Tokyo Explorer

The name, Akihabara, usually conjures up images of neon, high-tech electrical stores, maid cafes and all things otaku. You certainly won’t be disappointed on that score as you arrive through the Electric Town Exit at JR Akihabara Station to be confronted by a mass of light, sound and teenage girls in French maid costumes handing out flyers.

Although on arrival Akihabara seems very much 21st century, there is another side to this bustling town, where remnants of its varied past can be found away from the main streets and squares.

Next to the Electric Town Exit, under the tracks of the JR Sobu Line, two floors of stalls clustered together date back to just after the Second World War (1939-1945). This was the centre of a black market in electrical equipment parts, and the birthplace of today’s Electric Town. That past is still recognizable, and still each tiny stall has its own particular speciality.

On entering you find yourself confronted by massed ranks of batteries, wire, chips, fuses, switches, light bulbs, plugs, you name it. The rough and ready market feel of the place giving you a taste of what it would have been like in those less prosperous post-war times.

The Kanda River flows through Akihabara, and it is near the river that a lot of the area’s history can be found. Turn right after you come through the ticket gate at the Electric town exit, then go straight till you reach Sotobori Dori and you will find the river. To your left is Izuma Bashi Bridge. Just before the bridge is an area called Kando Sakomacho 1-chome, now a park, surrounded by cheap bars and restaurants, where Akihabarites in all shapes and forms gather. In the Edo-era (1603-1867) it served a very different purpose, as an area populated by lumber merchants selling firewood.

The street that runs adjacent to Sotobori Dori, on the other side of the Kanda River, Yanagihara Dori, contains a number of buildings from a more recent past, the Taisho-era (1912-1926). The ageing facades of these decorated, Western-style Taisho houses stand in marked contrast to the featureless office blocks that now surround them.

Further along the street, another building from that period is still open for business. The family run ‘Okaju Button’ shop sells materials, thread, buttons, cufflinks - anything connected to suit making. If the interior isn’t enough to make you feel you have stepped backed in time, the sight of the aging shop owner using an abacus behind the counter will. Hard to believe that you are in a town widely regarded as the high-tech centre of the universe

Moving down Yanagihara dori, on the opposite side, you will find Yanagi Mori Shrine. Actually, more of a collection of shrines which were moved here from different parts of Tokyo, meaning that you can find different deities sitting side by side, in one corner, you have a sculpted tanuki (raccoon) – his swollen testicles representing power and prosperity, and in another, the fox gods of the Inari Shinto sect.

The shrine complex, shaded by trees, overlooks the river and provides perfect respite from the hustle of Akihabara. Near the entrance, there are a number of large stones with Chinese characters written on them. These ‘Chikaraishi,’ one bearing the date 1912, were once used as weights by sumo wrestlers to help build up their strength.

If you continue walking in the same direction along the river, at roughly 15-20 minute intervals, you will first pass Mansei Bridge and then Shouhei Bridge. It is best to cross to the other side of the river at Mansei Bridge and walk along Sotobori Dori to get to Shouhei Bridge. This bridge is located on what used to be one of the five major Edo period highways, this one linking Nikko with Edo then Kyoto.

The area was once home to many small inns, ‘Hataga,’ where travellers would stay during this period. Nowadays, there are no inns left, but just next to the bridge, the small counter restaurant ‘Maguro-tei’ has a traditional feel and is not a bad place to stop for lunch, offering raw tuna and rice; ‘Maguro-don,’ dishes for 600-800 yen.

From here, you may hear the beating of drums. A few doors up from the restaurant, on Sotobori Dori the Taiko drum school, Oedo Sukeroku Tokyo, offers lessons to foreigners and also the chance to participate in a local festival as a drummer. The teacher can speak some English, and is usually happy to explain a little about taiko if you feel like dropping by. Their web site, www.oedosukerokutaiko.com, also has information in English.

Continuing on the Sotobori side of the river, after a 10 -15 minute walk you will find the impressive Chinese form Yushima Seido Shrine.Originally located in Ueno Park where the statue of Saigo Takamori now stands, it moved here in 1691 with the purpose of promoting the study of Confucianism, and in the pleasant garden of the shrine complex, you will find the world’s biggest statue of the great man. Like most Japanese shrines, a lot of it has been rebuilt, but older parts remain – such as the gate leading to the shrine, built in 1704. The shrine building itself combines the simplicity of Japanese buildings with a more decorative Chinese feel - above the plain black varnished walls, fierce-looking sculpted dragons and lions look down. After the shrine moved to its present location it became a centre for the study of Confucian classics. Confucianism became popular in Japan in the 18th century, offering an intellectualism lacking in traditional Japanese Shinto. (Akihabara walk pic #3)Because of the educational associations of the shrine, it is popular with students who come to pray for success in exams and wooden ‘ema’ plaques on display are inscribed with those wishes.

Yushima Seido brings you nearer to the area of Ochanomizu which we will cover in a future issue, and it is a short train ride back to Akihabara from here. If you are still keen to discover more, the towering dome that you can see from the grounds of Yushima Seido belongs to the Meiji-era (1868-1912) built St Nikolai Russian Cathedral, and offers a good chance to see another part of Japan’s varied history.