This year we took our family on a two week trip to Japan. We visited Tokyo for a week and Okinawa for a week. We had such an interesting time, and loved seeing the culture and customs of Japan.
Our first day out we decided to explore the area near our hotel. We ended up staying in the Nishi-Nippori area, because we were able to find a hotel that slept 4 people for a reasonable rate. The hotel we stayed at is the fav Tokyo- Nishi Nippori. It is about a 3-4 minute walk from several train lines, had a balconey, a double bed and 2 single beds for the kiddos. I also liked that it had a seperate room for the toilet and a seperate room for the shower. They also have laundry machines available for free which came in handy. The only thing that could have been better is that it is a bit far from the touristy areas. It was about a 25 minute train ride to Shibuya, which wasn’t bad, and it’s so close to the train lines that we didn’t have far to walk with our luggage.
Nezu Shrine
Nezu shrine is a popular local shrine that blooms with tons of azalea flowers in April every year. This shrine was 2 train stops away from our hotel, and we walked from the shrine through the neighborhood to Yanaka Ginza and then back to the hotel.
“According to tradition, the shrine was founded around 1,900 years ago by the legendary priest Yamato Takeru no Mikoto. Originally located in Sendagi, just north of its current location, the shrine was dedicated to Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Shinto god of seas and storms.” – Japan Experience.com
Besides the shrine and lovely azalea gardens there is also a pathway through gorgeous (if a bit short) red tori gates.
From Nezu shrine we walked east through the neighborhood passing multiple shrines and temples along the way. This area of Japan wasn’t destroyed by fire in WW2, so many of the structures are old and made of wood. There are tons of neighboorhood shrines to check out as you walk towards Tennoji Temple just at the back of the Yanaka Cemetary.
The cemetary contains the remains of several famous Japanese people and if you are lucky you can spot one of the neighborhood cats lounging in the sun.
The walk from Nezu Shrine to Tennoji Temple takes about 12-15 minutes, depending on how fast you are walking. We were with our two girls so the going was a bit slower.
Tennoji Temple is a Buddhist Temple. “The centerpiece of Tennoji Temple is undoubtedly its famous bronze Buddha statue. Known as the “Tennoji Daibutsu” by locals”- Japan Experience.com
From the temple you walk roughly 10-12 minutes to the neighborhood of Yanaka, where there is a short shopping street. The street is filled with small shops, restaurants and street food vendors. This neighborhood proudly cares for all the stray cats in the area and many of the shops and food are cat themed.
We stopped for lunch in a small cafe and ordered fried chicken that came with rice and miso soup. It was delicous, filling and not very expensive. The menu and ordering were all done by scanning a QR code. This is common in Japan, and is convienent for language barriers, as Tokyo sees visitors from all over the world.
In one of the small shops I purchased a cute kitty tea cup, that I plan on using for my morning coffee at home.
All in all this took us a couple of hours to stroll from Nezu Shrine, to Yanaka Cemetary and Tennoji Temple to Yanaka Ginza and back to the hotel.
-Becky
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