A 170-metre shopping street of sixty small shops that has barely changed since the 1950s, at the heart of a neighbourhood that escaped both the earthquake of 1923 and the bombs of 1945. Butchers fry croquettes to order, a tea merchant roasts hojicha on the pavement, cats, real and carved, sit on roofs and signboards, and the whole street is lit by paper lanterns under the shop awnings.
Start at the top of the Yuyake Dandan steps, eat your way down, then wander into the surrounding lanes of temples and wooden houses. Yanaka rewards aimless walking more than any other part of Tokyo, and the street is simply the busiest entrance to it.
Tips
- Approach from Nippori Station down the Yuyake Dandan steps, where locals gather to watch the sunset over the rooftops
- Menchi-katsu, a fried minced-meat cutlet, is the street's signature snack and sells for a few hundred yen hot from the fryer
- Shops close early and many take Monday off, so go in the afternoon rather than the evening