Tokyo walks: Kuramae

Come to Kuramae if you like craftsmanship and things that are made well, things made by hand. And come if you like quality coffee, tea, and chocolate.

This is a small neighborhood. It is residential, but sprinkled with small stores, ateliers, and a surprising number of good cafes.

Kuramae is a neighborhood best explored on foot. In a taxi you will pass through Kuramae in minutes without seeing any of it. And even on a bike you might not have enough time to look at everything, because everything is quite close together.

You might want to do a few circles. It is worth going down the main streets as well as the small streets.

The theme here seems to be focus. Focus on craftsmanship, on quality, on being good at one thing. You can find shops for leather goods, textiles, stationary, coffee, tea, Japanese sweets, muffins, cake, ramen, tonkatsu, and chocolate.

Several stores in Kuramae are workshops and stores combined. Great for window-shopping and for buying something made in Tokyo, sometimes right in front of your eyes.

Most shops close quite early in the evening. In the evening you might not be able to shop here, but you can still eat at one of the local restaurants and bars.

Access

There are two Kuramae train stations, one on the Toei Subway Oedo Line and one on the Toei Subway Asakusa Line. Asakusa Station, Tawaramachi Station, and Asakusabashi Station are within walking distance.

http://www.deepjapan.org/a/4515

You can find more info about local spots in Taito Tokyo in English on http://authentic-tokyo.com