Many Tokyo travel guides suggest you go to Asakusa to take a look at traditional side of Japan, to Shibuya and Harajuku for young culture, to Akihabara to buy electrical appliances and experience a little bit of the Japanese otaku (manga and anime) culture and to Roppongi for a night out.
They are all nice for "beginners," but if you have already visited these places and are looking for somewhere less touristy, why don't you visit "Yanesen" area?
The name "Yanesen" (ya-ne-sen) was made up by putting the first letters of neighboring towns Yanaka (谷中）, Nezu （根津）and Sendagi （千駄木）. During the World War II many parts of Tokyo were burnt down by bombing, but this Yanesen area miraculously escaped war damage despite its old downtown location.
If you visit Yanesen, you'll see what Tokyo's shitamachi (下町） is like. Literally meaning "downtown," shitamachi usually indicates the areas where commoners like merchants and craftsmen were mainly living in the Edo Period, while Yamanote (山の手） was the residential area for upper samurai class.
I recently went to Yanaka, one of the Yanesen towns. There are actually two famous spots you should not miss. One is Yanaka Reien (谷中霊園）, a huge cemetery where the last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu was buried. It is also well-known for cherry blossoms. If you happen to be here in April, why not enjoy flower viewing in the cemetery?
And the other touristic attraction is Yanaka Ginza (谷中銀座）shopping street with approximately 60 small shops and restaurants. It is small, but always busy with local shoppers, tourists and cat lovers. Why cats? Because alley cats living in this area are considered as mascots of this shopping street.
This is the entrance of Yanaka Ginza taken from "Yuyake dandan," the stairs on the way from the JR Nippori station to the shopping street. It is said that the sunset views seen from these stairs are very beautiful, although I've never seen them.
Look! A white cat is sitting on the roof of a tempura store, looking down at shoppers... oh sorry, it is a cat figure. Doesn't it look very real?
This is the wooden signboard of a shop called Kittens. I forgot what they are selling...
I
These
two cat dolls are placed in front of a store. Traditionally shopkeepers
often put a cat figure called 招き猫（maneki-neko, or beckoning cat) in
their shops, since the one with the right paw raised is believed to
bring money and the one with the left paw raised brings people, or
customers. The cats in this photo don't look like typical beckoning
cats, though.
Strolling in the town of Yanaka, you may feel as if you have slipped back into the good old Japan. But maintaining this unique atmosphere always requires the efforts of townspeople.
For example, this temple-like building (photo below) is actually an elementary school （谷中小学校 Yanaka Shogakko). It was reconstructed 22 years ago, so as to blend in with the shitamachi surroundings.
ここからは日本語で。
From here, I'll write in Japanese.
浅草、渋谷、新宿、秋葉原に飽きたら今度は「谷根千」に行ってみたら？
浅草 あさくさ
渋谷 しぶや
新宿 しんじゅく
秋葉原 あきはばら
飽きる あきる to get tired
今度 こんど next time
谷根千 やねせん
谷根千というのは、谷中、根津、千駄木のこと。戦争中に空襲の被害にあわなかったから、今でも古い下町の町並みが残っているのです。
谷中 やなか
根津 ねづ
千駄木 せんだぎ
戦争中 戦争中 during the war
空襲 くうしゅう air raids
被害 ひがい damage
下町 したまち
町並み まちなみ streets
下町とは、江戸時代に商人や職人が暮らしていた庶民の町で、上流武士は山の手と言われる地域に住んでいました。
江戸時代 えどじだい the Edo Period
商人 しょうにん merchants
職人 しょくにん craftsmen
暮らす くらす to live
庶民 しょみん common people
上流 じょうりゅう upper class
武士 ぶし samurai
山の手 やまのて
地域 ちいき regions
先日、谷中に行ってきました。谷中で有名なのは、谷中霊園と谷中銀座商店街。
先日 せんじつ the other day
有名 ゆうめい famous
霊園 れいえん cemetery
谷中銀座 やなかぎんざ
商店街 しょうてんがい shopping street
谷中銀座は野良猫がたくさん住みついていて、マスコットのような存在なんですよ。
野良猫 のらねこ alley cats
住み着く すみつく to live
存在 そんざい existence
だから、屋根の上には置物の猫がいたり、店の看板も猫だったり。
置物 おきもの figures
看板 かんばん signboards
その他、谷中小学校も面白いですよ。校舎が今の形になったのは22年前。町の雰囲気に合うようにデザインされました。
面白い おもしろい interesting
校舎 こうしゃ school building
雰囲気 ふんいき atmosphere
下町らしさを維持するのも大変なんです。
維持する いじする to maintain
