Shibamata

Located in the northeast of Ueno, Shibamata still preserves the atmosphere of old Tokyo. Getting off the Keisei line at Shibamata station, you walk through Sando, a tiny street leading you to the major temple or shrine. A lot of old buildings, most of them from the 1950s, are preserved along the street. As other tourist sites, there are a lot of shops and restaurants. Popular foods here are Kusa Dango, rice cakes with rice and some grasses mixed, and salty rice crackers.

At the end of Sando, you will get to the Taishakuten temple. The temple was built in 1629. As their god is believed to have power to certain effects on health, there are a lot of old people visiting and praying.

Shibamata gained its fame in the 1970s when a fictional Japanese movie series became popular. Torajiro Kuruma, the main character was born in Shibamata. His popular dialogue has a line, “I am Torajiro Kuruma, nicknamed Futen no Torasan. I was born in Taishakuten…” Playing a role as a typical old guy in the 1950s, Shibamata has been recognized as a site with old-fashioned features, and is still a popular site for a lot of tourists for seeking old Tokyo.

Furthermore, there is a river crossing near the temple; Yagiri no Watashi. During the Tokugawa shogunate, in order to visit Edo, people needed to take a boat or to ask a porter to carry them on their shoulders. The government intentionally avoided to build a bridge, in order to protect Edo in case of rebellion. The site is preserved as a tourist site. You can take an old wooden boat, but are likely to take a return trip soon as there is only grassland on the other side.