©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 164 Asakusa & Sumida River ASAKUSA | OSHIAGE | RYŌGOKU | KIYOSUMI | FUKAGAWA 11 1 K i Neighbourhood Ko o r 11 1 to k t u o oi -d s Top Five N ō ri a UENO i - d ASAKUSA Sumida- ō 1 Soaking up the atmos- r Yoshino-dō kōen Expwy i Ko to Tsukuba Express Asakusa to phere (and the incense) u 1# to NISHI- £# Tōbu i- Sh Asakusa- ba at Asakusa’s centuries-old ASAKUSA Asakusa sh Tokyo kōen £# i temple complex, Sensō-ji # y Sky Tree KAMINARI-MON 5 pw As x Station (p166). akusa Tawaramachi E -dōr o 6 £# i #¦ t o 4# Asakusa u N 2 Catching the salt- K ¦# h Honjo- om S #¦ a Azumabashi slinging, belly-slapping ga KOMAGATA ba ta Kasug sh - SUMIDA-KU ritual of sumo at Ryōgoku a-dōri i TAITŌ-KU #¦ Kuramae HIGASHI- Kokugikan (p175). KURAMAE KOMAGATA 3 Learning about life in Kuramae #¦ Kasuga-dōri Mi old Edo at the city’s excel- Asakusabashi #¦ K tsume- ura lent history museum, the ma YOKOAMI ba e- ramaebashi-dōri Edo-Tokyo Museum (p170). ASAKUSABASHI shi Ku Asakusabashi dōri 4 Scaling the world’s tall- #¦ Yokoami-kōen £# Ka 2# est tower, Tokyo Sky Tree nda-ga Asakusabashi #¦ Ryōgoku wa £# 3# (p168), and seeing the capi- Ryō Ryōgoku Keiyō-dōri tal at your feet. goku- bashi SUMIDA-KU RYŌGOKU 5 Shopping for handmade 7 Shuto Expwy No goods in Asakusa’s many traditional craft stores, such KIKUGAWA as Bengara (p174). #¦Hamachō i MUROMACHI sh ¦# Morishita ha -Ō in Sh S hu t o K iy Kiyosumi- E os x u- shirakawa p ba w sh ¦# y i SHIRAKAWA N 6 o S Kiyosumi- um teien id Ō a-g ha aw shi a Kiba- Eita kōen i-bas KŌTŌ-KU hi Sendaibori-gawa E FUKAGAWA it ( a S S i- KIBA u u dō Monzen- m m ri i #¦ i nakachō d d a IRIFUNE a KIYOSUMI - R g a i v 01km w e e# a r 00.5 miles ) For more detail of this area, see Map p291 and p292 A 165 Lonely Planet’s Explore Asakusa & Sumida River Top Tip Welcome to Tokyo’s east side, the area long known as Tokyo Mizube Cruising Shitamachi (the ‘Low City’), where the city’s merchants Line (東 京 水 辺ライン; Map and artisans lived during the Edo period (1603–1868). p291; www.tokyo-park.or.jp/ Asakusa (ah-saku-sah), with its grand temple complex, waterbus) water buses is one of Tokyo’s principal tourist destinations. During depart from Niten-mon the day, Sensō-ji is pretty much always jam-packed. Step Pier in Asakusa for Odaiba, off the main drags though and you’ll find far fewer tour- via Ryōgoku. It’s actually ists, and the craft shops and mum-and-dad restaurants the most convenient way that have long defined these quarters. to get between Asakusa The neighbourhoods east of the Sumida-gawa – and Ryōgoku (one way 10 Oshiage, Ryōgoku, Fukagawa and Kiyosumi – look minutes, ¥310) and is the much like they have for decades, having experienced perfect way for travellers little of the development seen elsewhere in the city. short on time to sample a Tokyo Sky Tree, just across the river from Asakusa in river cruise. Oshiage, is the exception. This is the city’s newest tour- AS ist attraction, with a shopping and entertainment com- A plex at its base. Make it your last stop of the day, to see 5 Best Places KUS the city all lit up at night. to Eat A Ryōgoku has two key sights, the sumo stadium and the ¨ Otafuku (p172) & Edo-Tokyo Museum. Further south, Fukagawa and Kiyo- ¨ Irokawa (p172) S sumi have a handful of worthy sights (a temple, a shrine, UMID ¨ Asakusa Imahan (p172) a garden and some museums) yet remain fairly off the ¨ radar. Walking around these neighbourhoods can give Rokurinsha (p172) A RIVE you a feel for the old-Tokyo culture of the city’s east side. For reviews, see p171 A R Local Life Best Places 6 ¨ Street food Asakusa brims with street-food vendors to Drink (p173), especially along Nakamise-dōri. ¨ Popeye (p173) ¨ Festivals The 15th and 28th of each month are ¨ Lucite Gallery (p173) festival days at Fukagawa Fudō-dō (p171) and Tomioka ¨ Kamiya Bar (p173) Hachiman-gū (p171), with food stalls and a flea market. ¨ ’Cuzn Homeground ¨ Hang-outs Escape the all-inclusive Tokyo Sky (p173) Tree complex and hang with the Oshiage locals at For reviews, see p173 A Shishimaru Shokudō (p172). 7 Best Places Getting There & Away to Shop ¨ Train The Tsukuba Express stops at Tsukuba Express ¨ Tokyo Hotarudo (p174) Asakusa Station, west of Sensō-ji. The Tōbu Sky Tree ¨ Bengara (p174) line leaves from Tōbu Asakusa Station for Tokyo Sky ¨ Soi (p174) Tree Station. The JR Sōbu line goes to Ryōgoku. For reviews, see p174 A ¨ Subway The Ginza line stops at Asakusa. The Asakusa line stops at a separate Asakusa Station and at Oshiage. The Ōedo line connects the Ryōgoku, Kiyosumi and Fukagawa areas via Ryōgoku, Kiyosumi-Shirakawa and Monzen-Nakachō Stations. The Hanzōmon line also stops at Oshiage and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. ¨ Water bus Tokyo Cruise and Tokyo Mizube Cruising Line ferries stop at separate piers in Asakusa; Tokyo Mizube Cruising Line also stops in Ryōgoku..