500px Photo ID: 68486621 - Somewhere in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Ante Vukorepa / 500px

Kōrakuen & Akihabara

This swathe of central Tokyo runs alongside the Soto-bōri, the former outer moat of Edo Castle, and the Kanda-gawa. From west to east there's the old geisha district of Kagurazaka and the hallowed grounds of controversial shrine Yasukuni-jinja. In Kōrakuen the dazzling traditional garden Koishikawa Kōrakuen is a highlight, as is watching a baseball game at neighboring Tokyo Dome. Further east, browse the bookshops of Jimbōchō, the traditional restaurants of Kanda, and the electronic, pop-culture and contemporary-craft emporiums of Akihabara.

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

Koishikawa Kōrakuen
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Established in the mid-17th century as the property of the Tokugawa clan, this formal strolling garden incorporates elements of Chinese and Japanese…
Kanda Myōjin
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Tracing its history back to AD 730, this splendid Shintō shrine boasts vermilion-lacquered halls surrounding a stately courtyard. Its present location…
Yasukuni-jinja
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Literally ‘For the Peace of the Country Shrine’, Yasukuni is the memorial shrine to Japan’s war dead, around 2.5 million souls. First built in 1869, it is…
Origami Kaikan
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This exhibition centre and workshop is dedicated to the quintessential Japanese art of origami, which you can learn to do yourself in classes here. There…
Yūshū-kan
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Most history museums in Japan skirt the issue of WWII or focus on the burden of the common people. Not so here: Yūshū-kan begins with Japan's samurai…
Nikolai Cathedral
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
This Russian Orthodox cathedral, complete with distinctive Byzantine-style architecture, was first built in 1891 under the supervision of English…
Akagi-jinja
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Kagurazaka’s signature shrine only bears a passing resemblance to the traditional ones around the city. In 2010 the shrine, which can trace its history…
Yushima Seidō
Kōrakuen & Akihabara
Established in 1691 and later used as a school for the sons of the powerful during the Tokugawa regime, this is one of Tokyo’s handful of Confucian…