Tokyo Metropole & Greater Kanto · Tokyo, Shitamachi

Old Tokyo on foot: Senso-ji, Ueno, Yanaka, Nezu and Kanda

7 km through Shitamachi, the low city that was never destroyed: the temple at sunrise, a park with a lotus pond, a cat neighborhood with a cherry-tree cemetery, udon in a 100-year-old warehouse, a feudal garden, and a shrine that blesses technology. A day that is mostly free.

Old Tokyo, almost all of it on foot, through Shitamachi, the low city that survived. You start at Senso-ji in the morning, walk west to Ueno Park and the lotus pond, continue north to the alleys of Yanaka, and go down to lunch in Nezu. In the afternoon there are two short metro rides: to Korakuen, the feudal garden, and to Kanda Myojin, the shrine that blesses computers. In the evening you eat under the railway arches in Kanda. About 7 km on foot, and most of the day is free.

Verified online, September 20267 stops · 08:00 to 20:30¥5,300 · ≈ $34 per personWalking between stops: 122 min · Transport: ¥360Shabbat-friendly7 km walkAlmost freeShabbat-friendly

The day on a map

7 stops, in order

Stops: 7
Walking minutes: 89

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

On Shabbat: Senso-ji, Ueno Park, Yanaka Ginza, Yanaka Cemetery, Nezu Shrine and Kanda Myojin: all free and in one continuous walk. Korakuen Garden (¥300) and lunch at Kamachiku are left for another day. Sleep in Asakusa or Ueno.

Getting there: Start at Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line or the Asakusa Line. Exit 1 leads straight to Kaminarimon. Almost the whole way is on foot, with two short metro rides in the afternoon, ¥180 each. You finish in Kanda, and head back from there on the Ginza Line or the JR.

08:0009:30
Stop 1TempleMust
Senso-ji and Kaminarimon Gate before the tour groups
You start at Senso-ji, the oldest temple in the city, from 628, always open and free. At 08:00 Nakamise Street is still closed behind painted shutters, and you can photograph Kaminarimon gate and the giant lantern without people. A fortune slip costs ¥100.
¥100 · ≈ $1Open in Maps About this place
Walk to Ueno Park
- Walk · 36 minAbout 2.9 km west, along Asakusa-dori to Ueno Station, and from there to Shinobazu Pond on the south side of the park.
- or: Metro · 24 min · ¥180Ginza Line from Asakusa to Ueno, 3 stations, 5 minutes, and from the station about 8 minutes on foot to the pond.
On the way you can stop at:
Kappabashi Street: It crosses your route halfway: 800 meters of shops for chefs, Japanese knives and plastic food. Most shops are closed on Sundays.
10:0511:00
Stop 2ParkMust
Ueno Park and Shinobazu Pond: lotus and a pagoda
Shinobazu Pond is covered in lotus, which blooms in July and August, and in its middle is the Benten hall, on an island. The park also has a 5-story pagoda, inside the zoo, and a small gilded Toshogu shrine, Tokyo's version of Nikko, ¥500 for the inner precinct. The park is free. It has 8 museums, but today you walk.
FreeOpen in Maps About this place
On to Yanaka
- Walk · 25 minAbout 2 km north, from the north end of the park through the quiet streets of Yanaka, to the Yuyake Dandan steps at the top of the street.
- or: Train · 20 min · ¥160JR Yamanote Line from Ueno to Nippori, 2 stations, about 4 minutes. From the West Exit it is 5 minutes on foot to the steps.
11:2512:30
Stop 3NeighborhoodMust
Yanaka Ginza and the cemetery: cat town
The neighborhood that was only lightly damaged in the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 bombings. Yanaka Ginza is a 170-meter shopping street with 60 shops: senbei, menchi katsu from the butcher, and cats carved in wood on the shops. Yanaka Cemetery has an avenue of cherry trees and graves of shoguns. The Yuyake Dandan steps are the sunset spot, but they are pretty at midday too. All free.
¥400 · ≈ $3Open in Maps About this place
Down to lunch in Nezu
- Walk · 17 minAbout 1.3 km: carry on west along Yomise-dori to Shinobazu-dori, and turn south along it to Nezu.
On the way you can stop at:
Isetatsu: The publishing house of chiyogami, paper decorated with Japanese patterns, since 1864, near Sendagi Station. A pack of 30 sheets is ¥1,155, and it is open every day.
12:4514:00
Stop 4LunchRecommended
Lunch break in Nezu
Nezu is the quiet corner of the walk. Nezu Shrine, with its tunnel of small torii gates, is 5 minutes from here and free. In April its azaleas bloom, and the azalea garden opens only during the festival, for a donation of ¥500 to ¥1,000. Eat near the shrine:
- Nezu Kamachiku
  Udon in a brick warehouse from 1910 with a garden: kama-age udon, hot noodles in a wooden tub, or a lunch set. Open every day for lunch and dinner, lunch 11:30 to 15:00 (Sundays until 16:00). On Sundays and Mondays only kake udon in broth is served. At lunch there are no reservations and there is a line, so arrive at 12:45, when the first wave leaves.
- Nezu no YaVegan, not kosher
  A vegan restaurant and cafe in Japanese style, near Exit 1 of Nezu Station, a few minutes from Kamachiku. 11:30 to 16:00, last order at 15:00. Closing days follow the calendar on their website.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,500 · ≈ $10No reservations at lunchOpen in Maps
Ride to Korakuen Garden
- Metro · 25 min · ¥180Walk up about 12 minutes to Todaimae Station on the Namboku Line, ride one station to Korakuen, 3 minutes, and from the station it is 8 minutes on foot to the garden gate.
- or: Walk · 38 minAbout 3 km on foot, if you want to walk the whole day.
14:2515:45
Stop 5GardenRecommended
Koishikawa Korakuen: the oldest feudal garden in Tokyo
The garden of the Mito-Tokugawa family, from 1629: a pond, a Chinese moon bridge and a maple grove, in the shadow of the Tokyo Dome. Entry ¥300, open 09:00 to 17:00, last entry at 16:30. In autumn foliage season, at the end of November, the garden is lit up in the evening.
¥300 · ≈ $2Open in Maps About this place
Ride to Kanda Myojin
- Metro · 20 min · ¥180From the gate it is 8 minutes to Korakuen Station, then the Marunouchi Line to Ochanomizu, 2 stations, 3 minutes, and from Exit 1 another 5 minutes on foot to the shrine.
- or: Train · 16 min · ¥160From the east gate it is 5 minutes to the West Exit of JR Suidobashi Station, then the Sobu Line to Ochanomizu, one station, 3 minutes, and from the Hijiribashi Exit 5 minutes on foot.
- or: Walk · 30 minAbout 2.4 km on foot, through Suidobashi and Ochanomizu.
16:1517:30
Stop 6Shinto shrineRecommended
Kanda Myojin: the shrine of merchants and of technology
A shrine founded, by tradition, in 730, on the hill above Akihabara, which became the shrine of tech companies and of anime: amulets for computers, and collaborations with series. Free. The shop next door has sold amazake, a sweet sake with no alcohol, since 1846.
FreeOpen in Maps About this place
17:3018:45
Break
A rest at the hotel, if you are staying in Ueno or Asakusa
The day starts at 08:00 and ends after 20:00, and most of it is on foot. After Kanda Myojin there is an hour and a quarter until dinner. If you are staying in Ueno or Asakusa, walk 5 minutes to Suehirocho Station on the Ginza Line, and ride 2 stations to Ueno, or 5 stations and 9 minutes to Asakusa, ¥180. For dinner come back on the same line to Kanda Station, another ¥180. If you are staying farther away, in Shinjuku or Shibuya, do not go back: the ride eats the break. Stay at the shrine, which is always open, and walk down slowly to dinner.
Down to dinner in Kanda
- Walk · 11 minAbout 850 meters down the hill, to the streets between Kanda and Akihabara stations. If you are coming back from the hotel, get off the Ginza Line at Kanda Station.
18:4520:30
Stop 7DinnerRecommended
Dinner in Kanda
Between Kanda and Akihabara, under the tracks, you eat like Tokyo's office workers, and close a day of about 7 km on foot. From here head back to the hotel on the Ginza Line from Kanda Station, or on the JR. Choose:
- Izakaya under the railway arches¥3,000 per person with drinks
  Between Kanda and Akihabara stations, under the tracks: office workers' izakaya, yakitori, beer in giant mugs and old-time prices.
- Kanda Matsuya
  Soba in a house that has been running since 1884. Weekdays 11:00 to 20:30, last order at 20:00, and Saturdays and holidays until 19:30, last order at 19:00. Closed on Sundays.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥3,000 · ≈ $19Open in Maps

Old Tokyo on foot: Senso-ji, Ueno, Yanaka, Nezu and Kanda

7 stops, in order

Senso-ji and Kaminarimon Gate before the tour groups

Ueno Park and Shinobazu Pond: lotus and a pagoda

Yanaka Ginza and the cemetery: cat town

Lunch break in Nezu

Koishikawa Korakuen: the oldest feudal garden in Tokyo

Kanda Myojin: the shrine of merchants and of technology

A rest at the hotel, if you are staying in Ueno or Asakusa

Dinner in Kanda

Asakusa, Ueno and Skytree: old Tokyo in one day

Shibuya, Harajuku and Meiji Shrine: the first day in Tokyo

Tsukiji, Hamarikyu Gardens and Ginza: fish in the morning, luxury in the evening

teamLab Planets, Toyosu Market and Odaiba: the futuristic day

Akihabara, Jimbocho and Kanda: anime, guitars, books and soba

Ghibli Museum, Kichijoji and Shimokitazawa: the calm west side