Asakusa
Tokyo's oldest temple, founded in 645 around a statue pulled from the river.
✅ Bow once at the Kaminarimon gate before entering
🚫 Do not photograph worshippers at the main altar
Free
Asakusa
A shopping street that has fed temple pilgrims for three centuries.
✅ Eat your snack standing beside the stall
🚫 Do not walk and eat through the crowd
¥ small bites
Asakusa
Where every Tokyo restaurant buys its knives, bowls and plastic food models.
✅ Ask before handling knives
🚫 Do not haggle — prices are fixed
Free to browse
Yanaka
A low-rise street that survived the war and the bubble — old Tokyo still living.
✅ Buy a croquette and greet the shopkeeper
🚫 Do not enter the side temples after dusk
¥ cheap
Sumimasen
Excuse me / sorry / thank you — the most useful word in Japan