Tokyo Strolls - Tokyo - page 221

7 Asakura Choso Museum
With its modern black facade, it looks
rather out of place in this traditional
neighborhood, but its interior is a delight-
ful mix of modern and traditional archi-
tecture. One of Tokyo's most intriguing
homes open to the public—but unfortu-
nately closed for renovation until March
2013—it was built in 1936 as the home
and studio of Asakura Fumio, a Western-
style sculptor known for his realistic stat-
ues of statesmen, women, and cats. Noted
features include a studio with soaring ceil-
ings, a traditional Japanese house wrapped
around an inner courtyard pond famous
for its large stones arranged to reflect the
Five Confucian Virtues, and a rooftop
garden. For now, however, the only thing
visible from the street is one of his statues.
Continue past the museum and turn left at the next
street (if you take a right here instead, you will end
up back at Nippori Station). Keep to the right and
walk down the steps. Just past the arched entryway
marking the neighborhood's pedestrian-only shop-
ping lane, to your right at 3-13-3 Nishi-Nippori, is:
8 I Midori-ya
This exquisite basket shop ( & 03/3828-
7522 ) with several samples on display
outside its front door is the store and
workshop of Suigetsu Buseki, who coaxes
flexible strands of bamboo into beautifully
crafted baskets, some of them signed. The
shop is known for its use of smoked bam-
boo, taken from the undersides of thatched
farmhouses; the bamboo exhibits a beauti-
ful gloss and subtle color gradation from
years of exposure to indoor fire pits.
Because such antique pieces of bamboo are
increasingly hard to come by, some of the
baskets are rightfully expensive but are still
less expensive than those at major depart-
ment stores. You can linger here; the
Buseki family is happy to discuss their love
for their trade with Japanese-speakers. The
Imperial family and visiting dignitaries,
including a former U.S. ambassador to
Japan, have been among their customers.

221

The shop is open Tuesday to Sunday 11am
to 6pm.
Continue your walk through what is one of my favor-
ite streets on this walk:
9 Yanaka Ginza
This is an ambitious name for an other-
wise old-fashioned shopping lane. It's
pleasant because it's free from cars and,
unlike many shopping streets nowadays,
isn't a covered arcade. One Japanese friend
told me that it reminds her of neighbor-
hood shopping streets from her childhood.
Lining the lane are shops selling both
modern and traditional toys, crafts, cloth-
ing, sweets, household goods, tofu, rice,
fish, and vegetables. One of my favorites is
the tea shop:
0 J Kane Kichien
Located about halfway down Yanaka
Ginza on the left at 3-11-10 Yanaka
( & 03/3823-0015 ), it sells varieties of tea
at the counter toward the back. With all
the reported benefits of green tea, you
probably know someone who might
appreciate a small gift from this store. It's
open Monday to Saturday from 10am to
7:30pm.
At the end of the shopping street, turn
left and walk for about 5 minutes, passing
the Annex Katsutaro Ryokan on the way,
until you come to a stoplight and a slightly
larger road.

8

TAKE A BREAK
Immediately to the left of the
stoplight, on the corner, is a
noodle shop called K Oshimaya,
3-2-5 Yanaka ( & 03/3821-5052 ). It's
located on the second floor of a modern
building but has traditional bamboo
screens at the window and an indoor
pond with fish. It offers two different
kinds of noodles— soba and udon —
served in a variety of ways, including
tempura soba and curry soba. Open every
day except Thursday from 11am to 8pm
(closed 3-5pm Mon-Fri).