©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 136

Kōrakuen & KŌRAKUEN & KUDANSHITA | KANDA & AKIHABARA |

Neighbourhood Top Five 1 Kōrakuen kart for a spin dressed in a selection of Japanese crafts (p138) Slipping into the Super Mario outfit. at this beneath-the-train- beautiful verdant world 3 3331 Arts Chiyoda tracks mall between Aki- of this classic traditional (p139) Encountering dino- habara and . garden with its central saurs made from old plastic 5 Akagi-jinja (p143) pond, charming bridges and toys amid the contemporary Threading your way seasonal flowerings. art galleries in this former through the stone-flagged 2 Akiba Kart (p146) Ex- school turned arts-and- streets of Kagurazaka, with periencing the blazing neon culture centre. its atmospheric shops and and wacky (geek) vibe 4 2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan bars, to find this thoroughly of ‘Akiba’ while taking a go- (p144) Browsing a choice modern shrine. IKE-NO- Ueno- HATA kōen

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U Ō ¦# KU ¦#Ōtemachi Kōjimachi Mitsukoshimae ¦# ¦# ¦#Hanzōmon Mitsukoshimae ¦# For more detail of this area see Map p282 A 137 Lonely Planet’s Explore Kōrakuen & Akihabara Top Tip Kōrakuen has two big hitter sights: the traditional gar- Check electronics prices in den Koishikawa Kōrakuen (p138) and the entertainment your home country online complex Dome City (p146). South of Kōrakuen, in before buying big-ticket Kudanshita, are two controversial attractions: the shrine items in Akihabara; they Yasukuni-jinja (p138) and its adjacent museum Yūshū- may or may not be a good kan (p138), which covers ’s warring past. Anyone deal. If you do buy, have your with an interest in Japanese history (or Asian geopoli- passport handy since travel- tics) should make a stop here. On a lighter note, there lers spending more than are also some pleasant strolls nearby, along the Imperial ¥10,000 in a single day at Palace moats, Hanzo-bōri and Soto-bōri. Also worth a selected shops can get a re- detour: the neighbourhood of Kagurazaka (p142), with fund of the consumption tax its narrow cobblestone lanes, presents a charming alter- (8%). For a list of duty-free native picture of Tokyo. shops offering this service, Heading east, the neighbourhood of Kanda, has an see www.akiba.or.jp. interesting trio of religious buildings: the Shintō shrine Kanda Myōjin (p138), the Confucian shrine Yushima Seidō (p139) and the Russian Orthodox Nikolai Cathe- 5 Best Places dral (p139). Then throw yourself headfirst into 21st-cen- to Eat tury Tokyo in Akihabara, the electronics district that has ¨¨Kanda Yabu Soba (p143) become synonymous with otaku (geeks) and their love of ¨¨Botan (p143) Kōra k (Japanese animation), (Japanese comics) ¨¨Ethiopia (p139) and J-pop culture. Akiba, as it’s popularly known, also ¨¨Kado (p139) has artisan-goods shopping malls and the contemporary uen & arts centre 3331 Arts Chiyoda (p139). For reviews, see p139.A Ak

Local Life 6 Best Places ihabara ¨Cosplay Catch anime fans dressed as their favourite to Drink characters along Akihabara’s Chūō-dōri on Sundays ¨¨Imasa (p143) ¨¨N3331 (p144) (1pm to 6pm April to September, to 5pm October to  March), when it becomes a pedestrian zone. ¨¨Craft Beer Server Land ¨Festivals The area bursts with extra creativity (p144) during Trans Arts Tokyo (www.kanda-tat.com), a ¨¨Mugimaru 2 (p142) contemporary arts fest held in autumn. For reviews, see p143.A ¨Video Games Go old-school and join enthusiasts playing Pac-Man and Street Fighter at Super Potato Retro-kan (p146). 7 Best Places to Shop ¨¨2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan Getting There & Away (p144) ¨Train The JR Sōbu line runs east–west, stopping at ¨¨mAAch ecute (p145) Iidabashi (for Kagurazaka), Suidōbashi (for Kōrakuen), ¨¨ Complex Ochanomizu and Akihabara. Rapid-service JR Chūō (p145) line trains stop at Ochanomizu and Kanda. Kanda and ¨¨Kukuli (p142) Akihabara are stops on the JR Yamanote line. For reviews, see p144. ¨Subway Many lines converge in Iidabashi (Nanboku, A , Tōzai and Ōedo lines). The line stops in Akihabara, while the line stops at Suehirochō and Kanda.