Yanaka Ginza

In short

Yanaka Ginza is a shopping street located about a 5-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Nippori Station. Along this short street of about 170 meters, roughly 60 shops stand side by side, mainly traditional, privately owned stores. It emerged naturally around 1945 (Showa 20), and today it is the center of traditional downtown strolls in Yanesen, attracting visitors from overseas as well.

• ​Yuyake Dandan​​: A stairway leading to the shopping street, whose name was chosen through a public contest. You can view the beautiful sunset from the steps.
• ​Seven Lucky Cats (Shichifukuneko)​​: Seven wooden cat sculptures located around Yanaka Ginza; it is said that finding all of them brings happiness.
• ​Shops and Flavors​​: A variety of shops offer meat, vegetables, fish, sake, kimono, ceramics, tea, and more. You can also buy sweet potato sticks (imo-kenpi), roasted chestnuts, and grilled squid.

History and Highlights

​Yanaka Ginza​ is a shopping street located about a 5-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Nippori Station. Along this short street of about 170 meters, roughly 60 stores across diverse trades stand side by side, centered around traditional, privately owned shops.

It emerged spontaneously around 1945, overcame various changes in commercial distribution, and developed as a neighborhood-oriented shopping street. Entering the Heisei era (1989–2019), the Yanaka, Nezu, and Sendagi area garnered attention under the name "Yanesen." As the center for downtown strolls, it came to be visited by people from across the wider region, from far away, and from overseas. The foot traffic, which was about 8,000 people on both weekdays and holidays according to a 1991 (Heisei 3) survey, reached about 10,000 on weekdays and about 14,000 on weekends during an off-peak season survey in 2018 (Heisei 30).

The shopping street has dedicated effort to cultivating its overall image, renovating its exterior in 1999 (Heisei 11), unifying awnings, and installing blade signs in 2006 (Heisei 18). Following a generational handover in 2016 (Heisei 28), the merchants handle everything from planning and designing to setting up events and festivals themselves, without relying on outside assistance.

Yanaka is also known as a "cat town." It seems that because many temples kept cats to catch mice, the stray cat population grew, leading people to call it that.

Viewing and Experience Points

• ​Yuyake Dandan​​: A flight of stairs leading to the shopping street, whose name was decided by public contest. It is a spot where the sunset viewed from the stairs is beautiful. When you stand at the top of the stairs, the downtown landscape unfolds below you, with the shopping street at its heart.
• ​Seven Lucky Cats (Shichifukuneko)​​: The shopping street installed wooden cat sculptures in 2008 (Heisei 20). There are seven wooden sculptures known as "Seven Lucky Cats" around Yanaka Ginza, and finding all of them is said to bring happiness.
• ​Shops and Flavors​​: A wide range of shops offer meat, vegetables, fish, sake, Western clothing, kimono, ceramics, tea, and more. You can drop by Japanese confectionery and craft shops, or purchase sweet potato sticks (imo-kenpi), roasted chestnuts, and grilled squid. There are also confections themed around cats.

Tips for Strolling

Leaving the West Exit of Nippori Station and walking along the gently ascending Gotenzaka Slope will bring you to Yuyake Dandan. After enjoying the view from the top of the stairs, walk down to enter the shopping street. Visiting around dusk is also recommended. Please refrain from eating while walking, and take your trash home with you. When taking photos, be sure to speak to the shop staff first. Operating hours vary by shop. It is also about a 5-minute walk from Sendagi Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line. You can also walk to the Taito City Asakura Museum of Sculpture, about 310 meters to the east, and Yanaka Cemetery, about 540 meters to the east-southeast.