4 Best Sights in Yanaka, Tokyo

Fumio Asakura, Japan's foremost artist of modern sculpture, was also an avid cat lover with an uncanny ability to capture a sense of motion in his sculptures. The museum—formerly the artist's home and studio—houses a selection of the artist's works, and the building and garden are a lovely stop when wandering through the Yanaka area. Since the museum is housed in an old residence, you will be removing your shoes to enter and it should also be noted that it is not wheelchair accessible. 

Around 1625, the second Tokugawa Shogun, Hidetada, commissioned the priest Tenkai to build a temple on the hill known as Shinobuga-oka in Ueno to defend his city from evil spirits. The original complex encompassed much of what is Ueno Park and while the remaining grounds are beautiful, the most remarkable structure here is the ornately carved vermilion gate to what was the mausoleum of Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun. Tsunayoshi is famous for his disastrous fiscal mismanagement and his Shorui Awaremi no Rei (Edicts on Compassion for Living Things), which, among other things, made it a capital offense for a human being to kill a dog.

A contemporary art gallery housed in a 200-year-old building, SCAI is a symbol of Yanaka's blend of old and new. The exterior of the building, established in 1787 as a bathhouse, has been well preserved, while the inside is a light and airy gallery featuring rotating exhibits of contemporary art. Although it is a small gallery, the exhibitions are impressive, and it is worth a peek just to see the building itself. The area around it is worth a look as well.

It used to be that every neighborhood in Tokyo had its own small shopping street, but with the rise of supermarkets and convenience stores in the 1980s, they began to vanish. Thanks to a forward-thinking shopkeepers' and residents' association, Yanaka Ginza not only survived but has flourished. The street is now an interesting mix of shops selling groceries and other goods for locals, as well as sweets, snacks, and crafts.