Tokyo is often all about the surface. From the replica of the Statue of Liberty way out of town, to the (in)famous Maid Cafes, to the Hostess bars where people spend money for the illusion of affection. For many areas, that’s enough, and they do it well. But hidden away in the middle of Tokyo is a small region which is both honest and beautiful.
Yanesen is hard to explain. Part residential, part historic, Yanesen (made up of the names of the neighborhoods Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi) is a wedge of area featuring temples, beautiful graveyards, amazing buildings and a huge amount of hidden treasures – a place to explore and fall in love with.
Many Tokyoites ignore it. The boundaries are hazy and due to the jigsaw nature of Japanese address marking, it’s hard to tell if and when you are in Yanesen at all. While living in Yanaka, I found many people my age didn’t even know the place.
The only way to explore is to walk. Start from Nippori station, down a side street or two and you will start to notice the old wooden buildings, their facades and tiled roofs still showing burn marks from World War II. There’s a lovely temple or two, but walk along the maze of apartments, some new, some old, all amazingly slender, pressed tightly together and in differing states of disrepair and havoc. Plants hang out of buildings and bikes are littered everywhere – the effect is at once both cozy and exciting.
If you’re lucky, as the buildings start separating, you’ll stumble upon Isetatsu, the paper shop. Filled beyond comfortable movement with all manner of bright woodblock prints and origami pieces, if you are nice the manager will show you the thick carved stamp used to make them.
The locals are proud of their history here; you’ll find antiques, traditional rice cracker shops, wooden shoemakers – you may even find the slightly underground (literally) shop celebrating cats. Cats are good luck and were traditionally found in the area in large numbers. Feline figurines and art hang from the ceiling, the walls, you eat cat shaped biscuits with green tea sans shoes on the tatami mat.
The young people set up boutiques and art galleries, always found in side streets. There’s a silversmith studio run by a young man who speaks fluent New York-ese and his dog Hampton; an accessories store with international vintage items; and the most amazing local bag label. I was once nervously greeted by a pair of young multimedia artists when I walked into their exhibition. I was given tea and a sweet (wonderfully old-school) as they explained their art to me. Part of their project was to engage with everyone who entered the gallery and, safe in the homogeneity of the area, they were totally freaked by the thought of having to use English. They were very relieved when I spoke to them in (horrid) Japanese.
Scai The Bathhouse is the most esteemed of the galleries, made out a renovated communal bath house with rice paper walls and exposed wooden beams. Classic class. The only place you’ll find tourists is along the famous Yanaka graveyard with its cherry blossom lined path, and there’s plenty more amazing places than I’ve listed.
You may even see the beautiful studio. The entire front is glass, but the building is very old. You can see the work inside- the most amazing hand-painted Japanese panels. Inside lives an artist from America. White and blonde, nevertheless he wears a Japanese housecoat, moves gracefully, and speaks quietly in reasoned tones, like a monk. Living in this area for a decade, he has found a new state of living, and has changed remarkably from the man he once was. That’s the effect Yanesen can have on you – if you take the time to search thoroughly.
Yanesen doesn’t reveal its prizes easily; but what you find will be worth it.
Top and cover image by Sakura Chihaya+ on Flickr
Middle image by nodoca on Flickr
Bottom image by Aran2007 on Flickr
