Tokyo, a city where one can explore a lot, even after having lived there for quite a while. Possibilities seem endless and local places have like 1000 faces. Most of the tourists in Tokyo are visiting what guides such as Lonely Planet, japan-guide.com or other guidebooks tell them. However usually the proposed spots are not that unique anymore, for exact this reason. Why should anyone suspect that he will find something unique, something apart from the masses, something quiet and yet lively in a guidebook that sells million of copies to foreigners each year? I remember sometimes having heard people say "I know this place, its not to crowed and its an insider tip. I have read it in my lonely planet". Can you see the contradiction in the sentence?
Anyway, if you really want to go somewhere unique, you better check out the local bookstore for local guides or just ask some locals for such places (although most of them will tell you common places for they fear that in other places there would be a possibility that you are kinda lost in translation due to less people speaking english).
Today, I took a stroll in 谷根千街 Yanesen-machi with Ayu. The name refers to the 3 connected areas of 千駄木 sendagi, 根津 nezu and 谷中 taninaka, which can best be reached by JR山手線・日暮里駅 yamanote-line, nippori-station. The area is rather huge and you can get lost easily. Streets are small and the dense of shops and cafes is high. There are even a lot of slopes in the area.
谷根千街 yanesen-machi might be much more famous for its cats. Yeah, usually you can see cats there everywhere, which makes it a nice place to just stroll around. Also inside the little cafes one can find here and then in small corners or in the backstreets are a lot of cats and sometimes they watch from your table that no rice-corn will be left. Those many cat lovers also have a lot of ateliers there, presenting hand-crafted arts thta usually involve at least one cat.
The area further is famous for hosting the grave of 徳川 慶喜 Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Although, it is hard to find between the graves of the many graveyards in this area, it is a nice spot and definitely a must-see for historical interested visitors.
All in all, 谷根千街 yanesen-machi is a place where a desparate boy can take his (prospective) girlfriend for a walk. However, refrain from going there with any girl in the summer, because shadows are less and walks can take a while. And we all know how stressful (Japanese) girls are when it comes to walk a bit without any goal.
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Anyway, if you really want to go somewhere unique, you better check out the local bookstore for local guides or just ask some locals for such places (although most of them will tell you common places for they fear that in other places there would be a possibility that you are kinda lost in translation due to less people speaking english).
Today, I took a stroll in 谷根千街 Yanesen-machi with Ayu. The name refers to the 3 connected areas of 千駄木 sendagi, 根津 nezu and 谷中 taninaka, which can best be reached by JR山手線・日暮里駅 yamanote-line, nippori-station. The area is rather huge and you can get lost easily. Streets are small and the dense of shops and cafes is high. There are even a lot of slopes in the area.
谷根千街 yanesen-machi might be much more famous for its cats. Yeah, usually you can see cats there everywhere, which makes it a nice place to just stroll around. Also inside the little cafes one can find here and then in small corners or in the backstreets are a lot of cats and sometimes they watch from your table that no rice-corn will be left. Those many cat lovers also have a lot of ateliers there, presenting hand-crafted arts thta usually involve at least one cat.
The area further is famous for hosting the grave of 徳川 慶喜 Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Although, it is hard to find between the graves of the many graveyards in this area, it is a nice spot and definitely a must-see for historical interested visitors.
All in all, 谷根千街 yanesen-machi is a place where a desparate boy can take his (prospective) girlfriend for a walk. However, refrain from going there with any girl in the summer, because shadows are less and walks can take a while. And we all know how stressful (Japanese) girls are when it comes to walk a bit without any goal.
[gallery]
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