Yanaka

Yanaka is one of the few neighborhoods in Tokyo that wasn't destroyed in the WWII firebombings, leaving it with an almost surreal sense of preservation. The main shopping street, Yanaka Ginza, is a covered arcade of old-school mom-and-pop shops selling everything from tofu to handmade goods. The cemetery is beautiful and peaceful, the final resting place of the last Tokugawa shogun.

Go on a weekday morning before the tourist groups arrive. Yanaka Ginza gets crowded by midday on weekends. The real Yanaka is the backstreets off the main shopping street.