First-time visitors to Tokyo gravitate to the bright lights and towering skyscrapers of Shinjuku and Shibuya. Here crowds throng shopping malls and train stations, and the pace is hectic and sometimes overwhelming.
But here is another side of Tokyo, found in the low-rise neighbourhoods where locals live.
On my last visit I stayed in Otsuka, an older neighbourhood to the north. While it’s only a few stops from Shinjuku,
the atmosphere is much more laid back. At OMO5 Tokyo Otsuka by Hoshino Resorts, a modern Japanese-style
hotel, guests are encouraged to explore the neighbourhood – or kinjo in Japanese. In the lobby, a Go Kinjo map is displayed prominently on the wall, with tried and tested recommendations from the hotel staff for dining and shopping.
A walk through the maze of streets surrounding Otsuka station reveals some typical sights. On a neighbourhood tour led by OMO5 Tokyo Otsuka staff, our first stop was the Tenso shrine, established 700 years ago and located on
a suburban backstreet. Two sacred ginkgo trees, male and female, have stood here for 600 years, their leaves turning gold each autumn. While Tokyo’s famous Meiji shrine is usually crowded with tourists, the only other people we saw at Tenso were there to worship the Shinto gods. Our guide, Mai, explained that the faithful come to Tenso to pray for love and childbirth.
Otsuka is full of small shops selling Japanese specialties. Across from the hotel, queues form daily outside Onigiri Bongo whose famous rice balls are handmade to order, with a choice of over 50 fillings. We stopped at a confectioner where the older woman behind the counter gave me a dorayaki pancake – freshly made, soft and fluffy. The dorayaki are sandwiched together with home-made pastes in flavours such as red bean, white bean, and sesame.
Further on, I spotted a cute-looking shop selling daifuku mochi (rice cakes) with a fruit centre. Strawberries are often used, but this shop offered a selection of seasonal and exotic fruits like pineapple, mandarin, and dragon fruit. I came back the next day for a closer look and decided to try a melon daifuku. This tasted delicious, with a soft, pillowy texture. Turning back towards the hotel, we walked alongside tram
tracks that were lined with roses in full bloom. Over 500 different varieties create a kaleidoscope of colour each May and October. The route of the Tokyo Sakura Tram winds its way through northern Tokyo, a nostalgic reminder of another era. The tram is especially popular in spring for viewing the cherry blossoms along the route, however a tram trip is worth doing at any time of the year.
The full route takes nearly an hour, but there are shorter trips from Otsuka. A couple of stops away at Higashi-Ikebukuro, Sunshine City has the Pokemon Mega Centre and an observatory with sweeping city views. Koshinzuka in the other direction is a good starting point for a walk along Sugamo Jizo-dori, a street of shops catering to Tokyo’s seniors
that is sometimes called “Harajuku for grannies”. While the lucky red underwear was definitely not to my taste, I found some interesting traditional food shops.
In the evening, I joined the bar-hopping tour which headed back to the streets I’d visited earlier. We started at a small tempura restaurant with a few counter
seats and two low tables. The elderly husband-and-wife team have been turning out tempura for decades, so I opted for their set meal. While it was being prepared, they chatted to me, with hotel guide Kana acting as translator. After learning where I was from, they asked some unexpected questions about New Zealand life as they prepared
the meal. Did I watch rugby? Enjoy barbecues? And eat sheep? The food started coming over the counter, dish after dish of light, crispy tempura. White fish was first, followed by prawn, onion, eggplant, and finally pumpkin.
We said our goodbyes at the tempura restaurant, and headed to an izakaya, or Japanese pub. It was larger than the tempura restaurant, full of locals who’d come for after-work drinks. I opted for simple chicken and spring onion skewers, a classic yakitori dish that arrived sizzling about 15 minutes later.
The evening ended back at OMO5 Tokyo Otsuka, where the bar offered a spring sake affogato to celebrate the season. Salted cherry blossom garnished the vanilla ice cream, with sides of tart strawberry sauce, and red bean paste from the confectioners we’d visited earlier. A carafe of spring sake from Akita was ready to be poured over the ice cream.
The next day I explored a little further afield. Two stops along the Yamanote line from Otsuka, Komagome has two beautiful gardens. Kyu Furukawa has a formal rose garden and a western style mansion, both designed by an English architect, with a traditional Japanese garden further down the hill. The annual spring festival was in full swing, the air filled with the fragrance of roses in full bloom.
The Japanese garden was quiet and I had it almost to myself. I followed a path around the central pond, over a stone bridge across a stream. The garden was green and cool, a contrast to the vibrant colours of the roses above.
Nearby Rikugien is one of Tokyo’s most famous gardens, known for its cherry blossom in spring and foliage in autumn. During these seasons, opening hours extend into the evenings with the trees lit up to highlight the colours. Rikugien can get very busy then, although it’s always a lovely green space to visit, and one I keep returning to.
Rikugien was built around 1700 as a private garden for the fifth Tokugawa shogun. The name means “six poems garden” and the landscaping was designed to show 88 scenes from famous poems. It’s a classic example of a Japanese strolling garden, with man-made hills and woods surrounding the pond.
After nearly two days in and around Otsuka experiencing the ambience of this older neighbourhood, it was time to leave. Otsuka was an ideal base for exploring Tokyo, well connected enough to visit major sights while being a relaxing local home to return to.
Denise Stephens was hosted by Hoshino Resorts at OMO5 Tokyo Otsuka.
WORDS — Denise Stephens
