Some Musings on Yanaka

For all of its sprawl and historical significance, it's easy to forget that many of the buildings in present-day Tokyo simply didn't exist prior to the firebombings of 1945. But there is one neighborhood that was spared destruction-- Yanaka, an area of the city known for its artisans and literary aficionados. Yanaka is proper shitamachi (lit. "under city") where, during the Edo Period (1603-1868), the "lowbrow" merchants and artisans lived.

So perhaps it's appropriate that one of Yanaka's main attractions is the so-called "Yanaka Ginza," a stretch of pedestrian-only street that has many mom-and-pop stores, mainly specializing in food.

Entrance to Yanaka Ginza.

Stumbled upon a wagashi (Japanese sweet) shop and had the best daifuku (mochi and red bean) I've ever had.

A few blocks away from Yanaka Ginza is Yanaka Bochi (or Yanaka Reien) cemetery, a large (it has it's own police box!) public cemetery known for its spring cherry blossoms. Among its 7,000 or so graves it also has some Tokugawa family plots, but, I was too lazy to go track them down (the most famous Tokugawa are in Nikko, anyways).

In spring this would all be pink.

Graveyards in Japan are so well-organized.

The Tanaka family is clearly in good hands, I mean paws...

At one end of Yanaka Bochi is the Tennoji Temple, which was established in 1274 and used to own all the surrounding land before it was confiscated by the government. Several hundred years later, in 1690, a Buddha statue was erected on the temple grounds in honor of the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) in Kamakura.

Detail from one of the temple walls.

There were also more delightfully photogenic cats.

My final stop in Yanaka was the Nezu Shrine, one of Japan's oldest shrines. The current structure was rebuilt in 1706 and is styled after the Toshogu in Nikko. It's a massive complex, but what it's most known for is its annual azalea festival, which usually happens in late April, and its tunnel of crimson torii that lead to the smaller Otome Inari, a nested shrine that overlooks the main Nezu Shrine buildings and pond.

Even though the mosquitoes were eating me alive (dusk + stagnant water = unhappy Claire), the torii were absolutely stunning and I had a lot of fun slowly making my way down the tunnel.