We're in Yanaka
It's a kind of older area
Of central Tokyo
That's known for being a bit more laidback & relaxed
It's in the north-east
Right by Ueno
Because we just arrived in Japan today
We thought this would be a more low-key
Relaxing thing to do
And if I look really bad
That's why - we've only just arrived!
And we couldn't check into our hotel yet
Yanaka's a lot more chilled than most of central Tokyo
So it was the perfect place
To spend the afternoon strolling around
If you want to see picturesque Japanese streets
This is definitely the place to come
We're also going to see a mini version of Fushimi Inari
That's the shrine in Kyoto with all the red gates
We're starting off at Yanaka Ginza
Which is the main shopping street
These steps are really famous
They were in a TV show or a film
I'm not sure which, I don't know it myself
But there's a lot of people taking pictures of them
They lead down to the main street
As well as being old & having lots of street food & things
This place is known for cats
Yanaka Cemetery
A famous cemetery is here
And it's got lots of stray cats in there
And apparently there's a lot of cat things you can spot around the place
First cat spotted!
On the street sign
It's so cute how they've got paw prints on there
There's cats on this shop
And on the street banners
The colours are really nice
And they're going all the way down the street
This is a shop selling little stamps
In Japan I think
Where you'd normally sign something
Sometimes you have to use a rubber stamp
To give your seal or signature to something
And this shop's got really cute ones!
Why's it called the Evil Seal Shop?!
It's called a hanko
That's the name in Japanese
They're 2600 yen
Ready in 30 minutes
And you can really customise them
It's pretty cool
I like this one
A rabbit & a shark
Do you think they shark's about to eat the rabbit?
Ah there is a hamster one!
This is a famous shop where you can get cat tail doughnuts
Cat spotted!
Here's a cat massage place?!
Massage for cats??
They also have a skeleton outside
What?! Is that the massage place?!
We've found this map of the area on the street
We're not really sure where we're going
We've just been wandering around the streets exploring
We're going to head for...
This road: Hebi Michi
Which is Snake Road
Because I've seen that was on a walking route
There was a lot of picturesque stuff on that main street
And a lot of snacks and cute shops
But it was really busy
And touristy
All the cats were quite cute to start with
But there were so many of them
That it sort of feels like cashing in
And a bit overly touristy
But there were some really cool shops selling really good bits of food
If you're into Instagram
You could get so many good pictures
If you could manage to take them without loads of people in the way
It's a Saturday today
So it is a busy day of the week
It wasn't rammed
Like some other places
But it was really busy
Then as soon as you turn onto one of the side streets
It's really quiet
We've just been wandering through some streets
Where people live
And I didn't want to film too much
Because people probably don't want me filming their houses
But they're all really pretty as well
People putting their plants outside
And there's just something about them
They look really charming
Everyone's got their little area
And they make it their own
It's a really pleasant little place to walk around
But, as Amy said,
There's actually a sign down here
That's says please be courteous
Because it is peoples' private property
We're going to carry on exploring
And head towards Snake Road!
Who is this guy?
He's just outside a temple
There's some more inside as well
Here we have just a little car park
And a beautiful shrine behind it
There's lots of shrines & temples in this area
And behind me over there
Now considering how tall the SkyTree is
You can't see it from that many places in Tokyo
Because of all the tall buildings
But there it is!
Here we are at the start of Snake Road
Hebi Michi
You can see it's a winding street
I think part of what makes it look so picturesque
Is the mixture of architecture styles
And how you've got the tiles there
Some concrete buildings
There's the wooden balcony up there
With the railings
There's all this greenery coming through from people's gardens
And little pot plants outside their houses
There's just a lot going on
It's really detailed
Part of the mystery of this place
Is you do't know if these are people's houses
Or if one of these is going to be a little bar
Or a shop or a cafe
I think in general, Japan is quite a hidden sort of place
There's a lot behind closed doors
And below ground
And on levels above
So what you see is not everything there is
As a tourist
Obviously it's a bit incomprehensible anyway
Because you can't read the signs or anything
There is literally a surprise round everywhere
You don't know what you're going to get
So - I'm not just going to go and walk into someone's house or anything! -
But it's really cool to walk round the corner
And not know what's going to be there
As we were saying, this was right behind me just now
It's so pretty
And then this way...
We've got these wooden shutters
Some pretty plants
These houses down here
And this one's got all these small horizontal tiles
It's really interesting
NOthing's matching
It's like everyone just has a little spot
They've made it their own style
It's really nice
It's very different to what we see in the UK
Even here, you've got vending machines everywhere
I've seen them in the walls of people's houses!
Here we've got a kushiyaki restaurant
Just in a residential street
And just opposite there's a little book shop!
I was just talking on the camera
And some man just took a picture of me...!
Anyway, this is the entrance to Nezu Shrine
*squeaking*
*loud bike brakes screeching*
*they're still screeching*
*it hasn't stopped yet*
This is the-
He doesn't care!
He's just squeaking
This the en-
Wait wait - go
This is the entrance to-
This is the entrance to Nezu Shrine
Which is like a mini version
Very mini version
Of Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto
You know with the trail of all the red tori gates
Another name for this area
Is Yanesen
Which is made up of the names of 3 different areas
And the Ne comes from Nezu
Which is where we are now
You are here
There's the trail of tori gates
The main shrine complex
And that bridge...
Is that one there
It's a little low!
It's a lot shorter than Fushimi Inari
In height
It's a really nice place!
It's got a really nice, peaceful atmosphere
Really beautiful
With all the red gates
And the water
And all the greenery
And the fox statues
I always love the fox statues
And how they make little bibs for them
Like a lot of shrines and temples
It is free to come in & have a look around
Everyone's welcome
But it is worth remembering
It is a place of worship
And there are people praying here
So remember to be respectful
We're just making our way back
And we've come across this slope
Which is actually quite unusual
Ah there's a little cat!
It's actually quite unusual
To find a slope in Tokyo
It's a very flat place
Which I guess is why it's built where it is
There's just some guys playing badminton in the street down there
And then we're saying - things like this
We can't tell if it's a temple or a shrine
Or an old house
Or a village hall
Or somewhere somone lives
It's a mystery
We just can't tell
We've just walked through Yanaka Cemetery
Which is another thing that people come to visit in this area
And I'm not going to film it too much
Because I don't think it's really right to be filming a cemetery
People's friends & families are buried here
But it is an interesting place to walk through
It is, as you'd expect, very peaceful
And aesthetically
It's really interesting to see all the different types of gravestones
And there's stone lanterns
And some of them are wooden sticks
Which is completely different
From what a cemetery's like in the UK
So it's definitely an interesting place to visit
This area, Nippori,
Is also known for having a lot of fabric stores
And here's one called Fabric Store Tomato
So this-
This has been a really pleasant place to stroll around
This afternoon, it's been really nice
The really good bits have been the backstreets
And the quiet areas
Away from the really touristy places
It's been interesting
And completely different
From the rest of Tokyo
It has a really different feel
I don't know if it's the kind of thing
You'd want to do if it's your first time here
It's interesting for us to see the architecture
And see something a bit different
But there's not a lot to do
It is just looking
It's a low-key, laidback area
If you're into photography
You would love it
There's so many things to take pictures of
If you want to go to cafes
Or buy little gifts for people
There's that sort of thing as well
It's certainly, apart from that one busy street
A nice quiet place to look around
Get a feel for life in Tokyo, maybe
It's pretty busy here
Noisy trains!
We're at the train station now
There
That was a really pleasant way to spend our first day here
We're both really tired
I didn't want to do anything too crazy
So we had a walk around
And it's been really nice
I hope you enjoyed this look around Yanaka
My only regret
Is I didn't get one of those stamps we saw at the start
They were so cute
There's lots more ideas for things to do in Tokyo on my channel
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I'll see you next week!