One thing that I love about living in Tokyo is that I can always have something new to explore. It can be a neighborhood I haven’t explored yet, a new cafe that just opened nearby, a new exhibition! This weekend, I finally went to Yanaka 谷中, a quiet neighborhood in the Taito ward, east of Tokyo. This neighborhood maintains a nostalgic “shitamachi” 下町 (downtown) atmosphere of Tokyo, especially Yanaka Ginza 谷中銀座 which is a shopping street lined with various shops selling Japanese pottery, kimono, clothes as well as many food stalls. Yanaka is closest to go to from Nippori Station on the Yamanote Line.
I found out about this place from a poster with a beautiful sunset over Yanaka Ginza shopping street exposed at Narita airport. This beautiful image is sure to attract curious eyes to this lesser-known place among foreign travelers. You can also spot this poster at train stations around Tokyo!
Our day of exploring Yanaka Ginza started with brunch at Tayori, a stylish café/restaurant hidden along the narrow streets of Yanaka but easily accessible from the main shopping street. As it was a Saturday when we visited, we had to wait for a while before being seated, but not too long, less than 30 minutes. They have both tables and traditional Japanese seating “zashiki” 座敷. Tayori 便りmeans correspondence in Japanese, there was a little corner designed as a post office, and their logo is a postman on a bicycle. These small details of Tayori fascinated me.
Their lunch menu has different types of “teishoku” 定食 or Japanese-style set meals with fish, chicken, pork or tofu as options for the main dish, and several side dishes. They also have western-style set meals, and I went for the Croque Madame set that came along with a salad and drink of your choice. The sandwich was perfectly crunchy, with the right amount of cheese, I loved it <3.
Address: 3 Chome-12-4 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001
Happy after the yummy food we just had, next on the list was shopping in Yanaka Ginza Shopping Street! Firstly, I found some cute pink strawberries that were also not super expensive, so one box had to go back home with me.
Next on my list, I wanted to look for some tea and tea accessories as I wish to replace my morning coffee with matcha tea. I read about the many benefits matcha has, so making it a daily habit sounded like a good idea for me. In Yanaka Ginza, I found the perfect shop for tea lovers: Kanekichien 金吉園, featuring several types of green tea, including sakura-flavored tea and matcha tea graded by intensity. They also have teacups, matcha bowls, and so on in all forms and colors, ranging from 400-500yen to more expensive ones such as 10,000 yen. Here I think you can find the perfect souvenir from Japan!
Address: 3-11-10 Yanaka, Taito-ku, Tokyo
After exploring the Japanese part of Yanaka Ginza, we stepped into another part of the world: the Middle East at Zakuro, a Persian, Turkish, and Uzbek restaurant. We went there for shisha, which was the most affordable I had in Japan and also the most delicious (cherry and apple-mint flavor). For only 1,000 yen per shisha, it came along with tea and sweet treats such as dates, baklava, and Turkish cotton candy. The food ordered by people around also looked very delicious, so next time I want to try their food! If you are looking for some privacy, this might not be the best place to go as everyone sits very close to each other on the ground. It would be fun to rent this place with a big group of friends, haha
If you don’t mind sitting close to people you don’t know, you will feel a friendly atmosphere at Zakuro!
Address: Tokyo-to, Arakawa-ku, Nishi-Nippori 3-13-2 Yanaka Studio 1st Floor
Thank you for stopping by 🙂
