Tokyo/Taito

Talk to a Tokyoite about "downtown" (下町 shitamachi), and he will think of the Taito district: the train station of Ueno, where migrants from the deep north first arrived in their search for a better life, and the temples of Asakusa, once a boomtown full of prostitutes and gangsters but now long since past its prime. Stuck in a low-rent post-war time warp, here Japan's hypermodernity takes a bit of a breather, with such quaint oddities as bustling street markets and even the occasional wooden house.

Ueno Station is the major hub, connecting together northbound Shinkansen passengers with the JR Yamanote line, the subway Ginza and Hibiya lines, and the Keisei trains to Narita.
If visiting Tokyo University in Bunkyo, the Hongō Sanchōme Stations of the Marunouchi and Ōedo subway lines are the most convenient.

• Asakusa, covered in a separate article, known particularly for Sensō-ji Temple (Asakusa Kannon).
• Ueno, covered in a separate article, packed full of museums and Tokyo's best-known cherry blossom viewing spot.

• Asakura Museum of Sculpture

  phone: +81 3-3821-4549
  address: 7-18-10 Yanaka
  Not a "museum" in any traditional sense of the word, this is the former custom-designed residence of scholar and sculptor Fumio Asakura. Built around a lovely garden and packed with art, this is a wonderful place to stroll and contemplate the meaning of life.

• Shitamachi Museum Annex

  phone: +81 3-3823-4408
  address: 2-10-6 Ueno-Sakuragi
  Many buildings scattered around the Yanaka district survived the bombings of World War II, including this former sake store built in 1910. Characteristic of Meiji-era architecture, the building now houses a small museum of sake and beer equipment.

• SCAI The Bathhouse

  address: Kashiwayu-Ato 6-1-23 Yanaka
  A small gallery showing the work of contemporary artists, the building is a former sento, or bathhouse.
• East Japan Railway Company

Markets

Yanaka (谷中), Nezu (根津) and Sendagi (千駄木) are adjacent low-key commercial and residential neighborhoods full of traditional, quirky little shops, particularly along the very tongue-in-cheek Yanaka Ginza (谷中銀座, ) shopping street. The area is best reached on the Metro Chiyoda line to Sendagi or the JR Yamanote Line to Nippori.

• Chaho Kanekichi-en

  address: Yanaka 3-11-10
  An old-school tea shop near the entrance to Yanaka Ginza, just follow the smell of roasting tea. They prepare their own blends, which are uniformly excellent: try the slightly bitter Snow Plum (雪の梅 Yuki-no-Ume, ¥600 per 100g) or the unusual Yanaka Midori (谷中みどり, ¥600-1000 per 100g), a mix of roasted tea stems (the cheapest tea) with tea-ceremony grade matcha (the most expensive tea). Ask to see the private garden and if they're in a good mood they just might let you have a peek.

• Gotō no AmeA traditional Japanese candy (ame) shop at the very end of Yanaka Ginza, everything sold here is made on premises and quite cheap (¥100+).

• Aoi Marushin

  phone: +81 3-3841-0110
  address: 1-4-4 Asakusa
  Tempura, Tempura, Tempura. Aoi Marushin is the largest tempura restaurant in Tokyo!

• Bentenyama Miyakozushi Souhonten

  phone: +81 3-3844-0034
  address: 2-1-16 Asakusa
  This is a very small, very expensive sushi restaurant in Taito. If you are a sushi buff this is that place for you, with fantastic sushi and great ambiance.

• Zakuro

  phone: +81 3-3822-1543
  address: 3-14-13 Nishi-Nippori
  Located in the heart of the traditional Yanaka neighborhood, this Persian/Turkish restaurant goes all-out on the "dining experience": you sit on the carpeted floor, they make you wear middle-eastern garb, and dessert includes a hookah (water-pipe) to puff on! And all the while, the owner wanders from table to table making wisecracks in Japanese. The set dinner course (¥2000) is guaranteed to leave anyone stuffed.

• Yanaka Bossa

  phone: +81 3-3823-5952
  address: 6-1-27 Yanaka
  Coffees and light meals with a Brazilian theme.

Taito has Tokyo's best range of cheap to midrange accommodation. The listings below cover only more far-flung bits of the district, see Asakusa and Ueno for listings of hotels in the immediate vicinity of the two central stations.

Budget

The area around Minami-Senju (南千住), near the northern end of the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, has some of Tokyo's cheapest budget accommodations. The typical room is an individual tatami flat of 2 square-meters, with television and air-conditioning. The bedding is Japanese style (futon set and pillow). All hotels listed here cater regularly to backpackers and have some English ability. Just hop out at Minami-Senju and walk down south towards Meiji-Dori (Main road) on Route 464. The further away from the train station you walk the cheaper it gets. About 3,500¥ down to 2,100 for single, also 1,500¥ for dorms are available all along this street (Route 464).

• bakpak Tokyo Hostel

  phone: +81 3-38753264
  address: 3-12-5 Ryusen

• Juyoh Hotel

  phone: +81 3-3875-5362
  address: 2-15-3 Kiyokawa
  Very nice cheap hotel, prices ranging from ¥3200 for a single (¥2980 with a discount coupon printable from their web page, includes cleaning service every other day) to ¥6400 for a double (¥5960 with coupon). Internet access available in the lobby, five PC's and Macs available; wireless and ethernet support for laptops.

• New Koyo

  phone: +81 3-3873-0343
  address: 2-26-13 Nihonzutsumi
  Do not expect too much from this hotel. Usually a line for the shared showers.

• Oak Hotel

  address: Higashi-Ueno 6-1-2
  Small, but clean and efficient rooms, free internet computers, a collection of travel books, coin laundry, and an English-speaking staff make it a useful stop for foreign visitors. Guests with their own LAN-enabled laptops/netbooks can get free internet access in the privacy of their own rooms; just borrow a connection kit from the front desk. Located near Inarichō Station (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line) and the Kappabashi-Dori kitchenware street. Ueno Station is a long but manageable walk away. Offers a discount for ISIC cardholders.

• Tsukuba Hotel Ueno

  phone: +81 3 3834-2556
  address: Moto-Asakusa 2-7-8
  Old but functional business hotel offering small but cheap rooms. Free wireless, free PCs, coin laundry, used to dealing with foreigners.

• Villa Fontaine Ueno

  phone: +81 3 5339-1200
  address: 2-4-4 Kojima, Taito-ku
  Mid-range hotel. Rooms have en-suite toilet. Staff speaks English. Simple breakfast included. Free internet (through LAN cable) in rooms. Rooms are quiet and pleasant. 5 minutes walk from Shin-Okachimachi Station.

Mid-range

• Andon Ryokan

  phone: +81 3-3873-8611
  address: 2-34-10 Nihonzutsumi
  Run by the same family as New Koyo, this is a well-kept ryokan north of Ueno.

• Annex Katsutaro Ryokan

  phone: +81 3-3828-2500
  address: 3-8-4 Yanaka
  Smallish Japanese-style tatami rooms with en suite bathrooms and A/C in a modern (2001) 3-story building (elevator available) on a quiet residential street. English spoken. WiFi; free use of computer in the lobby; coin washer/drier (ask for detergent at front desk).

• Sawanoya Ryokan

  phone: +81 3-3822-2251
  address: 2-3-11 Yanaka,Taito-Ku,Tokyo, 110-0001
  Well-known and popular ryokan, all rooms Japanese style with tatami floors. 2 rooms with bath, the 10 others share two Japanese-style baths and showers. Good neighborhood to simply wander and look at the houses and gardens. Free internet and LAN points in all rooms. Coin operated laundry. Really friendly helpful staff. Closed 29 Dec-3 Jan. Quote from book by owner "I stay here not because it is cheap but because it is friendly".

• Weekly Nippori Center

  phone: +81 3-5834-015
  address: 3-2-12 Yanaka