Eat at the food stand, walk around and enjoy retro downtown, Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi a.k.a.Yanesen where Edo spirit still lives. From ready-to-eat dishes to sweets!

Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi are located in downtown Tokyo a.k.a YANESEN area. An area that Edo spirit still lives.

YANESEN area survived from the war misfortunes and still has the live atmosphere of good old Japan. The area still has buildings and culture remaining from the Edo period. Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi each have very unique characteristics in tokyo. Yanaka is known for shrines and temples, Nezu is famous for Japanese commercial district with Maiko and Sendagi is known for a place where literary masters used to live.

People started calling those three areas as YANESEN when a reginal magazine called YANESEN was published in 1984. Their articles introduced to remember the disappearing old cityscape and culture of the area, and have greatly contributed to the establishment of YANESEN brand today.

Today, we walked around the YANESEN area to experience the gourmet and the local culture. We enjoyed the local food that we can enjoy while walking around from finger food, ready-to-eat dishes to sweets to go!

Start your tipsy time at the Echigo Sake Shop in Yanaka Shopping Street

When you go out of the West exit from Nippori Station and walk for about 3 minutes, you will start to see the gate of Yanaka Shopping Street. Stairs located at the entrance of the street offers a beautiful scenery of the sunset and is a famous spot in the area.

As we walked through the street, we found a bustling place where people are lively drinking in the middle of the day. Echigo Sake Shop. The chairs are a upside down beer cases and there were some seats and tables outside.

We were welcomed by a friendly smile and met the mother of Echigo Sake Shop, Sumiko Honmma. She told us “I moved from Niigata, my hometown and worked in the barber shop on the opposite side of the street, but I was attracted by the owner and of this sake shop so i walked across and I got married lol” What a romantic story!

Echigo Sake Shop was originally in a different place in 1904 but moved to the current space after the Pacific War ended. The area was burned with air raids during the War but with the end of the War and when the roads are built, shops started to open including this sake shop and became a Shopping street.

This shopping street has many family-run business like Echigo Sake Shop and all the shops seem really close to the community here. It would be fun to go shopping and talk to the local people.

At the store, there are a large selection of drinks like Ebisu, the Japanese beer (¥ 400 tax-included) and Japanese sake (¥ 500 ~ tax-included) from all over Japan. When we ordered the drink, Sumiko told us that she cannot drink alcohol. We were allowed to bring our own food that we bought around the area as well. If you like to drink and have a little blast in this area, we definitely recommend this place!

Store name: Echigoya Sake Shop
Address: 3-13-2, Yanaka, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0001, Japan
Business hours: Mon-Sat 10:00 to 21:00, Sun Holiday 10:00 to 21:00
Regular holiday: all year round
Website: https://www.sake-echigoya.com

Finger Seafood to go! Matuhatsu Fukushima shop

Going further up the shopping street, there is a retro sign of a shellfish. Here, Marushima Fukushima Shop sells shellfish and fresh water fishes. It was founded 90 years ago, and it seems to have moved here after the Pacific War like “Echigoya Sake Shop.” Other than seasonal seafood, there is also a take-out menu that you can eat on the go.

We tried their season recommendation, grilled Ayu, freshwater trout only sold from June to September (¥ 450 tax-included) and grilled raw clam (¥ 380 tax-included). Ayu was fat and juicy, and the scallops were surprisingly soft and tender. There are also things like grilled scallops (¥ 280 tax-included), grilled fresh squid (¥ 400, lower leg ¥ 150 tax-Included,), pre-fried shrimp (¥ 100 tax-included), etc., Some of them could be sold out by early afternoon so if you are thinking of visiting them, better to go early.

Store name: Maruhatsu Fukushima shop
Address: 3-13-4 Yanaka, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0001, Japan
Opening hours: 9:00 to 19:00
Holidays: Sundays and public holidays
Website: https://ameblo.jp/maruhatsu55

Retro Izakaya KEI near the Sendagi Station

When you leave the shopping street and go to the left, we started to smell something reaaaaaally good!! It was Izakaya “KEI”. Yakitori, grilled chicken on the stick, grilled by the mother of Kei at the front of the store certainly is hard to resist!

Izakaya KEI started 20 years ago and is a family-run business, Sato couple and their son. we decided to try their reccomendation of homemade meatballs on a stick (¥ 120 tax-included). They told us that the secret to its deliciousness is the onion paste mixed in the chicken balls.

As soon as we tried the meatballs, we could tell the sweetness of the onion and the flavor of the sauce spread out in our mouth. We also had liver, chicken meat and bones (¥ 120 all tax-included), but all were delicious with stability.

There is a counter and a seating area at the back of the store. We also saw a row of keep bottles on the shelf. Including regulars of neighborhood, travelers and people from all over Japan visit this place. There are so many food on the menu so it would be nice to have a break here and sit at the counter during your walk.
Some of their recommendations are sashimi plate (¥ 650-), grilled eel (¥ 550), and home-made gyoza (¥ 500).

Store name: Izakaya KEI
Address: 3-40-14 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0022, Japan
Opening hours: 17: 00-23:00 (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays open early)
Holidays: Wednesday

Candy craft right in front of you! YOSHIHARA

Our next stop is Japanese candy craft store, YOSHIHARA in Sendagi area. Candy craft stores are usually only seen at food stands at festivals, but YOSHIHARA is the first candy craft store in Japan. They are celebrating their 11th year, this year. Their candy craft in the store are so artistic, that you almost feel like you are in an art museum.

The store recommends candy craft demonstration (¥ 700-), where candy craftsman make your ordered candy right in front of you. The craftsman heats up the candy and within three minutes, the candy dough get cold and hard again so they have to shape out the candy before it gets cold. We ordered a cat (¥ 1,100) to see the trick.

It was definitely an amazing talent to see a white lump turn into a cute cat in just few minutes! In addition to the amazing hand craft work, the craftsman also explained about their store and how you make candy crafts while making one. It is said to take about two years for them to be able to make the basic zodiac and about five more years to become a professional. That is one professionalism!

By the way, this rabbit is YOSHIHARA’s original character “Amepyon (¥ 1,000-)”. It is a character that was born using candy craft basic technique and customers are able to add various options such as changing the pose or choose a dress for it.It is also perfect for gifts and events.

Store Name: Ame Craft Yoshihara Sendagi Main Store
Address: 〒 113-0022 1-23-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-1 1F
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 13:00-18:00, Sat-Sun Holiday 10:00-18:00 (Demonstration until 17:00)
Holidays: Tuesday (open on National holidays)
Website: https://ame-yoshihara.com

Detour to the Nezu Shrine

A winding alley called “Snake Road” is a road that used to be a small river called Aisome River. In addition to old-fashioned houses and shops, there are also fashionable cafes and general stores that recently opened. It was a rainy day but the moist and wet nostalgic cityscape was also wonderful.

Nezu Shrine is said to be built by Takeru no Mikoto Yamato before 1990. The shrine was built by the 5th Shogun (General) of Edo period, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in 1706 and has been designated as an important cultural asset of the country. About 100 species and 3000 stocks of azalea bloom every year in the beginning of April and May. One of the popular festival in the area, “Bunkyo Azalea Festival” is also held here. Thousands of torii gates that lead to the shrine are also popular as power spots.

Go before they are sold out! Fish shaped Japanese sweets filled with red bean paste, NEZU TAIYAKI

The last spot we visited on this trip around YANESEN area is a shop called “Nezu Taiyaki”. Taiyaki, in other words, baked sea bream is one of Japanese sweets shaped like a fish filled with red bean paste. When we came to the store just after two p.m., there were only a few left. And after a few minutes we purchased it, it was sold out and the shop closed.

“Nezu Taiyaki” originally opened as a brunch of Taiyaki Yanagiya in Ningyocho (another part of Tokyo) in 1957 and became an independent shop in 2000. It is now one of the most well-known Taiyaki shop in Nezu. When we ask about where their professional lies, the master of Nezu Taiyaki told us “The world keeps evolving, but it is important that some things are kept the same. I want to keep offering people the same taste even the world changes and be somewhere that people come back and remember the change.”

All Taiyaki is carefully baked one by one (\170 tax-included) and was full of home made bean paste with crisp thin skin of cake dough. The balance between the fragrant skin and the refined sweetness is exquisite, and it feels like you can keep eating them forever. It was definitely a great way to end the trip.

Store Name: Nezu’s Taiyaki
Address: 〒 113-0031 Nezu 1-23-9-104, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Opening hours: 10:00 to end as soon as it is sold out (10: 15 until the end of October 2019)
Holidays: Saturday, Sunday, other fixed holidays (Facebook, Twitter notification)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nezunotaiyaki/
https://twitter.com/taiyaki_nezu

The walk in YANESEN area can be enjoyed in many ways, like by with your friend and family. But it would be fun even to walk by yourself. Gourmets and culture, as well as encounters with locals are a great attraction for the walk. Please do a lot of detours and fill your mind as much as you want.

Tour Information: Experience Old and Nostalgic Tokyo: Yanaka Walking Tour
Fee：¥8,000（for 2 adults or more）、¥10,000（for 1 adult）、¥4,000（for Children / Age7-12)、¥0（for Children / Under 6）
Web site: https://omakase-tour.com/tours/traditional-culture/yanaka-wandering-tour.html

※ Please note that contents listed on SHOYU may change without notice. Please make sure to check reservation sites before making a reservation.