Ochanomizu
Ochanomizu (お茶の水; literally ‘Water for Tea’) is an often overlooked area of Tokyo. Located south-west of Ueno, it has a surprisingly high density of things to do and see. In this article I’ll go over some of the worthy stuff, along with a KML File for Ochanomizu that you can use with Google Earth. Failing that you can take a look at a screengrab instead.
Ochanomizu gets its name for being the point where water was collected from the Kanda river to make tea at the nearby Imperial Palace. You could easily spend an afternoon in the area, here’s the stuff to do/see from North to South:
Kanda Myojin
This shrine is home to the guardians of the 101 neighbourhoods of Tokyo. People are advised to pay homage here for financial prosperity (and thats why you get a lot of companies visiting at new years). Before you reach the road up to the entrance of the shrine, there is a quirky little cafe on your left thats worth a visit.
The shrine is host to the bi-annual Kanda Matsuri, one of the three great Tokyo festivals. Its good times, and even on the off years they carry the mikoshi (portable shrines) around town and hundreds of people turn up anyway.
Yushima Seido
Just South of Kanda Myojin, Yushima Temple is a Confucian temple originally constructed in 1630 in a bright vermillion colour. The current temple, re-constructed after numerous fires and the Kanto Earthquake of 1923, was built in reinforced concrete in a black color scheme. Those wishing for academic success are encouraged to pay their respects here.
Wikipedia Article
Yabu Soba: やぶそば
Though Soba restaurants are numerous in Tokyo, three families have maintained the traditional style of Soba making over generations. Those families are ‘Sarashina’, ‘Sunaba’ and ‘Yabu’. While Sarashina and Sunaba cater to the Soba connoisseur, Yabu is here to bring decadent Soba to the rest of us since 1880.
Directions:From JR Ochanomizu Station head East until you get to the Bridge. Don’t cross it, but instead keep heading east down a slope that runs along the south bank of the Kanda river. If you can read kana, you should see signposts for Yabu Soba/Takemura on the telephone poles on your left. Keep going and cross the street at the bottom of the slope. You should see Kanda Post Office in front of you. Turn right, then take the first left (before the convenience store) and then head straight down the alley and take the first right. Go straight and on your right you should see a Meiji era building, with a traditional Japanese garden in front.
Expect to pay around 2000 yen per head for some soba, a side dish or two and some nihonshu to wash it down with. Watch out for the mama who will sing every order out while the kitchen staff and waiters serve you with watertight precision and effeciency (we were served in less than five minutes from ordering, and the restaurant was packed).
Takemura: たけむら
Takemura, just around the corner from Yabu Soba, is a traditional Japanese sweet restaurant. The building is also from the Meiji era and you can tell not much has changed between now and then. When we got inside and started chatting with some of the other guests, we found that everyone had done the same course, soba and then oshiruko.
After being seated, you’re served with a (very salty) tea with cherry blossom flowers inside it. The salty tea is to be drunk while eating the sweet dishes later, so that you can clear your palate. Oshiruko is mochi inside a steaming hot, thick, anko based soup. It is very hot when served. It is a very sweet and warming dish that is full of flavor.
Subunso
Subunso is labelled as a ‘foreign used book store’ on the outside. The inside is a book collection that wouldn’t be out of place in a billionaires private gallery. From first editions of Darwins ‘Origin of the Species’ to 500-year-old maps of the world, this bookshop is a treasurehouse for anyone interested in literature.