Yanaka Ginza

Yanaka Ginza is a charming, nostalgic shopping street in the Yanaka neighbourhood of northern Tokyo, one of the best-preserved corners of the old shitamachi, or low city, that survived the earthquakes, wartime bombing and relentless redevelopment that reshaped so much of the capital. A single pedestrian lane roughly 170 metres long, lined with around 60 small shops, stalls and eateries, it offers a warm, human-scaled glimpse of a Tokyo that feels a world away from the skyscrapers of Shinjuku or the crowds of Shibuya.

The street is, above all, a paradise for grazing on street food. Vendors sell an irresistible parade of inexpensive snacks to eat as you stroll: freshly fried menchi-katsu minced-meat cutlets and korokke croquettes, skewers of yakitori, fish-shaped taiyaki filled with sweet red bean, senbei rice crackers grilled over coals, warm steamed buns, seasonal fruit and traditional Japanese sweets. Interspersed among the food stalls are old-fashioned greengrocers, tea shops, craft stores, sake sellers and small boutiques, many of them family businesses that have traded here for generations.

Yanaka Ginza is famous for its cats. The surrounding Yanaka district has long been associated with the neighbourhood's stray and resident cats, and the theme runs throughout the street, from cat-shaped snacks and pastries to cat figurines, ceramics, souvenirs and playful sculptures perched on the shop awnings. Spotting the real cats that still doze around the quiet backstreets has become part of the fun of a visit.

The entrance to the street from the Nippori side is marked by one of Tokyo's most beloved viewpoints, a broad staircase known as Yuyake Dandan, literally the sunset staircase. Descending the steps as the late-afternoon sun sinks over the rooftops of the shopping street below is a small, cherished ritual for Tokyoites and photographers alike, and it gives the approach a gentle, cinematic quality that perfectly suits the old-fashioned atmosphere.

The wider Yanaka area rewards exploration beyond the shopping street itself. This is part of the historic Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi district, collectively nicknamed Yanesen, a low-rise warren of narrow lanes, wooden houses, temples, small galleries and traditional craft workshops that escaped much of Tokyo's wartime destruction. A wander here, taking in the sprawling Yanaka Cemetery with its cherry-lined central avenue and the many quiet temples, makes for one of the city's most relaxing and atmospheric strolls.

Yanaka Ginza is entirely free to visit and best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, ideally in the late afternoon as the shops bustle and the light softens towards the famous sunset over the staircase. Most shops keep daytime hours and some close on Mondays, so aim for the middle of the day into early evening. Bring cash for the food stalls, come with an appetite rather than a shopping list, and let yourself wander.

Getting there is easy: it is a five-minute walk from the west exit of Nippori Station on the JR Yamanote Line, which is covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Combine it with the temples and cemetery of Yanaka and the neighbouring Nezu Shrine for a rewarding half-day in the gentle, old-fashioned heart of shitamachi Tokyo.