Your participation in the Meiji Shrine & Harajuku and Yanaka & Nezu Shrine tours on February 15th is greatly appreciated. We welcomed 11 people from UK. Poland, Israel, America, China and Singapore. It was luckily warm for this time of year. It means a lot to us that some of our guests participated in both tours with kindness. The pictures we captured during the tours have been made available as promised.
Meiji Shrine & Harajuku Tour
Yanaka & Nezu Tour
The Meiji Shrine & Harajuku Tour and Yanaka & Nezu Tours are sometimes held in the morning and afternoon on the same day. Both tours include popular shopping streets: Takeshita Street and Yanaka Ginza. The two streets are starkly contrasting. Takeshita Street is a representative tourist spot in Tokyo that attracts attention from around the world as a center of youth culture and Kawaii culture, and is full of unique items that you will never find anywhere else. On the other hand, Yanaka Ginza is a traditional shopping street for locals. Yanaka Ginza has been attracting attention from tourists in recent years as a town that retains the nostalgic atmosphere of old Tokyo.
Takeshita Street is a 350m long street that runs from the Takeshita exit of Harajuku Station and is lined with around 130 stores. There are many kinds of stores including bags, shoes, accessories, jewelries, toys, costumes, cheap and cute general stores, crepes, animal cafes, etc. In the late 1970s, Takeshita Street was transformed into a shopping street with the opening of a French sweet shop ‘Marion Crepes’, aimed at young people, and ‘Boutique Takenoko’, which sold unique clothing that was popular at the time. Even though Takeshita Street is a place where trends come and go quickly, both stores are still in business in the same place, nearly half a century since the opening. Recently, 3D Puffy Stickers, a three-dimensional accessory called ‘Bonbon Drop Seal’ that you stick on a clear sticker book, have become popular with both children and adults. While they are a revival of a once-famous product, they are currently at the forefront of fashion.
On the other hand, Yanaka Ginza is a traditional shopping street. It’s a 170-meter-long street lined with about 60 stores selling everyday items, including candy shops, an electronics store, green tea, butchers, liquors, a fishmonger, etc. Most of the stores have been in business for over 80-100 years. The shopping street spontaneously emerged in 1945 right after the end of World War II. Since then, it has overcome numerous challenges to reach its current state. Yanaka was once known as a cat town, but in recent years cats have disappeared from the main streets. Instead, wooden cat sculptures greet visitors. They are intricately carved and look very realistic. It is popular that buying minced meat cutlets at ‘Nikuno Sato’ and taking them to the liquor store next door ‘Echigoya’ to enjoy eating with beer. Both establishments have been in business for over100 years.
Takeshita Street specializing in culture and commerce for teenagers is rare around the world. The colorful and pop interior of the store is like an art space. Everyone from children to adults can enjoy just looking around. If you’re lucky, you might see girls in Lolita fashion or cosplay, which are common in Harajuku.
Yanaka Ginza is a town where the good old nostalgic atmosphere still remains, and there aren’t many places in Tokyo where you can feel the atmosphere and lifestyle of the Showa era. Yanaka Ginza is the place where you can get closest to the daily life of Japanese people.
Combination of the Meiji Shrine & Harajuku and Yanaka & Nezu tours is enjoyable and recommended. It will be great fun to see cutting-edge fashion and then experience the nostalgic element of a traditional shopping street on the same day. From JR Harajuku Station, it takes about 30 minutes on the Yamanote Line to reach Nippori Station, where the Yanaka & Nezu tour meets. Soon, there will be more frequent combined tours. Keep an eye on the tour calendar. Many thanks for joining the tours and we look forward to seeing you again on many other occasions in the future.
(Yoshi）