So if we cross over onto the other side Street and go into the covered arcade
There's a little bit of a secret. I want to show you guys
I've lived in the area of Asakusa
here, for the last ten years or so and since I'm moving out
I thought today would be a good time to give you guys a full tour of
The area and while it might be difficult to show you guys the entire
area what I'm gonna do today is turn the camera around and show you as much of this area as I possibly
can
Let's get started.
So right in this area there's actually three stations that give you access to Asakusa
there's the Ginza line the Asakusa line and over here
There's the Tobu Skytree line. This right here is the Tokyo
cruise building a lot of people don't know but you can actually take a
boat from Asakusa to Odaiba or vice versa
these boats will also take you to places like Hamarikyu or
There's night tours with the building right there
You usually get on the buses right down here right? Here is the ever famous
view of the sky tree and the asahi building of this building here is supposed to look like
Beer with foam on top and this right here is well a lot of people just call the golden poop
Let me know what you think in the comments this area here along
The river has always been one of my favorite places to just sit and relax and decompress
Especially after shooting a video this particular boat here goes to the Hamarikyu Gardens
Which is a beautiful garden
Located fairly centrally in Tokyo that has almost no people in it and the area up here along
The river is a very very popular cherry blossom viewing spot when walking through Asakusa
It is not uncommon to be lucky enough to see something like a Japanese wedding going on as well. In this building right here
There's actually a company called Tokyo kitchen
Which will enable you to do like
Cooking lessons and learn how to cook some cool Japanese food and there's a beautiful bamboo grove along here as well
If you make your way a little bit further down the river
There's actually cafes and whatnot over here
And I actually used to play shamisen at night right there
And if you come down even further there is a kids park here, but I actually wanted to show you these art
installations which were put here
solely to
Point towards or showcase the sky tree
In fact, this tube here is kind of interesting
You can see this country from inside so you can actually stick your head in
Here and there's like a little grate where you can see the Sky Tree you can kind of see during the day
But it looks a lot better at night when the sky trees all lit up. If you continue down the river just a little bit
More you'll get more cherry blossoms, and there's a Sports Center over there and to the left of it
There's actually a hidden cherry blossom Park that almost
Nobody knows about I'm gonna link a video right up here now
The river area alone is nice enough that you could probably spend a whole day here
But let's head back into the main area of Asakusa so I can show that to you
Norm! Hey! (Norm: Hi, nice to meet you!) Nice to meet you, I'm a huge fan!
(Norm: Ah, no way!) Thank you so much for stopping!
(No, no, thank you.) We saw last week about the secret sakura spots. (Yeah. Yeah)and we're hoping to go check another one out
That's awesome. That's amazing. So, thank you. Thank you so much
That was a lot of fun. All right, we're gonna get back to it. Also purple train. This one's my favorite
Also from time to time especially during Hanami season along the river they have vendors for food like yakisoba over there
And as we get back closer to the station area, there's a ton of restaurants and izakaya
Japanese bars here
One of my favorite places eat being Ichiran
Which is a ramen shop that allows you to customize your noodles and have private dining experiences
I'll link a video and right on the corner here
You'll find Kamiya bar, which is not only one of the best bars in Tokyo
But it's also one of the oldest. This is one of the only buildings remaining in Asakusa from after the war
And while it is a pretty good place to eat
It's actually really well known for this right here, which is called Denki Bran its in-house alcohol
Which is sweet and rather interesting
I recommend this and right in front of kaminarimon you will find the tourist information center
Which actually has one of the best views of Asakusa let's go in and I'll show you
Now there is a cafe up here but the real attraction is the viewing deck
It gives you a gorgeous view of the area of Asakusa
including the nakamise street and the temple
And depending on the day and time this place can get kind of popular but as you can see behind me
It is not a super crowded spot. So it's a nice area to check out also
This place has a lot of other stuff to show I'll just show one or two of them. Let's take the stairs down
The seventh floor has a bit of an exhibition space and the sixth floor has a multi-purpose room
Which has like a theater and performance space every now and then they're showing little films here or you get to watch live
Japanese performances here, which is kind of amazing. I really like this space and the second floor is just plain beautiful
In fact if you're not adverse to stairs
I highly recommend taking the stairs up and down because the elevators can get kind of crowded
so next let's head right into the main area of Asakusa starting with kaminarimon and the nakamise
Shopping street. I don't really think this area needs an introduction. But at the same time things wouldn't be complete without it
So let me show you quickly
now that nakamise shopping street is
Incredibly popular
It leads all the way up to Sensō-ji temple up there and a little bit of a pro tip if you do do shopping
Here go more for food than the souvenirs unless you can't find them anywhere else
Almost just as interestingly as nakamise street are the streets are on the side
Let me show you one of them over here
now the side streets are filled with tons of little shops one that I really like
Is this one here which sells tumblers that are made out of gorgeous kimono material. Look at this
I've never seen a tumblr like that anywhere
Each one of the side streets is also just jam-packed with little shops restaurants
You name it.
for example
This shop is really popular for something called melon pan and it's always lined up and this place here called the Sekai
cafe is known for having halal and
vegan, vegetarian
options and right down here is one of my favorite places to meet locals in the area of Asakusa called Rastamans Cafe.
This place is really good. You can make lots of friends here. One of the popular local foods in Asakusa is called okonomiyaki
This place is really good for it here also
In Asakusa you'll find a lot of these little streets like this
That line up really beautifully with the Sky Tree so you can get amazing pictures
These little streets are and always have been one of my favorite things about the area of Asakusa
Let's keep going and about 60 meters or so from the kaminarimon area
You'll find this street here, which is called Shin Nakamise Dori
and it's a covered shopping arcade. It would take me an entire day just to show you all of this.
There's a lot of interesting stuff in there shops, restaurants
You name it. Before we continue on I want to show you this agemanju place right here
Which is right on the corner by Shin Nakamise this shop sells agemanju which are a little fried
manju that have like bean paste inside of them and they're pretty cheap. They're like a dollar this place is really good
I recommend it. Alright this area really crowded. Let's get back to the side street
So if we cross over onto the other side street and go into the covered arcade
There's a little bit of a secret
I want to show you guys. Now be forewarned that this isn't the best of hidden spots. In fact, it kind of stinks
but if you like hidden spots
Right over here as you get to the end of the arcade here. You'll see this little tunnel right here
But this tunnel leads to an entire underground
World of little shops and restaurants and O sake and you name it, but even better
Yet is what we find when we get to the other end down here. As we come around this corner over here
there's an exit now, there's a cheap little ramen shop right in front of the exit with ramen for like
380 yen
But it's what the exit leads to
You see the exit leads you to that area where I almost started at near the station
So if you come out of the station and you want to avoid the rain
You can just let me show you it actually connects directly to the Ginza line. So if we go this way just pass the ramen shop
That's actually entrance to the Ginza line right there. Just realize it feels kind of creepy down here sometimes. Oh,
and the Sakae place was ninja bar with a burnt-out neon sign.
So coming back out of the entrance we went into
We're gonna go this way and then turn right
You'll find yourself on this street here, which oddly enough is
Usually not this crowded but you want to go ahead into this tiny little space here now. Let's head over there
So this is the street here. So on the right side, you're gonna have the Tokyo Skytree on the left side
You're gonna have nakamise and you want to head right in this way
Now if you like Kaisendon, which is basically sashimi on a bowl of rice
this place is really good and the owner is
super friendly
This guy here fantastic definitely come check it out there
And actually just a little bit down from his shop is one of the best restaurants available in Tokyo at all
And that is this place here?
Kikko, where you can listen to live
Japanese tsugaru shamisen. I'll link a video
So with Kikko over there and the Sensoji temple right there,
there's another temple right here that has a beautiful bell and if you ever come out Asakusa for any of the
Festivals. This is a great place right here to pick up some of your festival gear now
There's no shortage of videos showcasing the temple. So we're gonna head over this way
So directly to the left of the temple, there's an entire little park hidden here
That's just beautiful
Now it's a little more crowded because of the sakura right now
But there's a little bridge here
It's got a little bit of a waterfall running through it and on the other side and there are koi in the pond
right down here
Now coming out of this little temple park down this way is Hanayashiki
which is Japan's oldest theme park and it's still active and
Down this way. There's another covered arcade. I want to show you guys. This is it right here
It also has one of these melon pan shops and although it's closed today
This is one of the best places in Asakusa to get kimonos this Ogawa
There's also an entire shop here just for swords and weapons and ninja stuff and all that
And at night when all the people clear out it is a beautiful spot to get some photos also if we head over this way
There's a place that has been famously dubbed "vines covered restaurants street" That's right
I want to give you a quick show. This is it here and in the summer when all these vines are fully green
this is a beautiful Street either just get some photos or
Come and have a drink at one of the local little bars or watering holes. Now coming out of the street will land you right
beside the hanayashiki
theme park and
Right over here there's a street called Hisago Dori and there's a really cheap ramen restaurant in there
I want to show you guys. So this is
Hisago Dori right here and the ramen shop is right at the entrance now to be honest. The ramen is really subpar, but it's only
320 yen
You can get a ticket at the vending machine and then just sit right there at the counter or sometimes they put out a table
This covered arcade is also home to the wired hotel
Which is a really nice and fancy place to stay in the area of Asakusa as well as the Edo traditional crafts center
which used to be more of like a museum, but either way it's a cool place to check out if you like culture and
It's free to get in
So that's a thing. Just around the corner over here is the appropriately named sakura hostel
Which is a really cheap place to stay in Asakusa. Actually, This is my first time to ever see with the sakura
and I just remember that the department store near the station where we first started actually has rooftop access
I forgot to show you that let me show you quickly. This is the rooftop area right here
And there's almost no people
Let me show you the view so you can't really see it right now
But these Sakura balls actually light up at night and here we have a beautiful view of the river
And there's the golden poop. Are you laughing at the golden poop?
(That's what I said when I saw it!)
See it's not just me, it's not just me. Okay, let's head back. So yeah, that's also another cool spot. Sorry
That one was a little bit out of order
and I should mention that this covered arcade is also home to a lot of old traditional Japanese kissaten or cafes and
A couple narrow back streets that are house several fairly good
Yakiniku restaurants like this one here
They're good when they're open and also they're kind of pricey
So I wouldn't really recommend it but they're good but coming back out of the covered arcade
we're gonna head over to this street here, which lines up the cover arcade that we were in before and is also home to
This place called nine hours, which is a really fancy
Interesting and new capsule hotel here in Asakusa, but perhaps just as interesting is what's going on down the street over
Here on the street called Hoppy street or this right here even up here
We have the Richmond hotel and the shopping center called Marugoto Nippon
Which has a lot of food and souvenirs and whatnot from around Japan
So if you can't make it to some prefectures, you can probably grab some stuff in here from that Prefecture
but this street here is called Hoppy Street, and it's basically just an entire Street of
outdoor bars and
restaurants, like if you're looking to drink in Asakusa, this is the go-to place for
A lot of people. It even breaks off into little side alleys and as you come out of hoppy Street
It lines up with one of my favorite streets here in Asakusa
called Denpoin Dori or Denpoin Street
Which is by far one of the more beautiful streets in the area
Now if you turn around this way, there are some arcades over here. One of my favorites here
Is this Taito station Game Center and there are batting cages here in the rox dome game and Sports Center
They don't tend to be super excited to see the camera, but there's a lot of cool stuff in there
There's also another fairly cool game Center right here
Although I prefer the other one and right around the corner from here is the Rox shopping center
Which is actually broken into two buildings this one here and one over here
This one has like a uniqlo and onsen. Daiso hundred yen shop
This one over here has a sports field up on top as well as a lot of great shops
Inside including one of my favorite a dagashi shop. Regular viewers will know how much I love dagashi.
This is it right here for those of you who don't know dagashi
are like Japanese penny candy. A lot of the candies that you can buy in this shop are like 10 cents 20 cents
They're just really cheap and really good and for bubble tea lovers. This place is also home to
Gong cha, exiting the side of the shopping center actually brings us into that shin nakamise
shopping arcade, to the covered one and
Turning the street brings us back to where we just were and this street here is actually filled with history and culture
Like for example this comedy theater right here
Beat Takeshi or Kitano Takeshi used to perform there and here we have
Asakusa Don Quixote
Which for those of you who don't know is basically just a giant multi-purpose shop that has everything fairly cheap
Also, there are two restaurants in here
I really like this one right here is kind of an all-you-can-eat place that has pretty much everything from Korean barbecue to sushi
Cotton candy and the like and Saizeriya which is a really cheap family restaurant style Italian place.
Now, just around the corner from that is probably one of the cheapest places to get a bento box in Tokyo
but right here is another station the Tsukuba express, Asakusa station and
right here is a bento shop that has bentos for as low as
250 yen
also
This place is open
24 hours and has giant onigiri, these ones right here. When my little brother Alexander visited Tokyo
He actually bought one of those and ate it for a video. It was a fun video on food
So I'm gonna link it up here
And for those of you who want to buy stuff like Japanese knives and kitchen
ware or those plastic food samples, this street here as well as the street that it connects with called
kappa bashi dori is just
Filled with that stuff as well as just around the corner down the street this way. There's an escape room game
There's a Denny's that you can have breakfast or lunch at there's no shortage of
Stuff to do here in Asakusa.
That was a lot of stuff. what did you guys think? Did you guys enjoy this concept introducing the area?
I'd love to know and while
I feel like this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of everything that there is to show in Asakusa
hopefully it gives you a little bit of a feel for what the area has to offer if you're coming out here.
I don't even know how many things this was, unfortunately
I'm not really gonna be able to add like Google Maps links to everything down below because that would probably take me longer than making
The video, but if you enjoyed this one and you'd like me to do another one of these let me know
Maybe I could even do a part two on Asakusa who knows. After ten years in this area
I'm really glad to be able to call this place home, and I'm kind of sad to be leaving the area
But I'm glad that I got to do this with you guys today.
If you enjoyed this one, it would mean the world to me if you would give it a little love,
leave me something in the comments and either way you guys know I will see you again
real soon, bye bye