A Second Day in Yanaka, Tokyo

Who this day is for

This day is for a third to sixth trip. Stops are less famous and still easy to reach. Some Japanese or cash may be needed.

Do this day Tuesday to Saturday. Monday closes Kayaba Coffee, Nezu Kamachiku, SCAI The Bathhouse, and Gyokai Zanmai Akira. Sunday closes Kamachiku and the gallery. The gallery is also closed on national holidays and between exhibitions. If Monday is a public holiday, Kayaba is open that Monday and closed Tuesday, and Hantei closes Tuesday instead of Monday. Breakfast is in Yanaka, then the cemetery and Nezu Shrine. Lunch is udon in Nezu. The afternoon is the gallery, Yanaka Ginza, a late calligraphy class, a chiyogami shop, and the stairs at dusk. Dinner is near Sendagi.

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Breakfast

Breakfast: Kayaba Coffee, at 6-1-29 Yanaka. Open Tuesday to Sunday 8:00–18:00, last order for food 17:00 and for drinks 17:30. Closed on Monday. If Monday is a public holiday, the shop is open that Monday and closed Tuesday. Reservations run until 23:59 the day before, on the shop's booking page. The second floor is a tatami room up a flight of stairs. Ask for a ground-floor table if you need one. It takes VISA, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, and Diners, plus transportation IC cards such as Suica, iD, and QUICPay, and QR payments: PayPay, d Barai, Rakuten Pay, and au PAY. A meal is ¥1,000–1,999. An English menu is listed. It is a 10-minute walk from the south ticket gate at JR Nippori Station, and a 10-minute walk from Nezu Station on the C Chiyoda Line.

Yanaka Cemetery

Yanaka Cemetery is the grounds in Yanaka 7-chome. The management office is at 7-5-24 Yanaka and is open 8:30–17:30, with paperwork until 16:30. The office is closed from 29 December to 3 January. The year-end notice says walks are still possible then. The same operator page prints both a walk of about 5 minutes and a walk of 6 minutes from Nippori, so this post does not pick one. No source publishes a time from Kayaba Coffee, so that stretch stays a short walk. The page is in Japanese and includes an English map of the grounds. Walking the cemetery is not a paid stop.

Nezu Shrine

Nezu Shrine is at 1-28-9 Nezu. The shrine's hours chart, updated 27 June 2026, opens the Karamon gate at 5:30 and closes it at 17:30 in October. The chart changes by month. On 1 January the gate is open from midnight to 19:00. GO TOKYO still prints 6:00–17:00 and says the hours change by season. The grounds are free to enter. The shrine's access page gives a 5-minute walk from Nezu Station and from Sendagi Station on the C Chiyoda Line. No source publishes a time from the cemetery, so that stretch stays a short walk. The hours chart has English labels, and the GO TOKYO page is in English.

SCAI The Bathhouse

SCAI The Bathhouse is the gallery at Kashiwayu-Ato, 6-1-23 Yanaka, in a former public bath. Open 12:00–18:00. Closed Sunday, Monday, and national holidays, and closed between exhibitions. Shows change. Check the current exhibition before you go. The access page does not state an admission charge or which cards are taken. From the South exit at JR Nippori, the page gives about 5 minutes along the avenue, then one more minute after the left turn. From Exit 1 at Nezu, it gives about 10 minutes up the slope, then a left at Kayaba Coffee and one more minute. The site is in English. No source publishes a time from Nezu Kamachiku, so that stretch stays a short walk.

Yanaka Ginza

Yanaka Ginza is the shopping street at 3-13-1 Yanaka. GO TOKYO, updated 16 October 2025, says there are no fixed opening hours. They vary by shop. It is a 3-minute walk from the Dokan Exit at Sendagi on the C Chiyoda Line. The page is in English. This is not one paid stop, and cards depend on the shop. No source publishes a time from the gallery, so that stretch stays a short walk.

Calligraphy at YANESEN

YANESEN Tourist Information and Culture Center, at 3-13-7 Yanaka, runs a calligraphy class. The class is 60–90 minutes, in English, and you take the work home. Book on the class page or by email at [email protected]. A cancellation up to 48 hours before is refunded in full. Inside 48 hours it is not. The centre is open 10:00–19:00 every day, with irregular closures. Tokyo Tourist Information gives a 4-minute walk from Exit 2 at Sendagi on the C Chiyoda Line, and a 12-minute walk from the North exit at Nippori. The studio is upstairs, stairs only. Book a late-afternoon slot so you finish before the stairs at dusk. The class page lists a charge. The centre's languages are Japanese and English. No source publishes a time from Yanaka Ginza, so that stretch stays a short walk.

Alternate: YANESEN wagashi class, at the same address. The class is in English, upstairs, stairs only, and a cancellation up to 48 hours before is refunded in full. The page lists the class as 60–90 minutes. A heading on that page also says 1 hour and 15 minutes, and the base option is printed as 1 hour.

Kikuju-do Isetatsu

Kikuju-do Isetatsu is the chiyogami shop at 2-18-9 Yanaka. The company page says it is open every day of the year, and a 5-minute walk from the Dangozaka Exit at Sendagi on the C Chiyoda Line. That page does not print opening and closing times, and it does not say whether cards are taken. Carry cash just in case. The page is in Japanese. No source publishes a time from the centre, so that stretch stays a short walk.

Yuyake Dandan

Yuyake Dandan is the stairway at 3-13 Nishi-Nippori, at the Nippori end of Yanaka Ginza. Arakawa City gives a walk of about 5 minutes from JR Nippori on the JY JR Yamanote Line. The city pages still describe a view of the sunset. Since late 2025, new apartment buildings block much of that view, and the sun sets over the street only in parts of spring and autumn. Come for the shopping street at dusk. The stairs are not a paid stop. The English guide and the Japanese city page are both in the record. No source publishes a time from the chiyogami shop, so that stretch stays a short walk.

Getting between stops

The route list. No source publishes a duration between these stops, so each one says "a short walk". The station walks above are access, not these legs.

1. Kayaba Coffee to Yanaka Cemetery: a short walk.
2. Yanaka Cemetery to Nezu Shrine: a short walk.
3. Nezu Shrine to Nezu Kamachiku: a short walk.
4. Nezu Kamachiku to SCAI The Bathhouse: a short walk.
5. SCAI The Bathhouse to Yanaka Ginza: a short walk.
6. Yanaka Ginza to YANESEN Tourist Information and Culture Center: a short walk.
7. YANESEN Tourist Information and Culture Center to Kikuju-do Isetatsu: a short walk.
8. Kikuju-do Isetatsu to Yuyake Dandan: a short walk.
9. Yuyake Dandan to Gyokai Zanmai Akira: a short walk.

Lunch

Lunch: Nezu Kamachiku, udon at 2-14-18 Nezu. The shop's access page lists Tuesday to Saturday, 11:30–15:00, last order 14:30, and 17:30–21:30, last order 20:30. Closed Sunday and Monday. The noodles are made by hand, and the shop may close when they run out. Tabelog, which the staff release, still lists Sunday and Monday hours, so the two pages disagree. This day uses the shop's own access page. It takes VISA, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners, and UnionPay. It does not take electronic money. It takes PayPay. Dinner reservations are required. A lunch is ¥2,000–2,999. It is a 3-minute walk from Exit 1 at Nezu on the C Chiyoda Line. No source publishes a time from the shrine, so that stretch stays a short walk. The page does not list an English menu.

Alternate: Soba Azegami, soba at 3-11-11 Yanaka. Cash only: no cards, no electronic money, and no QR payments. An English menu is listed. The staff listing gives Wednesday to Saturday 11:00–20:00, last order 19:45, and Sunday 11:00–17:00, last order 16:45. Closed Monday and Tuesday. If a holiday falls on Monday or Tuesday, the closure moves to the following day or the day after that. The shop may close when the soba runs out. Reservations are not taken. A lunch is ¥1,000–1,999. It is a 5-minute walk from the North exit at JR Nippori, and a 5-minute walk from Sendagi. The Yanaka Ginza shop page still prints 11:00–21:00, last order 20:30, closed Monday, with about two Tuesdays off a month. Both pages say no credit cards. On a Tuesday, use Nezu Kamachiku.

Dinner

Dinner: Gyokai Zanmai Akira, seafood at 3-38-8 Sendagi. Open Tuesday to Sunday, and on holidays and the days before and after a holiday, 18:00–22:00. Last order for food is 21:15 and for drinks 21:30. Closed Monday and the last Sunday of the month. Reservations are available. It takes VISA, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, and Diners. It does not take electronic money. It takes PayPay, d Barai, Rakuten Pay, and au PAY. The official page does not publish a meal budget, so none is stated. It is a walk of 2 to 3 minutes from Sendagi on the C Chiyoda Line, and a 10-minute walk from JR Nippori. No source publishes a time from the stairs, so that stretch stays a short walk. The site is in Japanese.

Alternate: Hantei, kushiage at 2-12-15 Nezu. The shop's access page lists lunch 11:30–15:00, last order 14:15, and dinner 17:00–22:00, last order 21:00. Closed Monday. If Monday is a holiday, Tuesday is closed. On Sunday the shop may close early when ingredients run out. It is a 1-minute walk from Nezu Station, from the exit toward Shinobazu Pond. Tabelog lists a 2-minute walk, a lunch last order of 14:00, and Monday open when Monday is a holiday. This post uses the shop's own page for the hours and the walk. Tabelog lists VISA, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, and Diners, no electronic money, and PayPay and Rakuten Pay. A dinner is ¥6,000–7,999. Reservations are available. The site does not list an English menu.

Sources

• Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association, Yanaka Cemetery. Cemetery visitor information and access.
• SCAI The Bathhouse, access. Gallery opening information and access.