Tokyo Hidden Gems Off the Beaten Path Tour, Licensed Guide

Having miraculously avoided major damage during world wars and natural disasters, Yanaka and Nezu—two of the neighborhoods that make up shitamachi, Tokyo's old downtown—retain their last-century charm. You'll find historical sites such as Yanaka Cemetery and Nezu Shrine tucked away among shitamachi's narrow back alleys, traditional wooden houses, izakaya pubs, atmospheric coffee shops and retro stores selling old-style sweets and snacks. Here you can slip back in time to a slower-paced, more genteel Tokyo.

Dating from 1706, Nezu Shrine is an excellent example of large scale Edo-era shrine architecture. Featuring superbly contrasting vermilion and gold lacquered ‘gongen-zukuri’ style buildings, its designation as an Important Cultural Property seems justified. Also competing for attention is ‘Tsutsuji-en’, a 2,000 tsubo (around 6,600 square metres) Japanese azalea garden in the shrine’s precincts. Housing around 50 varieties of 3,000 azaleas, the garden attracts numerous sightseers each spring.

This time we mainly focus on introducing Yanaka and the best things to do. Yanaka is located a bit far from the central part of Tokyo like Shinjuku or Shibuya. Yanaka is a beautiful calm town that preserves its tradition within the city but not yet known to most foreigner travelers. The town has been featured in many Japanese dramas and movies, and it truly is a nostalgic town that represents Japanese culture. Yanaka Ginza is one of the most famous and popular areas in Yanaka, where you can quickly culturally understand the place and enjoying food.

Formerly a bathhouse (the building is over 200 years old), this high-ceilinged space in a charming neighbourhood near Ueno Park features contemporary Japanese artists (Tatsuo Miyajima) and international practitioners (Lee Bul, Julian Opie). Like many of the Yanaka district's art galleries, the fact that it is situated in an antiquated building gives it a minimalist aspect that is at once both traditional and extremely fashionable. Worth a visit for the building alone.

This is one of Tokyo's largest graveyards and, along with Aoyama Cemetery, one of its most picturesque. These days the avenue through the centre of the cemetery is usually quiet, but over 150 years ago it was a den of antiquity, lined with tea shops that doubled as brothels and illegal gambling dens. However, the cemetery does still have its popular periods - notably during cherry blossom season. The Japanese are oddly fond of holding blossom-viewing parties in the grounds of the city's cemeteries, and Yanaka is noted for its blooming cherry trees. With over 7,000 graves, the area it covers is vast - so big, in fact, that the cemetery has its very own police station.

Three small areas Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi are together called Yanesen which is located in Ueno. Since Yanesen was survived from Great Kanto Earthquake and World Wars, you can still enjoy the nostalgic atmosphere which reminiscents of the late 19th to early 20th century. Go to the Yanaka Ginza Street which is 170 meters long street and there are about 70 stores along the way. You can find the local food stands, clothing stores, supermarkets, tea shops, sweet shops and cafes or restaurants there.

Shibamata (柴又) is a neighborhood on the eastern end of Tokyo, not far from the Edogawa River which is the natural border between Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture. The town retains its old-school charm from yesteryear and is a perfect break away from modern Tokyo. One of the main attractions to see is the Shibamata Taishakuten Temple not far from the station.

200-meter road that leads up to Shibamata Taishakuten Temple. It is filled with street food stalls and little shops. Most of these shops have retained a traditional character and feature authentic wooden signboards that make this street one of the most beautiful in Tokyo. Eating the local snacks, in particular the kusa-dango, is what makes a visit to this street complete.

Nichiren temple with an impressive Nitenmon Gate and beautiful wood carvings gallery. These wood carvings were made in the period between 1922 and 1934 and depict the lotus sutra. In addition, you can immerse and relax in a Japanese garden with wooden walkways going around it.

The Fukagawa Edo Museum is a museum dedicated to old Tokyo. It is a replica of a village during the late Edo period (1603-1868), with various types of houses and features a canal and a fire watchtower.

Fukagawa Fudō-dō is a bit of a mishmash temple, not very beautiful, even though the wood carvings on the main building are rather nice. This temple is part of the Chisan group in the Shingon school of Buddhism (one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan) and practices Esoteric Buddhism. At this temple we have the goma fire rituals at which wooden sticks are burnt during a ceremony several times a day in order to give Fudōmyō-ō (the god revered as this temple) the fighting force he needs (he is the god of justice, who fends of evil with his sword and menacing look).

Birth place of Sumo wrestling tournaments and home to one of the largest Shinto festivals in Tokyo. The shrine was bombed during World War II and the current shrine building dates from 1956. The festival associated with this shrine is considered as one of the three great festivals of Edo.

This garden goes way back and has been linked to Kinokuniya Bunzaemon (1669–1734) who was a merchant during the Edo period (1603-1868) specializing in citrus, lumber, and salmon, among other goods. The garden stands out not only by its crystal clear pond with beautiful reflections of the greenery surrounding it, but also by its large display of stones. The Iwasaki family brought stones from all over Japan to Tokyo with their steamships and arranged them in the garden. It has several stepping stone pathways (iso-watari) set in the water and a wide range of peculiar stones in all kind of shapes and sizes.

Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan (1603-1868). Fukagawa is the place where he wrote many of his masterpieces and was the starting point for his many travels through Japan. There are many places in Fukagawa associated with him.

This tour will allow you to explore Tokyo more efficiently in one day. Meet at your hotel, then move to anywhere you want.

Kappabashi, a neighborhood in the greater Asakusa area, is known for its many vendors selling high-quality, fair-priced kitchen supplies of all types. From Japanese knives to chopsticks and dishes, there is much to see and shop for. Those looking for something practical to bring home, try the cooking and baking supplies at Mamijiya. They even have Mt. Fuji-shaped cake molds! Another highlight of the neighborhood is the fake food replicas created in great detail. When in the area, be sure to head to Ganso Sample, a shop with hundreds of detailed dishes, ranging from ramen to sushi, to elaborate ice cream parfaits. The to-scale size of the replicas are used in restaurants in Japan--it may be more convenient for travelers to take home a smaller version of Japan's famous dishes, however.

Hanayashiki was founded in 1853 and is one of Japan's oldest amusement parks. It is located near Sensoji Temple and hosts about twenty five attractions. Here you can enjoy all the beloved amusement park attractions such as roller coasters, a merry-go-round and a haunted house. This park surely has some old school flair and can be enjoyed by the whole family.

If you stand facing Sensoji Temple, turn to your left and take a short walk, you will find yourself facing this amazing structure. This is Nishi Sando, a covered shopping street that looks like something you would find in an Edo period ukiyo-e painting. The floor of this market is even covered in natural Japanese cypress flooring! This short market area, which has shops selling everything from souvenirs, regional ramen, and samurai swords, is the perfect place to go if you only want to do a little shopping and a lot of seeing Japanese history come to life.

Gotokuji Temple, located in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo, is a Buddhist temple that is said to be the birthplace of the maneki-neko, or “luck-inviting cat figurine.” These small statues, which portray a cat sitting up and beckoning with its front paw, have become quite popular all over the world with cat-lovers.