Finding Old Tokyo by Accident

Not much of Tokyo is very old. Between the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the U.S. firebombing of the city in World War 2 most old structures were destroyed. Most of the temples have been burned down and rebuilt so many times that it's hard to tell how old they are. That's the way things go for wooden structures. But on Sunday I finally made it to a section of Tokyo that really does look antiquated. In the Yanaka area between Nippori train station and Ueno Park there are many wooden buildings around 100 years old, many old temples and a huge urban graveyard for the shogun's family.

I went there in search of a market, the Yanaka Ginza, that I never did find but as so often happens, I found something I didn't expect. From the Nishi-Nippori subway station I climbed up to a narrow road about 20 meters over the station where I found a view out over a part of the city not dominated by skyscrapers. The narrow road travels down a ridge parallel to the railroad tracks leading to Nippori. Temples line the quiet road that is little traveled by cars. From the ridge there is a spot famous for being the last natural height in Tokyo from which Mt. Fuji can be viewed.

Once I got to Nippori I stumbled upon the huge Yanaka Cemetery through which pedestrians on narrow lanes travel on the way from one neighborhood to another. This is where many of the family members of the last shogun were buried. Many other famous Japanese and a few foreigners were buried here as well. Exiting the cemetery one comes across many old wooden houses and shops that have stood here for over a century. Some have been turned into museums. I could have wandered through here for a few more hours but it was starting to get dark and cold - the sun goes down now at 5 pm. After stopping at a weekend outdoor market at Ueno Park I caught the Hibiya subway line back for the 30-minute ride home. I hope to get back to Yanaka next weekend.