Yanaka walk: the old Tokyo lanes, the cemetery, and the cat street
Yanaka feels like the Tokyo that time left alone. The lanes are low, quiet and residential, lined with small family-run shops, temples and cats, and the walk through them is best done slowly, without retracing your steps.
Start at Nippori Station, walk down into the shopping street, cross the cemetery path, hunt for the lucky cats, and finish with street food on Yanaka Ginza. This guide follows that order, with the practical details you need: where to start, how the cemetery path works, which cat-themed shops matter, what to eat at the finish, and what to skip.
Weekdays feel residential while weekends are lively and crowded, so pick your day to match the mood you want, and arrive early for quiet lanes and an active cat colony.
Where to start: Nippori station exit
Start at Nippori Station West Exit and walk west to the Yuyake Dandan stairs, which lead down into Yanaka Ginza. Nippori Station sits 10 to 15 minutes from Ueno and 20 minutes from Shinjuku, so the walk is easy to reach from central Tokyo. Arriving before 09:00 means quiet lanes and an active cat colony, which is the best way to see Yanaka before the crowds build.
Allow 30 to 45 minutes for the Yanaka Ginza stretch including purchases, then continue into the cemetery rather than turning back. The whole Yanesen circuit runs 3 to 4 hours at a relaxed pace, ending at Nezu or Sendagi Station on the Chiyoda Line.
Cemetery path: the sakura-lined route
Yanaka survived both the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the 1945 firebombing largely intact, holding over 70 Buddhist temples, and the cemetery is part of that old fabric. Yanaka Cemetery is a public municipal cemetery open from sunrise to sunset with free entry, covering 10 hectares dating back to 1872.
Walk the Sakura-dori promenade for 45 to 60 minutes and look for the grave of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun. South of Nippori Station, the cemetery also holds graves of Tokugawa family members and the serene Tennoji Temple. The path connects directly to Yanaka Ginza, so the cemetery sits naturally in the middle of the walk rather than as a detour.
The cemetery is an active burial place, not a themed attraction. Keep voices down, do not enter private grave plots, and be considerate around people visiting family graves.
Cat street: the shops that define Yanaka
Yanaka Ginza stretches 170 meters with around 60 family-run shops and eateries unchanged since the 1950s, and the cats are everywhere: seven Lucky Cat statues are hidden along the street, so hunting for them makes a natural game as you browse.
Cat-themed stops include Cafe Neko Emon, a cat-themed cafe in a refurbished 90-year-old home where visitors paint a maneki-neko, cat-tail doughnuts at Shippoya, and lucky-cat taiyaki at Maneki-ya. Beyond the cat shops, look for freshly fried menchi katsu, a custom hanko stamp shop, fishmongers and craft shops, plus artisanal cafes like CIBI for breakfast and HAGISO. Himitsudo kakigori shaved ice draws a queue even on weekdays, so factor in waiting time if you stop there.
The shopping street finish: Yanaka Ginza food
Finish with Ginza street food, which runs under 500 yen: menchi katsu at 150 to 200 yen, cat-tail donuts at 100 to 200 yen per piece, and pickles and confectionery at 200 to 600 yen per item. A browsing and snacking visit takes 2 to 3 hours, so graze as you go rather than sitting down for a long meal.
When you finish eating, walk one-way to Sendagi or Nezu instead of doubling back. Sendagi Station on the Chiyoda Line sits close to the western side of Yanaka Ginza, and the back lanes take 20 minutes to Sendagi and 20 minutes onward to Nezu Shrine. Extending to Nezu Shrine beats rushing through Ginza and returning.
For another Japan outing with the same kind of practical planning, see Watching baseball in Japan: how foreigners buy tickets and what game day looks like.
What to skip: the rebuilt lanes
Do not just dash through Ginza and leave. The lanes reward slow browsing, and a rushed pass-through misses the cemetery path, the cat statues and the small shops that make Yanaka worth the trip.
Do not double back along the same route. Walking one-way to Sendagi or Nezu keeps the walk moving and covers more of the old neighborhood in the same time.
Do not arrive late. Small businesses close earlier than central Tokyo restaurants, and late afternoon, while atmospheric, leaves less time for the shops. If you want the quiet version of Yanaka, arrive before 09:00 and walk on a weekday, when the lanes feel residential rather than crowded.