From Okachimachi to Nippori: Bustling Business and Quiet Times Along the Yamanote’s Northeastern Stretch

Okachimachi offers plenty of good deals for jewelry hunters. (© Gianni Simone)

Okachimachi offers plenty of good deals for jewelry hunters. (© Gianni Simone)

The Yamanote Line’s 30 stations. (© Pixta)

Ameyoko shopping street in Ueno. (© Pixta)

The Underground Food Street inside the Ameyoko Center Building sells food from around Asia. (© Gianni Simone)

At left, Takuboku’s verse is immortalized at Ueno Station; at right is the monument to Izawa’s celebrated song. (© Pixta)

The rebuilt temple Kan’eiji presents a quiet face among its noisy surroundings. (© Pixta)

Uguisudani’s north exit has a large love hotel district. (© Gianni Simone)

Jōmyōin, just to the west from Uguisudani, is one of the best-kept secrets among Tokyo temples. (© Gianni Simone)

In Uguisudani, Eros and Thanatos are only separated by the railway tracks. (© Gianni Simone)

The bullet holes at Kyōōji are a reminder of the dramatic end of Japan’s premodern age. (© Gianni Simone)

Nippori Textile Town, a dressmaker’s paradise, attracts handicraft-minded tourists from around Japan and all over the world. (© Gianni Simone)