EYES ON: Yanaka
’Shitamachi’
Yanaka, located in the north east of Tokyo, is the heart & soul of what remains of the city’s ‘shitamachi’. Shitamachi (literally ‘down town’) traditionally referred to the eastern area of Edo along the banks of the Arakawa & Edogawa rivers. Unlike the wealthy Yamanote that sat on higher ground, these areas along the river banks were poorer and subject to devastating floods.
While the origin of the term may have been geographic, ‘shitamachi’ came to embody an entire culture that has persisted into the 21st century. Broadly speaking, the term has come to encompass areas with densely winding alleys, traditional workshops and small izakaya that foster a tightly-knit local atmosphere.
a small, traditional sweet shop in Yanaka
'Shitamachi’ can be increasingly harder to find in a megapolis like Tokyo, but areas like Yanaka are doing their best to preserve it. While many are drawn to Tokyo for the flashing lights, fashion and nightlife - a daytime stroll through Yanaka is a (sometimes much needed) reminder that there’s a rich history to Tokyo and offers a whole new side of the city to fall in love with.
a brightly decorated hobby/collectible shop in Yanaka
The appeal of Yanaka, and shitamachi areas in general, is that you don’t need a game plan. Every back alley and each small shop is bursting with the potential to provide an interesting encounter and a lasting memory. Yanaka in particular is famous for its alley cats and any step off the main streets is more than likely to lead to a meeting with one. Even the buildings seem to be alive and teeming with the stories of a long and weathered history. Yanaka is home to countless buildings that have existed for so long that they now have entire walls of vines that climb up to cover the exterior facade.
a small workshop with vines covering the exterior wall
The shopping in these areas is also one of a kind. It’s all about hand crafted goods, food and souvenirs. The real charm of the shopping in Yanaka though is the people who run the tiny stores and street side stalls - each of them with a story and a wealth of knowledge on their trade. Yanaka Ginza is by far the most well known area for this, teeming with stalls offering anything from leather goods to handmade daifuku.
a fishmonger near Yanaka Ginza
The New Yanaka
With all that being said, Yanaka is still vulnerable to the swift and ongoing modernization of the Tokyo region. In major cities across the world, we see a common theme of gentrification in which traditional areas full of soul and history end up completely muted and a husk of what they once were. Thankfully Yanaka seems to be avoiding this, at least for the time being.
There are signs of a new, emerging scene in Yanaka and yet it seems to be treading carefully - ensuring that it finds a way to mesh with the shitamachi atmosphere rather than drown it out. Take CIBI for example - a cafe situated in an expansive warehouse space just south of Yanaka Ginza. The original CIBI was founded by a Japanese couple in Melbourne, Australia back in 2008 and they opened the doors to this Tokyo joint back in 2018. While the cafe offers all the trappings of a stylish, modern cafe - half of the space is devoted to the showcase and sale of handcrafted towels, ceramics and flags that are all produced by Japanese craftspeople. In this way, CIBI maintains an emphasis on the concepts of community and artisanal craft that form the core of the shitamachi spirit.
CIBI cafe in Yanaka
Another newer addition to the Yanaka area is tokyobike. This minimalist bike chain was born in their small, wooden Yanaka workshop back in 2002. In some ways, they represent the epitome of a modern Japanese success story with their sleek bike designs taking the world by force and resulting in locations in London, New York, Melbourne, Berlin, Singapore, Milan and Bangkok. However, as with CIBI, they are perfectly suited to Yanaka as they emphasis a focus on the craft and fostering a community around their bikes. They also offer a rental service from their Yanaka chain that provides an incredible way to get around the Yanaka area at speed and soak in more of the downtown.
the tokyobike flagship store in Yanaka
Of course it’s not only CIBI & tokyobike - its a common theme of all the up and coming ventures in the Yanaka area; an ability to blend seamlessly into the traditional atmosphere while providing a gateway into the 21st century. Other notable examples include Scai the Bathhouse, a modern art gallery in a converted bathhouse, and the Ueno Sakuragi Atari complex that hosts a brewery, a Japanese-Norwegian bakery and an artisinal olive oil shop in Showa era wooden buildings.
Scai the Bathhouse: a modern art gallery in a converted bathhouse
Tokyo Beer Hall @ the Ueno Sakuragi Atari complex
All things being said, Yanaka is one of the best spots in Tokyo to go and feel close to a largely bygone era of Japanese culture. Like anywhere in Tokyo, modernization in this area is unavoidable but it seems to be managing this tastefully. One can only hope that this trend continues and that new businesses find ways to keep the ‘shitamachi’ alive rather than losing it forever.