Taito
台東区
Things to Do in and Around Taito
Asakusa's lively tourist district, the museums clustered around Ueno, the quiet charm of the craft neighborhoods still found in Yanaka and Kuramae. Taito, the smallest of Tokyo's 23 wards by area, holds Edo-era history and contemporary craftsmanship side by side.
Formed in 1947 through the merger of the former Shitaya and Asakusa wards, the area had already thrived as a downtown district during the Edo period. Asakusa still busy with visitors, Ueno with its museums and zoo, Yanaka with its quiet lanes. Each carries its own character, all contained within a single ward.
Places to visit in Taito
Where is Taito?
Taito sits in the northeastern part of Tokyo's 23 wards. At 10.11 square kilometers it is the smallest of the 23, and its population exceeds 200,000. To the south it meets Chiyoda and Chūō wards, to the west Bunkyō, and to the north Arakawa, while the Sumida River separates it from Sumida ward on the east.
Getting Around
From Haneda Airport, the Tokyo Monorail and Yamanote Line together reach Ueno Station in about 40 minutes. From Narita Airport, the Narita Express runs to Tokyo Station in about 60 minutes. From Tokyo Station, the Yamanote Line covers the short hop to Ueno in roughly 5 minutes, and a transfer to the Ginza Line brings you to Asakusa in another 5 minutes.
Within the ward, the subway is the most convenient way to get around, with the Ginza, Hibiya, and Asakusa lines serving most destinations. Asakusa to Ueno takes about 5 minutes on the Ginza Line, and Ueno to Yanaka or Negishi is only around 15 minutes on foot. The ward is compact enough to cover several neighborhoods in a single day.
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About Taito
Taito is one of the wards where visitors to Tokyo most often set foot. Tourist-facing sights and streets where locals carry on their daily lives sit shoulder to shoulder. Step off the main approach to Sensō-ji Temple into the side lanes, and you'll notice that old shops and workshops have quietly carried on as if it were the most natural thing.
Sensō-ji and Nakamise
It was the year 628. Two fisherman brothers casting a net in the Sumida River pulled up a golden Buddhist statue. That moment is said to mark the beginning of Sensō-ji. As the oldest temple in Tokyo, it has carried about 1,400 years of history.
Towering at the entrance to the approach is the Fūraijinmon, commonly called Kaminarimon. The current gate was rebuilt in 1960 with a donation from the industrialist Konosuke Matsushita. The 3.9-meter red lantern hanging beneath it is one of Tokyo's most recognized sights.
Pass through the gate and Nakamise-dōri stretches ahead for about 250 meters. Around 90 shops line the way. It took its current form around 1685 and is among the oldest shopping streets in Japan. Ningyō-yaki, Kaminari-okoshi, fried manjū. The bustle of strolling past souvenirs along the approach is the very image of Asakusa.
Ueno Park and Its Museums
Ueno Onshi Park is an urban park covering about 530,000 square meters. Inside its grounds gather several cultural institutions, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Nature and Science.
The Tokyo National Museum holds about 120,000 items in its collection, 89 of them designated National Treasures. That accounts for roughly one-tenth of all National Treasures in Japanese fine arts and crafts. Next door, the National Museum of Western Art has its main building, designed by Le Corbusier, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Ueno Zoo, opened in 1882, is the oldest zoo in Japan. In spring the cherry trees along its paths come into full bloom, and the crossing currents of hanami crowds and zoo queues are a scene you'll only find in Ueno.
South of the park spreads Ameyoko, a shopping street packed with around 400 stalls. The name's origin has more than one story. Some trace it to the many candy (ame) sellers who once worked here, others to American goods that flowed through the area after the war. Fresh fish, dried foods, clothing, spices. The sheer breadth of what's on sale can leave you a bit overwhelmed.
Old-Town Walks: Yanaka, Negishi, and Kuramae
Yanaka, spread across the northwestern part of Taito, is a quiet area where some 70 Buddhist temples can be counted. It is often described as shitamachi, old downtown Tokyo, though that image really took hold only from the Meiji era onward. Having largely escaped wartime destruction, the neighborhood has kept its old wooden buildings, temples, and shrines.
Yanaka Ginza Shōtengai is a small shopping street about 170 meters long with around 60 shops. Walk down the stairway known as Yūyake Dandan and the smell of prepared foods and freshly fried korokke drifts up to meet you. Yanaka Cemetery opened in 1874, and its central path is well known for its rows of cherry trees.
Kuramae has drawn attention in recent years as a town of makers. Galleries and cafés in renovated old warehouses keep multiplying, and leather and chocolate workshops face onto the side lanes. Kappabashi Dōgu Street, around 800 meters long with some 170 shops, is Japan's foremost kitchenware district, where you can find anything from professional knives to plastic food samples.
Festivals and Seasonal Sights
Sanja Matsuri, the grand festival of Asakusa Shrine, is held during the third week of May each year. Across three days some 1.8 million people pass through, and around 100 mikoshi portable shrines wind through the streets of Asakusa. The heat of the bearers' chants mingling with applause from the roadside is hard to convey through a screen.
The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival traces its origins to 1733, when it began as a memorial for those who had died in the great famine of the previous year. Today around 20,000 shells are launched, and more than 900,000 spectators fill the riverbanks. Watching the fireworks open across the July night sky from a yakatabune pleasure boat or from along the river is one of the defining scenes of summer in Tokyo.
