Lesser-known places in Tokyo
Tokyo rewards anyone who leaves the big crossings: an old-town shopping street, a ravine inside the city, a temple full of beckoning cats and a museum of parasites.
8 of 8 places
Yanaka Ginza and cemetery
- Street or quarter
- Daytime
- Evening
An old-town shopping street that survived the 1923 earthquake and wartime bombing, a large cemetery lined with cherry trees and dozens of small temples around it.
- Getting there
- Nippori station (JR), west exit.
- Best time
- Late afternoon; the steps above the street are known for sunset.
- Cost
- Free
- Visit with respect
- In the cemetery, keep to paths and do not photograph mourners.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.7270, 139.7660 · Japan
Todoroki Valley
- Park or garden
- Daytime
A 1 km ravine with a stream, ferns and a small temple, a few minutes from a suburban station.
- Getting there
- Todoroki station, Tokyu Ōimachi line.
- Best time
- Weekday mornings. Parts have been closed for fallen-tree risk in recent yearscheck.
- Cost
- Free
- Visit with respect
- Stay on the path; closed sections are closed.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.6070, 139.6480 · Japan
Gōtoku-ji and its beckoning cats
- Temple, church or shrine
- Daytime
The temple that claims the lucky beckoning cat: thousands of white maneki-neko left by visitors stand on shelves by a small hall.
- Getting there
- Miyanosaka station (Tokyu Setagaya line) or Gōtokuji station (Odakyu).
- Best time
- Weekday mornings.
- Cost
- Free; cat figures sold at the officecheck
- Visit with respect
- It is a working temple with a cemetery; do not move the figures.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.6488, 139.6470 · Japan
Meguro Parasitological Museum
- Odd one
- Daytime
- Not for everyone
A small research museum with preserved parasites, including a tapeworm almost 9 m long shown next to a rope of the same length.
- Getting there
- About 15 minutes' walk from Meguro station.
- Best time
- Afternoons; closed Mondays and Tuesdayscheck.
- Cost
- Free; donations welcome
- Visit with respect
- It is small: let others see the cases.
- Not for everyone
- Not for the squeamish, or right before a meal.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.6310, 139.7060 · Japan
Shibamata Taishakuten carvings
- Temple, church or shrine
- Daytime
A temple in a Shōwa-era neighbourhood with an entire hall wrapped in carved wooden panels telling Buddhist stories, behind glass.
- Getting there
- Shibamata station (Keisei line), then along the old approach street.
- Best time
- Weekday daytime.
- Cost
- About ¥400–500 for the carving gallery and gardencheck
- Visit with respect
- Shoes off where asked.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.7585, 139.8770 · Japan
Kiyosumi Garden
- Park or garden
- Daytime
A stroll garden around a pond with stepping stones across the water and stones gathered from all over Japan.
- Getting there
- Kiyosumi-shirakawa station (Hanzōmon or Ōedo line).
- Best time
- Morning.
- Cost
- About ¥150check
- Visit with respect
- Do not feed the carp or turtles.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.6810, 139.7960 · Japan
Nezu Shrine
- Temple, church or shrine
- Daytime
A 1706 shrine with lacquered halls and a hillside tunnel of small red torii, quieter than the famous tunnels in Kyoto.
- Getting there
- Nezu or Sendagi station (Chiyoda line).
- Best time
- Morning; late April brings an azalea festival and crowds.
- Cost
- Free; azalea garden fee in seasoncheck
- Visit with respect
- Bow at the gate if you wish; no eating in the shrine.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.7200, 139.7610 · Japan
Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel
- Odd one
- Daytime
- Not for everyone
A flood-control tank under Saitama with 59 concrete pillars in a hall 18 m high, known as the underground temple. Visits are by guided tour only.
- Getting there
- Near Minami-Sakurai station (Tōbu Urban Park line), about 1 hour 15 minutes from central Tokyo.
- Best time
- Book ahead online; tours stop when the channel is in use after heavy raincheck.
- Cost
- About ¥1,000–4,000 depending on the tourcheck
- Visit with respect
- Follow the guide; the tank is off-limits otherwise.
- Not for everyone
- Many steps down and up again.
DirectionsAdd your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Approximate position 35.9940, 139.8060 · Japan
How places get on this list
- Fewer visitors than the city's top sights: no place on the usual first-day list.
- Open to the public: a street, park, market, museum or place of worship anyone can walk into, or a tour anyone can book.
- Legal and safe to visit as described. We leave out private property, closed or fenced sites, abandoned buildings, active rail lines, rooftops and rock pools known for drownings.
- Where access is limited (Hanoi's Train Street, Berlin's Spreepark, Barcelona's bunkers), we say what the rules are and how to see it without breaking them.
- Prices, hours and access rules change: anything marked check was right when written but should be confirmed on the day.
Checked 2026-09. Coordinates are approximate; use the map links to find the entrance.