET
Will it or won’t it? As of the time this was written—and very likely when you are reading it, too—the future of Japan’s largest market and one of Tokyo’s finest foodie destinations is up in the air. In November 2016, large parts of Tsukiji Market, a twenty-minute walk southeast of Ginza, should have begun relocating to a new site in nearby Toyosu, but a soil contamination scandal at the new (and fully built) market has put that in doubt. How long it will be delayed or whether the relocation will even be canceled, nobody seems to know for sure, but the upshot is this—you might still be able to visit Tsukiji. The early-morning tuna auctions here are worth a 4am alarm just by themselves, but mix that with a walk around the multiple warehouses and inner and market areas, where some sixty thousand wholesalers, buyers and shippers trade two thousand tons of seafood and other produce daily and you get to experience one of Tokyo’s most colorful and energetic spots. Even better, the sushi and other seafood breakfasts available at the many restaurants in and around the market don’t come any fresher.
Ginza is home to some of the city’s finest and most exclusive sushi restaurants, but the freshest can be found at Tsukiji Market, southeast of Ginza.
ASAKUSA, UENO AND THE EAST END
Glimpses of Tokyo Old and New
Asakusa and its neighboring areas form the heart of Tokyo’s shitamachi (literally “low town”)—the city’s traditional working-class east side—and are the perfect counterpoint to the sleek and chic parts of central Tokyo. Forget European boutiques and cosmopolitan malls, swanky cafés and hipster fashion—this is the real Tokyo; friendly, chatty, sometimes a bit rough around the edges, full of color and packed with history.
Looking back at the history of Asakusa, the area grew up around what is still its most famous sight, Sensoji, a temple that legend has it was founded in the early 600s to house a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, fished out of the nearby Sumida River by two brothers. While Sensoji has gone through numerous incarnations since (that happens in a disaster-prone city like Tokyo), its current look comfortably makes it Tokyo’s standout temple. Smack in the middle of Tokyo’s far-from-glitzy east-end urban sprawl, the 39-foot (12-meter) high, 39-foot wide Kaminarimon roofed gateway to the complex is in stark contrast to its surroundings, although that’s only the start of things. What follows is a colorful stall-lined street that leads onto the even more imposing, 72-foot (22-meter) high Hozomon Gate, which then gives way to Sensoji’s five-story pagoda and main hall. It’s frequently crowded with tourists and all the touristy touches that come with that (rickshaw rides included), but nevertheless it’s an incredible complex.
Away from Sensoji, a walk around Asakusa also provides a glimpse at the area’s pre-World War Two position as Tokyo’s main entertainment district, with places like the rickety, retro and tiny Hanayashiki amusement park, which once was one of Tokyo’s major draws because of its now sedate-feeling roller coaster (the first in Japan in 1953). Then there’s Rokku Broadway, a street traditionally known for its theaters, like Engei Hall, the place to catch classic shitamachi comic storytelling such as rakugo and slapstick manzai standup acts. For street food, spilling out onto the backstreets around here are also some of Tokyo’s most welcoming and cheap-and-cheerful yakitori (chargrilled chicken) restaurants.
A couple of stations north of Asakusa is Ueno, another vibrant shitamachi district. In spring, Ueno Park is one of the liveliest places in Japan to take in the annual front of pink cherry blossoms, with picnickers and partiers filling the park from morning to night during the blossoms’ fleeting visit. Besides that, alongside a zoo (if that’s your thing), Toshogu shrine, and a lily-covered lake around which food stalls often set up, Ueno boasts an impressive collection of museums, including the magnificent collection at Tokyo National Museum, which covers everything from priceless seventh-and eighth-century artifacts from Horyuji Temple in Nara to armor, ceramics, screen paintings, and tea utensils. Quite different in its focus, another museum well worth the admission is the Shitamachi Museum, which brings old Tokyo to life with exhibits that include a reconstruction of a cramped 1920s tenement row. In the now, the shitamachi vibe in Ueno is best felt in and around the Ameya Yokocho Market, a long street full of fish and vegetable stalls, budget clothing and accessories, teas and dried foods, which starts across the road from Ueno Station and follows the elevated train lines, merging and connecting with more backstreets that reveal a slew of cheap eateries and tachinomiya (standing bars)—the perfect place to grab a bite and a drink and mix with normal Tokyoites.
Look east over the Sumida River from Asakusa and you get to see one of Tokyo’s most distinctive views; the combination of the 2,080-foot (634-meter) Tokyo Skytree tower, the world’s second tallest structure when finished in 2012, and the older head offices of Asahi Breweries, where one building is designed to look like a frothy glass of beer and the other has odd-looking “flames” built onto it that have earned it the unfortunate nickname unchi biru (turd building). From this part of Asakusa, you can also get a different view of Tokyo with a boat trip, heading down the Sumida River to the Hamarikyu Gardens or nearby Tsukiji Market (page 31) or further to Odaiba.
On the way south the boat passes (but doesn’t stop at) Ryogoku, home to Japan’s main sumo stadium, the Kokugikan, which hosts three fifteen-day tournaments annually (in January, May and September). This being the center of Japan’s sumo world, you’ll also find many sumo stables here and in neighboring areas (some of which can be visited as parts of organized tours), as well as numerous restaurants specializing in chanko nabe, the substantial hot pot eaten by sumo wrestlers to maintain their famous bulk.
Nakamise-dori is the street that runs between Sensoji Temple’s two towering gates, delivering a colorful mix of touristy souvenirs, moreish snacks and the occasional local craft.
Girls in patterned kimono in front of the Hozomon Gate and its iconic red lantern.
New and old merge In Asakusa’s skyline, with Sensoji Temple’s ancient five-level pagoda and the spanking new Tokyo Skytree tower.
Sensoji Temple’s pagoda and the massive Hozomon Gate.
You won’t see a local in one, but rickshaws can be a fun way to see the sights.
A vendor selling manju, a kind of sweet bun filled with things like red-bean paste.
Tokyo National Museum.
Ueno Park is one of Tokyo’s most popular cherry blossom party spots.
Ameya
