A Travel Report on Tokyo Local Journeys, Part 1 — Ueno, Shiinamachi, Skyliner
Dazzling skyscrapers and jam-packed downtown intersections are not all there is to Tokyo. Beginning in Ueno, we set out to meet the Tokyo where true local life still breathes.
Words Hur Taewoo
Photos Park Shinwoo
Coordinator Park Seonghui (Inpainter Global)
In collaboration with Keisei Skyliner
Ueno
A Downtown Where Tradition Meets the Present
Ueno, where the Skyliner arrives and departs, is the gateway to northern central Tokyo. Bustling commercial districts share the neighborhood with cultural landmarks, including Japan’s first zoo and the Tokyo National Museum. Step out of the train station and, just beyond a tangle of intersections, you come upon the old-fashioned atmosphere of shitamachi (the traditional downtown quarter) and the greenery of the park. Behind the trees spreads Ueno Park, home to nine cultural sites including museums, art galleries, and a zoo, and to the park’s south runs Ameyoko (アメヤ横丁), Tokyo’s largest traditional street market. A vivid picture of old Tokyo, the market is packed with shops of every kind, from groceries to fashion accessories. Few neighborhoods offer as many layers of charm as Ueno, which makes it an ideal starting point for a trip to Tokyo.
Book Roead Winery, a Winery in the Heart of the City
Wander the back alleys of Ueno and you may stumble on an unexpected sight: a small winery tucked in without fanfare. Book Roead Winery, which opened in 2017, handles everything from crushing grapes to fermenting, aging, and bottling in a compact warehouse building. For wine lovers, it is a refreshingly different retreat in the middle of the city. Anyone can taste wine here casually, and you can drop in whenever you happen to be passing through the alley. A glass costs around 300 yen, and the winery usually has five or six wines available each day. Made from grape varieties sourced from Japan’s major growing regions, such as Yamanashi, Nagano, and Ibaraki, these are “Tokyo-made wines,” and the winery produces more than 10,000 bottles a year. They are sold mainly through the winery’s online and offline shops and can also be enjoyed at nearby restaurants. The bottle labels are another delight. Each one carries an illustration of a dish or scene that pairs well with the wine inside: a thick steak on the Merlot, a crab dish on the orange wine, a camping tent on the sparkling Koshu. Winemaking is handled entirely by Sugo Michiko (須合美智子), a winemaker who started out as a chef. Her wines have already won awards and earned recognition for their quality, and the fact that they use 100 percent Japanese grapes has won them a warm reception. A winery tour held on weekend afternoons is also worth joining.
Shiinamachi
Everyday Life in a Neighborhood Hotel and Memories of Manga
Just one train stop from busy Ikebukuro, another face of Tokyo reveals itself in Shiinamachi, a neighborhood steeped in the feel of everyday life. Leave the station and turn into the narrow lanes, and low-roofed houses and small shops follow one after another, with the energy of a shopping street all around. Variety stores, grocers, cafés, small eateries, izakaya, and yakitori joints line the way, and this modest neighborhood scene reawakens the warmth of Tokyo. Neighbors sit for a moment to cool off at the small shrine and park at the mouth of the alley, and at Nanten (南天), a tiny long-established shop right in front of the station, a bowl of udon costs just 500 yen. It feels like a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Tokyo, yet it is only 1 kilometer from Ikebukuro Station.
Sheena & Ippei, a Way to Put a Town’s Memories to Use
In the middle of an alley right beside the market stands a small neighborhood hotel called Sheena & Ippei. Converted from a wooden house more than 50 years old that once held a tonkatsu restaurant famous in the area, it carefully weaves the neighborhood’s history and identity into the space. The first-floor lobby, which doubles as a shared kitchen, expresses the identity of Sheena & Ippei. By day it serves as a café where local residents make and sell desserts and light sweets themselves, and after dark it turns into a guest lounge and small bar where conversation flows. The second floor holds the guest rooms: four small tatami-floored rooms. Along a corridor with creaking wooden floors, the compact rooms are laid out very functionally. Clean tatami and soft futons are laid out, and through the window you can hear the daily life of the alley. Sheena & Ippei is a place to stay, and at the same time it does a fine job as a neighborhood gathering place. Thanks to its open atmosphere, it draws many solo backpackers and international travelers who want to experience local culture in depth. The staff greet guests like friends from the neighborhood and share everything from nearby restaurants to hidden spots in detail, so during your stay you will feel like a resident of Shiinamachi.
Interview with
Sawada Koji (澤田剛治), CEO of Sheena & Ippei
Could you introduce yourself?
Sure. I’m Sawada Koji. I started Sheena & Ippei nine years ago, so next year will be our tenth anniversary. The building was originally a vacant house, and we renovated it into a guesthouse. Five business owners who live in or have ties to the area run it together. We each run our own companies, and I work in advertising. Each of us uses our own expertise to run the guesthouse.
How did Sheena & Ippei come about?
This place was originally an old tonkatsu restaurant. It closed 20 years ago, and afterward the family lived here for a while, but for the past 15 years it has stood empty. Since the shop was called “Tonkatsu Ippei (一平),” we kept “Ippei” as it was and added the neighborhood’s name, “Sheena.” The “Tonkatsu Ippei” sign is still up, so now and then people wander in thinking it’s still a tonkatsu restaurant. We left the sign to preserve the “memory of the town.” If the sign disappeared too, the past, the fact that something once stood here, would vanish with it. What led us to make a guesthouse was the “Renovation School” program run by Toshima Ward (豊島区). While thinking about how to use a house in the neighborhood, we were given the questions “Why now, why here, and why should we be the ones to do it?” and our answer was a guesthouse.
What is the atmosphere of Shiinamachi like?
It’s a very old town, so there are many older residents, but recently more apartments have gone up and there are more young people too. Most of them are office workers, and many commute to Ikebukuro or downtown. In the past, many manga artists lived in places like Tokiwaso, but that’s no longer the case. It’s only three or four minutes from Ikebukuro by train, but the old atmosphere still lingers here. Historically, too, it’s an older neighborhood than Ikebukuro.
The first floor feels like the neighborhood’s lounge.
In the morning it serves as a community space for guests, and from midday we run it as a shared kitchen. It’s used mainly by people who make sweets and desserts. Some days the menu is curry, other days shaved ice. Today it’s shaved ice. The menu changes every day, and the schedule is posted on a board. At first we ran the café ourselves, but we had no experience and it didn’t go well, so we switched to a shared kitchen for professionals.
So a neighborhood hotel also plays a role in revitalizing the area?
Besides this guesthouse, we run two other places. One is a former shopping mall building that we renovated into a gallery and craft brewery, and the other is an old private house that we renovated and use as a rental space. We run this guesthouse less for profit than as a contribution to the community and an experimental project. When there’s a profit, it goes toward repairs and upkeep.
Who usually stays with you?
Even though we don’t advertise, travelers come from all over the world. We have four rooms in total, and we were full last night. Today, guests are checking out and new ones are checking in. Japanese guests are rare; most are visitors from abroad, especially from elsewhere in Asia. We also get a lot of Korean guests, and some come back several times. The location is great. You can get to Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and Shibuya in no time.
Could you recommend some hidden things to enjoy in the neighborhood for travelers?
Have you been to the temple in front of the station? If you have time, you should definitely go. This is quite an old area, so the temple has a history of more than 500 years. I was born and raised in this town, and my ancestors’ graves are at that temple. Inside, there’s a very beautiful Japanese garden. There’s also a manga connection: a Jizo statue known as the ‘Manga Jizo’ has manga characters carved into it, and there’s a Doraemon statue as well. It’s a wonderful place, and I highly recommend it. For restaurants, the udon shop in front of the station, Nanten, is famous. You eat standing up, and it’s delicious. There’s also a café inside the temple grounds, and next door to Shiina & Ippei is a soba shop run by an elderly couple. These days the grandfather runs it alone, but it’s still delicious.
Tokiwaso Manga Museum, Where the Legend of Japanese Manga Began
Shiinamachi is, in fact, the stage where the legend of Japanese manga truly took flame. In the 1950s, in a Showa-era Tokyo buzzing with the energy of postwar reconstruction, a small two-story wooden apartment building called Tokiwaso, home to young manga artists, stood in this very neighborhood. Aspiring manga artists from all over Japan gathered at Tokiwaso, cherishing the dreams of youth despite their meager means. Tezuka Osamu (手塚治虫), the duo of Fujiko Fujio (藤子不二雄) and Fujiko F. Fujio (藤子·F·不二雄), and Ishinomori Shotaro (石ノ森章太郎) were all Tokiwaso alumni. In cramped tatami rooms, they nurtured their manga dreams, forging fierce yet close friendships that pioneered the future of Japanese manga. The original Tokiwaso building was demolished in 1982, but thanks to the efforts of manga fans and local residents, with Toshima City taking the lead, the Tokiwaso Manga Museum, a recreation of the apartment building, opened in 2020. Set in a corner of Minami-Nagasaki Hanasaki Park (南長崎花崎公園) in a residential area about 15 minutes from Shiinamachi Station, the museum preserves the memories of the old wooden apartment building just as they were. Visitors take off their shoes, climb the wooden stairs, and step into the second-floor corridor, where they come face to face with daily life at Tokiwaso in the 1950s and ’60s. Small tatami rooms where the artists lived line both sides of the corridor, and even the shared kitchen and restroom have been faithfully reproduced, right down to the stains on the walls and a half-eaten bowl of ramen in the sink. You can almost feel in your skin the passion of a young artist drawing manga in a cramped four-tatami room. On the first floor are an exhibition room and a manga lounge, where manga lovers can browse works freely and sink into nostalgia for Japanese manga.
Skyliner
From Narita Airport to Central Tokyo in Just 36 Minutes
The fastest, most comfortable way to reach the bustling heart of Tokyo is Keisei Electric Railway’s Skyliner. For anyone who wants to start a Tokyo trip, like the one in this article, from the moment they first set foot in Narita International Airport, it’s hands down the best choice. Settle into a comfortable seat and travel at 160 kilometers per hour, and before you know it you’ll arrive at Ueno Station in central Tokyo. Within an hour of stepping off the plane, you can be strolling through Tokyo’s neighborhoods. From Ueno Station, you can also transfer to a Shinkansen and continue your journey to smaller cities such as Niigata.
The First Step to Smart Travel: How to Book the Skyliner
Advance Online Booking
We recommend booking in advance on the official Keisei Skyliner website. Tickets are available online at a discount, and if you register your face after payment, you can use the Face Check in Go service. Face Check-in is a convenient system that lets you board with facial recognition, without having to exchange for a physical ticket at the ticket exchange counter or a ticket machine at Narita Airport. It is available only to those who book through the official website.
Buying on the Spot
You can also buy tickets in person at the arrivals hall of Narita Airport, at the ticket counters at Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations, or from the vending machines. If you couldn’t book ahead or need to change your plans, you can still ride with no worries. During peak travel season, though, lines can get long, so leave yourself plenty of time.
Why You Should Choose the Skyliner
The Fastest Way to Central Tokyo
The Skyliner’s greatest appeal is, above all, its speed. From Narita Airport Terminal 2·3 Station, it takes just 36 minutes to reach Nippori Station, the hub of northern Tokyo, and 41 minutes to reach Keisei Ueno Station, near Ueno Park and the Ameya-Yokocho market.
This article continues in Tokyo Local Travel Report Part 2: Yanesen and Chofu.