Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
eerily realistic ghost house dating
from the 1950s, and Japan's
oldest rollercoaster. d Map R1
• 2-28-1 Asakusa, Taito-ku • 3842-8780 •
Open 10am-6pm Mon, Wed-Sun • Adm
A Day in Old Asakusa
Morning
Exit Asakusa subway, walk
north along Umamichi-dori
until you reach Kototoi-
dori. Turn left and the Edo-
Shitamachi Traditional
Crafts Museum is a short
walk away. The nearby
Hanayashiki Amusement
Park is a relic of the old
entertainment district of
Rokku. Immediately south,
Asakusa Kannon Onsen
is a traditional hot spring.
Just west of the baths,
the Rokku Broadway ped-
estrian street still boasts a
few traditional theaters,
comedy and story-telling
halls, including the
Asakusa Engei Hall . Stop
to look at the posters and
lively barkers outside. The
narrow backstreets around
Denboin-dori have many
cheap, but characterful,
restaurants serving fried
noodles and oden , a fish-
cake hot pot.
Items for sale, Kappabashi Kitchenware Town
( Kappabashi
Kitchenware Town
A long street, Kappabashi-dori is
known by its sobriquet, “Kitchen
Town.” Two stores, Maizuru and
Biken, are highly rated by
connoisseurs of plastic food.
Food samples have generated
interest as a minor, collectable
pop art. Viewed on an empty
stomach, they can seem like
works of towering genius.
d Map Q2 • Kappabashi-dori, Taito-ku
Afternoon
Walk south to the great
Kaminari-mon , the main
entrance to Senso-ji
Temple, to admire the
giant paper lantern and the
ancient guardian devils.
Walk toward the Sumida
River and the station
where you began, turn
right on Edo-dori for
Gallery ef , housed in an
earth-walled, 19th-century
storehouse, a rarity in con-
temporary Tokyo. The café
here is excellent. Retrace
your steps to the station
area and stop at the bright-
ly painted Azumabashi
Bridge , where traditional
pleasure boats, yakata-
bune , are moored. Return
to the corner of Kaminari-
mon and Umamichi streets
to visit the Kamiya Bar
(see p42) , another Asakusa
institution, for denki-bran ,
their trademark drink.
) Yanaka Cemetery
Explore this city of the dead
in the mossy folds of Yanaka, an
endearingly unfashionable quar-
ter. Among the tombs and worn
statues of Buddhist deities and
bodhisattvas are the gravestones
of authors, statesmen, philoso-
phers, actors, Japan's last sho-
gun, and those who committed
crimes that caught the popular
imagination. Oden Takahashi,
a woman who massacred
men, lies here unrepentant
(see pp26-7) .
85
The English-speaking staff at the Asakusa Culture and Sightseeing
Center, opposite the Kaminari-mon gate, provide maps.
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search