My first morning on my first trip to Tokyo started in Asakusa, jet-lagged from a 15-hour flight, wandering wooden-fronted streets in a daze before the rest of the city woke up.
I’d expected a wall of neon and glass towers in my first moments in Tokyo. Instead, Asakusa gave me low shitamachi rooftops, temples & shrines, incense smoke, and a neighborhood that looked like it’d been skipped by Tokyo’s postwar growth spurt.
That contrast is the whole reason I’d be sure to throw Asakusa into any first visit to Tokyo. This traditional neighborhood survived the 20th century better than almost anywhere else I’ve visited in Japan’s capital.
After a few trips back in Tokyo, here’s the rundown of my favorite things to do in Asakusa for first-time visitors…
What to do in Asakusa
Marvel at the massive lantern at Kaminarimon Gate
Every Asakusa visit starts at Kaminarimon Gate, whether you plan it that way or not.
On my first morning in Asakusa, I was greeted from afar by the giant lantern hanging at Kaminarimon Gate. The lantern sits 3.9 meters tall, 3.3 meters wide, and weighs around 700 kg.
Asakusa sat gateless for nearly a century until Matsushita Konosuke, the founder of what’s now Panasonic, funded its 1960 rebuild. (His company’s old name, Matsushita Denki, is still stamped on a plate at the lantern’s base.)
I’d budget more than a minute at Kaminarimon Gate itself to admire its lantern and intricate details. The crowd here thins out fast if you swing by right when Nakamise-dori opens for the day.
Shop the stalls of Nakamise-dori
Kaminarimon Gate opens straight onto Nakamise-dori, a 250-meter shopping street lined with about 89 stalls (54 on one side, 35 on the other) running to Senso-ji’s inner gate.
I’d graze my way down Nakamise-dori rather than shop with intent. Age-manju (deep-fried sweet bean buns), ningyo-yaki (small cakes shaped like temple figures, filled with red bean), and melon-pan stuffed with ice cream near the Kaminarimon Gate end of the street are all worth the calories.
If you’re short on time, I’d skip the generic souvenir shops on Nakamise-dori. Keep an eye out for the smaller stalls selling folding fans and lucky charms instead.
Duck into the arcade on Kan’non-dori
When Nakamise-dori gets too crowded, I’d duck one block over to Kan’non-dori instead. It’s known as a quieter, more local alternative.
Kan’non-dori starts right outside Exit 1 of Asakusa Station. It was the first street in the neighborhood to get lit up with neon, back when it was considered the stylish side of Asakusa before World War II.
The shopping arcade grew up as the main approach to Senso-ji once Japan’s first subway line connected Asakusa to Ueno. Some of Kan’non-dori’s shops, selling soba, dried snacks, and hand-baked rice crackers, have been open for more than a century.
Purify yourself at Senso-ji Temple
Get close to the main hall at Senso-ji Temple, and you’ll walk through a cloud of incense smoke rising from a large bronze burner out front, the jokoro. The custom is to fan the smoke toward yourself.
Most visitors aim for their head rather than wherever it actually hurts, hoping for a boost in wisdom rather than a cure. As I entered the temple complex, I fanned a wave over my head and walked up to the main hall.
There’s a water fountain near Senso-ji’s entrance for a similar purpose. I’d stop by to scoop water with the ladle and wash your hands before heading in.
Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest temple, tracing back to 628, when local legend says two fishermen pulled a small Kannon statue from the Sumida River.
The Senso-ji standing today isn’t the original structure. The main hall burned in the March 1945 firebombing and was rebuilt between 1951 and 1958 using ferroconcrete under a titanium-tiled roof. Senso-ji’s five-story pagoda dates to 1973, standing 53.3 meters on the same modern reinforced frame.
Past the main hall, don’t skip the two towering Boddhisatva statues (Kannon and Seishi, installed in the late 1600s) tucked to one side, or Bentendo, a small hall on a rise near the toki no kane, a 300-year-old bell that rings only once a day at 6 am. If jet lag has you up early anyway, it’s worth timing a visit around.
Pay your respects at Asakusa Shrine
Most first-timers walk right past Asakusa Shrine on their way out of Senso-ji. And I think it’s a mistake. (One that I made on my first visit, too.)
Locals call Asakusa Shrine “Sanja-sama,” shrine of the three, after the two fishermen and the local landlord credited with founding Senso-ji itself.
Asakusa Shrine was built in 1649 in the gongen-zukuri style, commissioned by the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. It’s one of only two structures in the immediate area (along with Senso-ji’s Nitenmon gate) that survived the 1945 bombing raids that leveled most of the neighborhood, making Asakusa Shrine one of the few Edo-period buildings left standing in this part of Tokyo.
If you’re around in mid-to-late May, Asakusa Shrine is also the starting point for Sanja Matsuri, one of Tokyo’s biggest and rowdiest festivals.
Hunt for kitchen gear on Kappabashi-dori
With all the temples & shrines to explore, Kappabashi-dori is one of the more overlooked places to visit in Asakusa, sitting just steps off the main tourist path.
About 170 shops line Kappabashi-dori, strung along an 800-meter stretch between Asakusa and Ueno, another great neighborhood I’d explore if I had more than 24 hours in Tokyo.
Niimi, opened in 1907 and topped with a giant chef’s bust on its roof, sells everything from professional cookware to oddities like rock salt graters. I’d budget more time here than seems reasonable, even if you’re someone who doesn’t cook. The rock salt graters alone are good for ten minutes of browsing.
Kama-Asa Shoten, founded a year later in 1908, deals in knives and Nambu ironware on Kappabashi-dori. They’ll engrave any purchase with the maker’s mark for free, since Kama-Asa’s policy is to never stamp its own name on a blade.
I think this is an even better stop than Nakamise-dori if you want to bring something unique home. A free engraving turns a knife into a souvenir you’ll actually use rather than just sit on a bookshelf or hidden in a drawer.
Kappabashi-dori takes its name from a legend about kappa, river spirits blamed for either causing or preventing flooding, depending on who’s telling it.
Before leaving, I’d keep an eye out for the small golden Kappa Kawataro statue in the pocket park halfway down the street. It was put up in 2003 for Kappabashi-dori’s 90th anniversary.
Duck into Denboin-dori
One block off Nakamise-dori, Denboin-dori is the version of old Asakusa that doesn’t show up on most Tokyo itineraries.
The street was restored to an Edo-era look in the early 2000s. Many of Denboin-dori’s shop buildings are a hundred years old or more. They sell handcrafted goods like Edo kiriko cut glass that you won’t find replicated elsewhere in Tokyo.
While exploring Denboin-dori, I’d be sure to stop at Daikoku-ya. This tempura rice bowl restaurant has been serving the same style of food since 1887.
Drink where the locals drink on Hoppy-dori
If I were deciding what to do in Asakusa after the temples close for the evening, I’d land myself on Hoppy-dori.
A few minutes west of Senso-ji, Hoppy-dori started as a postwar black market and slowly turned into a strip of more than 20 open-air izakaya.
Hoppy-dori takes its name from Hoppy, a low-alcohol (0.8%) malt drink invented in 1948 by a Sumida-ku brewery as a cheap stand-in for beer, meant to be mixed with shochu.
I wouldn’t bother with Hoppy-dori during the day. The street makes more sense to me after dark, with grilled skewers, cheap drinks, and a crowd that skews more local than Nakamise-dori.
Walk or cruise the Sumida River
The path along the Sumida River is one of the calmest stretches in Asakusa, and is a real break from the crowds a few streets over. On my first morning in Tokyo, I first walked this stretch at about 5 am. I was absolutely shocked by how quiet and peaceful it was!
On a clear evening, the flame-shaped gold rooftop of the Asahi Beer Tower across the Sumida River makes for one of the odder skyline landmarks in Tokyo. (I’ve seen its characteristic flame topper called the “golden turd,” and after seeing it in person, I can’t unsee the comparison.)
Tokyo Skytree towers close enough on the opposite bank that I’d count it as part of the same walk. It’s about a 15- to 20-minute walk from Kaminarimon Gate across Azumabashi Bridge, or a couple of stops on the Tobu Skytree Line if you’d rather save your legs.
Although it’s not in Asakusa proper, I’d still carve out time to head up the Tokyo Skytree.
The lower Tembo Deck sits at 350 meters. It runs about ¥2,100 if you book online in advance (closer to ¥2,400 on the same day).
I’d pay the extra for the Tembo Galleria at 450 meters if the sky’s clear. The glass-walled spiral walkway up there gets you close enough to spot Mount Fuji on a good day, for around ¥3,100 in advance.
I’d book timed tickets ahead rather than risk the same-day line, especially on weekends, as it can get busy.
PRO TIP: The pier for Sumida River cruises sits one minute from Asakusa Station, right beside Azumabashi Bridge. Standard boats run ¥740 to ¥1,560 depending on distance. The futuristic Himiko and Hotaluna boats (both designed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto) cover the Asakusa-Odaiba route in 50 to 60 minutes for about ¥1,560. I’d book a week or two ahead if you want a weekend slot on the newer boats, since they sell out fast.
Cool off with matcha gelato at Suzukien
Suzukien has been a working tea shop since 1853, but the matcha gelato that made Suzukien famous only dates to 2016, when the shop partnered with Nanaya, a Shizuoka matcha brand, to start selling it.
The matcha gelato at Suzukien comes in seven intensities, numbered from a pale No. 1 up to a nearly black-green No. 7 made with award-winning matcha.
I’d skip the middle of the range and go straight for one of the extremes to actually taste the difference.
Take a rickshaw tour with Kurumaya
Rickshaws, or jinrikisha, have been part of Asakusa’s streets since the 1800s. The runners at Kurumaya double as guides, working Senso-ji’s rituals, the story behind Kaminarimon Gate’s lantern, and Asakusa’s Edo-era history into the ride.
It’s not cheap to grab a ride at Kurumaya. Other Asakusa rickshaw operators price rides anywhere from about ¥3,000 for ten minutes to ¥13,000 for a full hour, per carriage rather than per person. Two people splitting a ride is usually the better value.
I’d treat a rickshaw ride in Asakusa as a splurge rather than something you need to do. The runners’ English is generally solid enough to follow the commentary if you’d rather listen than read, but you can pick up most of the same history for free off the plaques around Senso-ji.
PRO TIP: I’d recommend booking an Asakusa Rickshaw Tour ahead of time, especially on weekends when the runners get booked up fast.
Recommended hotels in Asakusa
I based myself in Asakusa on my first layover in Japan, and it’s still one of my recommended neighborhoods to stay in Tokyo for first-time visitors.
I found Asakusa much calmer than either Shinjuku or Shibuya. The only trade-off is that it’s a little farther from many of my favorite places to visit in Tokyo, and will involve spending a little more time commuting on the subway.
APA Hotel Asakusa Ekimae
APA Hotel Asakusa Ekimae wins on location, not charm. It’s one minute on foot from Asakusa Station’s Exit A1. I’d keep in mind that the 306 rooms run small. (Not unusual in Tokyo, in my experience. All my rooms here have been tight, even the more mid-range ones.) I wouldn’t book APA Hotel Asakusa Ekimae if you need a ton of space to unpack, but for a clean, no-frills place to crash between days spent exploring, it’s hard to beat.
The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon by Hulic
The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon sits one minute from Kaminarimon Gate and 250 meters from Nakamise-dori, with interiors designed by Shigeru Uchida across 137 rooms. The rooftop terrace at The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon looks out over Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree. This alone would be the reason I’d book it over a cheaper option nearby.
Asakusa View Hotel
Asakusa View Hotel connects directly to Asakusa Station on the Tsukuba Express Line and sits a five-minute walk from Senso-ji. It’s a solid mid-range-to-luxury pick if you want more polish than a budget hotel without paying Shinjuku prices.
