Tokyo has a myriad of pretty neighborhoods- there’s Shimokitazawa aka the hippie and vintage shop-clad neighborhood (which I frequent,) there’s Daikanyama aka the calm version of Shibuya that has its fair share of beautiful cafes and Japanese-owned shops, Yanaka Ginza aka the street of nostalgia cos it still has that old town “shitamachi” atmosphere and oh, an abundance of cats, literally and figuratively.
And then there’s this neighborhood called Kagurazaka.
I first came across with it on a brochure I got from an information center somewhere in Ginza. I took the brochure home with the thought of visiting it if I ever have some time. Fast forward to a year later, last Saturday, I impulsively went with the beau cos our original plan of going to Shimokitazawa to meet a friend was cancelled. And so I thought of that Kagurazaka brochure hidden in the deepest and darkest pile of brochures of places in Japan and other countries I’ve visited throughout the yearsthat I keep in my house (yes, I’m that person lol). I didn’t find the brochure but yes, you guessed it right, I went.
Going was a good decision, I’d say. Scroll over the pictures from my visit and maybe, just maybe, you’d want to get lost in Kagurazaka one day, too. A good kind of lost, of course. *wink*
Coming out of Kagurazaka Station Exit B3 and heading left away from the main street, I saw this restaurant with a Kagurazaka name plate. From there, I can already see the first thing on my Kagurazaka list...
Akagi Shrine
This shrine was designed by Kengo Akuma which is the primary reason I went heh~
Details
Ema plaques
Coming out of the shrine from when we entered it, you can see a pretty restaurant on the left. If it was not too cold that day, I would have dine here al fresco~
Main Street
Picture cos matchy matchy lol
I find random shop facades so aesthetic for some reason
Atelier Kohta
Even the vending machine matches the *feels* of the area.
Found this pretty building while exploring the alleys of Kagurazaka.
A random house which reminds me so much of the windows I saw in Taiwan
Interesting window~
Kobo-chan statue dressed as a mouse~
Kobo-chan is a cartoon character from a popular column in Yomiuri Shimbun, a national newspaper here in Japan.
Baikatei, a small yet famous desserts shop along the main street of Kagurazaka
There are lots of sweets inside it was so hard for me to choose what to buy when I visited lol
I settled with this pretty dessert made of beans and sweet potato.
Throughout Kagurazaka Dori/ Main Street, there are maps like these. It’s quite helpful, I wish other touristy places in Japan have something like this.
Another food store
Side street
At the end of the Main Street, you’ll see a まん shop and of course, the beau and I tried it. We got the kuro buta man (黒豚まん) and it was delicious!
Ahhhh yummy!
Above the まんshop is an interestingly-named hair salon
And that’s the end of the main street for you.
It’s busy in the afternoons but it’s not too crowded, which makes up for a great afternoon stroll with some food trip on the side.
Other places to visit when in Kagurazaka:
-Canal Cafe
- Notes Kagurazaka
-Is Kagu
-Masanao Cosmetics
-Geisha Alley
-Bishamonten Zenkokuji
Hope you had fun scrolling over the photos cos I definitely had fun exploring the streets of Kagurazaka! It’s an old neighborhood but that’s definitely where the charm is! I wanna go back soon to explore more! Lemme know if you visited and what your favorite spots are, yes?
Alyssa
