Page 90 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Tokyo

88 ❯❯ Tokyo Area by Area

RICKSHAWS
The jinrikisha (rickshaw) is said to have
been invented in Japan in 1869. Yosuke
Izumi’s workshop produced the prototype,
a great transportation innovation in
Tokyo’s narrow roads. Four years later, there
were over 34,000 registered rickshaws in
the city, still a common sight until World
War II. Beautifully lacquered rickshaws
have made a comeback in tourist spots
such as Asakusa. Expect to pay around
Artisan at work, Edo-Shitamachi ¥5,000 for a 15-minute ride.
Traditional Crafts Museum
Edo-Shitamachi
5 times. Erected even earlier, the
Traditional Crafts
nearby 1618 Niten-mon gate
Museum remains completely intact, a
MAP R2 • 2-22-13 Asakusa, Taito-ku miraculous survivor of earthquakes,
• 3842-1990 • Open 10am–8pm typhoons, and air raids (see pp14–15).
Also known as Gallery Takumi, this
Hanayashiki
museum was set up to preserve and 7
promote local craft industries and MAP R1 • 2-28-1 Asakusa,
techniques dating from the Edo Taito-ku • 3842-8780 • Open
period. Over 300 displays represent 10am–6pm daily • Adm
50 different traditional crafts, with Once part of an aristocratic
demonstrations on weekends. residence to the west of Senso-ji
temple, the Hanayashiki gardens
Senso-ji Temple
6 were opened in the Asakusa Rokku
Tokyo’s mother temple looms
entertainment district in 1853, with a
majestically at the end of Nakamise- small zoo added 20 years later. An
dori, an avenue of stores selling Asakusa institu tion, this amuse ment
iconic trinkets. Two imposing gates park retains its retro quality, with
lead to the great incense burner old-fashioned game machines that
standing before the cavernous main complement an eerily realistic ghost
hall, designed in a style known as house dating from the 1950s, and
gongen-zukuri. Within the same Japan’s oldest rollercoaster.
compound, Asakusa Shrine was
founded in 1649 and rebuilt several Ornate exterior of Senso-ji temple

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