ASAKUSA
Organized, Lively, and Shop-ful
If anyone were to make the departure to Japan, I would highly recommend seeing Asakusa. I could have based the entire trip on this one neighborhood alone. The strip is full of restaurants and busy nightlife. There are blocks upon blocks of souvenir shops layered within a cascading range of specialized hole-in-the-wall stores selling things from handmade horsehair brushes to copper crafted pots and accessories. The famous Sensoji temple is nearby where you can purchase luck charms and set incense, or you can visit the acclaimed Ueno zoo in the neighboring Taito city, which currently houses PANDAS. Even with all of these activities, our neighborhood was very calm and quiet. Whether it be a product of this town specifically, or Japan’s respectful culture, I felt very comfortable in our Airbnb and would recommend to families especially. PS Make sure to check out “Don Quijote” while you are there, a multi-story souvenir shop selling everything from Pokemon toys and Pocky, to speakers and stationery. We went many times.
How could I not share this train advert, look at those pearly whites! - Train into Asakusa
Main street in Asakusa, early morning is quiet and open, night is busy and bustling.
Neighbor to our Airbnb
Small shop hidden in the many alleyways of Asakusa
Rising sun through the quiet streets
Shops were painted with contemporary versions of traditional Japanese block-printing
Sensoji Temple
Closed shop behind Sensoji Temple
The manhole covers in Japan are works of art. Some are even fully painted.
MITAKA
Beautifully charming
With the only goal in mind to check out the Studio Ghibli museum, we were amazed at how fun Mitaka turned out to be. Exiting the museum lead us through Ino Kashida Park. Beautifully lush, with a quiet dirt trail meandering throughout, I was able to capture some beautiful images of the reflecting sunset off the lake. Walking past swan boat rentals led us to some concrete stairs to an awesome strip of small unique shops. Two in particular that caught my attention was a sticker shop that sold pop culture influenced stickers in the MASSES including anime, Pokemon, internet memes, odd custom-art and much more.. Walls and walls of stickers covered this small interior with teeny-tiny shopping baskets to carry potential purchases. The second was more of a surprise. I found a vintage clothing store that sold western-style vintage clothing as you would find in any large city in the US. 80’s Nike sweatsuits and LA rapper tee’s was really cool to see so far from home. Past the strip opened back into the city, with bright signage, packed streets, and a large influx of restaurants and eateries.
Note: The Studio Ghibli Museum does not allow photo or video inside the building so the only images below are of the exterior.
Distance marker toward the museum
Studio Ghibli Museum Entrance
Windows
Ino Kashida Park entrance
Ino Kashida Park - Mitaka
Stairs out of the park into the shopping strip (Unfortunately no pictures of the strip itself)
Back into the city -
The busy walking path BECAME the bus route. Honk Honk!
The other destinations we visited were Ginza & Shibuya, but I did not document much of those neighborhoods during my time there.
Quick overview -
Ginza is a great place to shop. Two multi-building & multi-story stores you should check out are Tokyu Hands (a department store covering clothing, outdoor, home, jewelry etc.) and Itoya (the most incredible stationery store I have ever seen).
Shibuya felt like the “Time’s Square” of Tokyo, with crowded streets, louder and grungier atmosphere, as well as plenty of touristy shopping to fill your heart’s content. Not a big fan of that place except for a small restaurant called “Meat Man Bistro” that rivaled its amazing food only with its even better service and ambience. Extremely electric and lively atmosphere. 5 stars.