Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nezu
ࠜ
The old Tokyo district of
Nezu
, meaning “Water's Edge”, is a short walk west of
Ueno Park, or north of Tokyo University. Its main sight is
Nezu-jinja
, a venerable,
cedar-shaded shrine; while you're in the neighbourhood you may also want to visit
the traditional
kushiage
restaurant
Hantei
(see p.149).
Nezu-jinja
ࠜਆࣾ
• 1-28-9 Nezu, Bunkyō-ku • Daily 7am-sunset • Free • Nezu station
The cracking
Nezu
shrine dates from the early eighteenth century when it was built in
honour of the sixth Tokugawa shogun, Ienobu. The ornate and colourfully decorated
shrine is notable for its corridor of vermilion
torii
and a hillside bedecked with some
three thousand azalea bushes which bloom in a profusion of pinks and reds during
late April and early May, attracting throngs of camera-toting visitors. At other times
the shrine is serene and peaceful.
Kyu Yoshidaya Sake-ten
چ٢ాञళ
• 10-6 Ueno-Sakuragi 2-chome, Taitō-ku • Tues-Sun 9.30am-4.30pm • Free •
T
03 3823 4408 • Nezu station
Five minutes northeast of Nezu Station along the major road Kototoi-dōri is
Kyu Yoshidaya Sake-ten
, an early twentieth-century sake store which was moved here
in 1987 and is an annexe of the Shitamachi Museum (see p.60). It is worth a quick
glimpse to check out the giant glass bottles, china barrels and other accoutrements
of the trade.
4
SCAI The Bathhouse
6-1-23 Yanaka, Taitō-ku • Tues-Sat noon-7pm • Free •
T
03 3821 1144,
W
scaithebathhouse.com • Nezu or Nippori stations
A bizarre little contemporary art gallery,
SCAI The Bathhouse
occupies a 200-year-old
public bath abutting Yanaka Cemetery. It's best known for bringing younger local
artists greater international attention, though their own exhibits are often sourced
from abroad - this successful east-west interplay resulted in both Anish Kapoor and
Julian Opie finding Japanese inspiration. The gallery also hosts a range of lectures
and performance art.
Yanaka
୩த
After the Long Sleeves Fire of 1657 (see p.248), many temples relocated to the
higher ground of
Yanaka
, where they remain today, alongside old wooden buildings
that seem to have miraculously escaped the ensuing centuries' various calamities.
It's a charming area to explore on foot, and you could spend many hours rambling
through its narrow, quiet streets, discovering small temples, shrines and traditional
craft shops.
Yanaka Cemetery
୩தྶԂ
, Yanaka reien • 24hr; graveyard o
ces daily 8.30am-5pm • Free • Nippori station
The area is dominated by
Yanaka Cemetery
, one of Tokyo's oldest and largest
graveyards. A couple of minutes' walk south of the Nippori entrance to the cemetery
(there are several), you'll find one of the area's most attractive temples,
Tennō-ji
(
ఱԦࣉ
), beside which stands a large copper Buddha dating from 1690. Head
southwest down the cemetery's main avenue from here to reach the
graveyard o
ces
,
opposite the public toilet, where you can pick up a Japanese map locating various
notables, including the last Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu, in a large plot on the
southern edge of the cemetery.
