Tokyo Asakusa Highlights 2 Hour Guided Tour

The Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center is a distinctive seven-level building in Asakusa, directly opposite the famous Kaminarimon Gate of Sensoji Temple. The Culture and Tourism Center is designed by famed architect Kengo Kuma and has a free observation deck and cafe on the 7th floor, with great views of Sensoji and Tokyo Skytree. It’s even made our list of top spots for a view of Tokyo. On the ground floor is an information center with English-speaking staff.

Sensoji Temple is a place where you can take in that good old Edo atmosphere. It is a must-see spot when visiting Tokyo. Sensoji Temple is popular with both locals and tourists alike as a place where you can feel the atmosphere of the Edo period. With the Kaminarimon and the five-storied pagoda, as well as the busy side streets and specialty shops of Nakamise-dori street, there's so much to see and do. You'll want to keep your camera ready at all times!

Asakusa Jinja Shrine, is a shrine of the native Japanese Shinto religion, which is located very close to the famous Buddhist temple of Sensoji. The shrine is much smaller than its grand neighbor, and compared with the bustling crowds at Sensoji, the shrine’s grounds are much more peaceful. However, because of this shrine’s long historical and local significance it is nationally designated as an Important Cultural Property. The shrine buildings are also some of the oldest in Tokyo, and are beautifully decorated. The shrine and the temple are not close neighbors by accident. In fact the history of Asakusa Jinja is closely connected to that of Sensoji Temple. It might seem strange that a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple should have such a close relationship. However, these two religions do not exclude each other’s beliefs and historically they were very closely connected.

Denboin Street (also called Denboin-dori) is a quaint, old-fashioned shopping street that runs from the west side of Nakamise Street for about 200 meters. Denboin Street is very well preserved, with many traditional shop buildings dating date back a hundred years or more. This is a great location for finding some unique souvenirs while enjoying the atmosphere of old Edo (the old name for Tokyo). Many of the shops here have been in the same family for generations, and sell hand-crafted goods, foods, and accessories that you can only buy in Asakusa. The street is also quite wide which makes it a more relaxing space after visiting the busy and crowded Nakamise.

Hoppy Street is named after the Hoppy drink, a cheap beverage with a similar taste to beer but a very low alcohol content (only around 0.8%). Typically Hoppy is mixed with shochu, a much stronger distilled alcoholic beverage, but Hoppy can also be used as a mixer for other cocktails. In the past, cheap Hoppy mixed with shochu was a popular drink in downtown Asakusa, where the local people couldn’t afford to drink beer. These days beer is also popular here, but Hoppy mixed with shochu is seen as a nostalgic drink and a part of local culture. Hoppy Street, has also been called Nikomi Dori or “Stew Street”, because most of the izakaya here serve nikomi, which is a kind of cheap stew made from beef tendons and vegetables. Each business has their own special variation on this stew, so when bar hopping on Hoppy Street, trying some of the different stews is part of the fun.