Tokyo is neon lights skyscrapers.

Gourmet sushi futuristic cityscapes but it's also a place millions of people simply call home.

Janssen is a quiet, largely residential east.

Tokyo neighborhood.

Far off most tourists radars, it's a maze of narrow alleyways, quaint houses with flower pots at the door, centuries old temples and shrines and artisanal craft shops and cafes.

Actually three neighborhoods in one Yeah, sin is the combined name for the Yamanaka nezu and send doggy districts.

Located just northeast of Reno Park.

It is a classic example of one of Tokyo's sheet hamachi.

Historically areas of old Tokyo where commoners like merchants, laborers and artisans worked and lived with its retro ambience and laid back pace.

Johannessen is a window into a slower nostalgic and more local side of Tokyo.

Here's the plan.

We'll start our day at the police station.

From there.

A short walk lands us in Yamanaka Ginza where we'll visit its iconic old shopping street and enjoy some local street food.

After that we explore the area on foot, visiting a local park, a particularly winding alleyway, a famous old tree, one of Tokyo's oldest shrines and ending the trip at an historical cemetery.

My name is joe mondano, designer, developer and staff writer for Japan guide dot com and today I'll be going on a day trip on foot to the traditional stomach neighborhood of unison.

It's a beautiful day here in Tokyo.

We've just arrived at the police station just a few stops north of Tokyo station on the line.

Let's walk down the street and check out the Yamanaka area of Afghanistan.

We're standing at the top of Don Don staircase overlooking the entrance to yana cadenza.

It's a great place to take in the view of the old shopping street below you.

You don don literally means sunset staircase naturally.

It's a great place to catch the sunset.

Yonica Ginza is a traditional downtown shopping street dating back to about 1945.

It's a great place to explore with over 60 shops selling all kinds of goods, crafts, street food and toys founded in 1933.

Nicu know Suzuki is an institution here that sells handmade mention cuts or ground meat cutlets.

The fillings contain minced beef or pork mixed with onion and spices in a coating of breadcrumbs.

Originally a butcher shop, the third generation owner still makes everything by hand.

This is genki genki literally energy packed minced cutlets.

I'm ready for some energy.

Oh, that's good, That's good.

Until just the 20th century, Janaka was little more than a farming village on the rural outskirts of old Tokyo.

Back then, the area's expansive wetlands, made ginger, the area's staple and Yonica soon became synonymous with the spicy root.

A short walk down the road brings us to the seine doggy area and our next stop pseudo park.

One thing I love about Tokyo is that it seems like you can't walk down the street without running into a green space or a park.

It's a nice way to escape the busy streets and take a break back in Yamanaka.

There are lots of hidden gems that offer a peek into Yannis ens history.

This little road here.

The locals call Snake Street just over 100 years ago.

This street wasn't in fact a street, but a winding stream, but in the 1920s the stream used to flood.

So they built the road over it.

It's hard to say exactly what makes a sheet hamachi hamachi, but a place like this is a perfect specimen, the narrow alleyways, flowerpots, plants, decades old decorations in every nook and cranny.

You just knew it when you see it.

The Yamanaka and nezu areas have long been residential neighborhoods as well as thriving temple towns.

During the 20th century, the Unison area became associated with art and an almost bohemian culture and was a home for painters, sculptors and writers.

As time passed, many old buildings were replaced by new ones, but others remained intact and nowadays often service shops explore Yamanaka long enough and you might stumble across a large Himalayan cedar tree towering over a nearby shop and temple.

The story goes, the tree started its life as a humble potted plant and eventually outgrew its pot roughly 90 years later, it's now a 20 m tall, fully grown tree.

On more than one occasion, plans were made to remove the old tree, but residents have continually stepped in to protect it, going as far as creating local action committees and a fund of its own.

They say the tree represents Ganesan and that it helps preserve the neighborhood's traditional spirit located near Ueno Park and a stone's throw away from NEzu station, NEzu Shrine is one of Tokyo's oldest.

It's dedicated to the brother of the sun goddess Suzano no Makoto, the god of sea and storms and its current buildings date back to 17 05.

The main building and several other structures have been designated as important cultural properties.

The hill behind me is a bit green right now, but if you come in spring between april and May, this hill bursts into color when the over 3000 azalea plants here are in bloom, NEzu shrine is made up of a collection of opulent gilded buildings with beautiful wood carvings.

It shares the same architectural design as Nico's famous shrine where the prayer hall is connected to the main hall under the same roof, in the shape of an H worth noticing while exploring is the 200 m lattice window wall that surrounds the inner shrine, one of several national cultural properties here and perhaps measure shrines.

Most iconic feature is its 1000 torii, a path of numerous small Torii gates.

The path very much resembles the famous Grand fushimi Inari shrine in kyoto leading to the small ultimate sub shrine near the main hall back in.

Yeah, naka, Our last stop is one of Tokyo's most famous graveyards.

Yamanaka cemetery.

The tranquil cemetery is one of Tokyo's largest and is the final resting place of a number of important japanese historical figures, including Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun of Japan.

Thank you so much for watching.

We hope this video helped you discover a less known side of Tokyo and get a glimpse of what makes she Tamaki like.

Yeah, Nissen special for locals and tourists alike.

For more information about Tokyo or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head over to Japan guide dot com.

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