Fourth full Tokyo day. Most major clusters are done or planned. Today fills the gaps — Nezu Shrine + Yanaka is one of the trip’s best pairings and works perfectly as a mid-trip unhurried day. Nakano Broadway covers both Jeff/Matt’s vintage watch interest and Ana’s vintage Gundam/anime interest in a single transit hop from Ikebukuro. Evening options: Golden Gai is the right Shinjuku night call and tonight is the natural window for it.
Energy expectation: Moderate. This day doesn’t need to be pushed.
Photo Prep
Pack (Nezu Shrine): 23mm mounted · 16mm in bag C-slot: C4 Shadowchrome for the torii tunnel walkways → C1 Herzawg’s Portra for the azalea garden Note: Arrive before 9:00 AM. The torii tunnels at Nezu are smaller-scale than Fushimi Inari but have good angular compression with the 16mm. The azalea garden (mid-April is the peak window) is full color — switch to C1 or C5 Cherry Blossoms depending on what’s in frame.
Pack (Nakano Broadway / Ginza shopping day): 27mm only — discreet, lighter, shopping-focused C-slot: C1 or C6 Herzawg Negative. Low photography intensity today if this is the plan.
Pack (Shinjuku evening): 23mm mounted · 27mm in bag C-slot: C3 Teal Nights for Golden Gai alley lighting and Shinjuku neon
→ Fuji Recipes | Photo Journey Guide
Path A — Nezu Shrine + Yanaka Neighborhood
The best pairing of the Tokyo week that most visitors miss. Nezu is a functioning local shrine (not a major tourist site), and Yanaka is one of the only pre-war neighborhoods that survived both the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 firebombing. Together they make a relaxed half-day that feels nothing like the rest of the itinerary.
Getting There from Ikebukuro
Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line → Hongo-sanchome → walk or continue to Nezu (Chiyoda Line, Nezu Station). Total: ~20 min, ~¥200.
Arrive Nezu Shrine: 8:30 AM.
Nezu Shrine
Free to enter the grounds (inner sanctum ¥500, optional).
The torii tunnel paths wind up a gentle hill — multiple small tunnels of different sizes, none as long as Fushimi Inari but more intimate and less trafficked. The azalea garden is along the south side and peaks in mid-April — if blooms are running, C1 or C5 depending on intensity.
Budget 45–60 min. Not a half-day anchor — it’s a focused morning stop before Yanaka.
Yanaka
10-minute walk from Nezu Shrine.
Yanaka Ginza shopping street: Traditional covered shotengai (shopping street) that’s been in operation for decades. Local food vendors, hand-crafted goods, old-style storefronts, cats (neighborhood is known for them). Not tourist-facing — this is where the neighborhood shops. 15–20 min at a slow pace.
Yanaka Cemetery: Large forested cemetery that’s a genuine local park. Cherry trees throughout (may have lingering late blossom). Maps show old grave markers mixing with modern ones. Atmospheric, quiet, not morbid — locals walk through it daily. 20 min of wandering.
Temple network: Yanaka has over 70 temples in a compact area. You don’t need to enter any of them — the architecture visible from the street is the experience. Old wooden gate structures and stone lanterns throughout.
Lunch in Yanaka: Good small restaurants and craft coffee shops along the shotengai and side streets. Budget 13:00 for lunch after the shrine and walk.
Return: Tokyo Metro from Nippori or Sendagi stations, 5-minute walk from the center of Yanaka.
Path B — Nakano Broadway
A rare combined-interest destination: Jeff and Matt’s vintage watch targets align directly with Ana’s vintage Gundam and anime interests. Both in the same building, same transit hop.
Getting there: JR Chuo Line (Rapid) from Ikebukuro → Nakano Station (8 min, ~¥170). Walk 5 min north through the Nakano Sun Mall arcade to Broadway.
For Jeff + Matt
Jack Road and Kamekichi are the two primary targets — preowned and vintage watch dealers with significantly more interesting inventory than typical department store watch floors. Both are inside or immediately adjacent to Nakano Broadway. See Watch Shopping - Tokyo for the full dealer list and target notes.
Budget 60–90 min for a serious look.
For Ana
Mandarake occupies multiple floors of Nakano Broadway and is the flagship location of the chain. Better stock and more obscure inventory than the Akihabara branches. Vintage Gundam model kits, figures, doujinshi, retro anime goods, vintage game software. This is the best single-building vintage anime shopping location in Tokyo.
Budget 60–90 min minimum, potentially more.
The rest of Broadway has additional vintage shops, coin dealers, record shops, and collectibles stores. The building is a specific subculture in Japanese pop culture — genuinely worth seeing as an experience even if you don’t buy.
After Nakano: Short transit back to Ikebukuro, or continue to Shinjuku (one stop on Chuo Line) for an afternoon-into-evening Shinjuku sequence.
Path C — Light Day + Evening Focus
Low-effort daytime with deliberate energy conservation for a Golden Gai evening.
Daytime: Ikebukuro local, a konbini run, rest. No commute, no cluster.
Golden Gai: The right evening. This is a network of narrow alleyways in Shinjuku with approximately 200 tiny bars, each seating 5–10 people. Most are open to foreigners and solo or pair visitors. The experience is having a drink in a bar the size of a closet. Literary bars, jazz bars, themed bars — no two are alike.
How to approach it: Don’t have a plan. Walk into the alleyways and look at the menus posted outside. Each bar has a cover charge (typically ¥500–¥1,000/person) and serves 2–3 drinks before the social pressure to move on kicks in. Expect to try 2–3 bars over an evening.
Getting there: Marunouchi Line from Ikebukuro → Shinjuku-Sanchome (~10 min), or JR Yamanote → Shinjuku east exit, then 5-min walk.
This is the best night for Golden Gai — you have two nights left after this, but April 19 is an early night and April 20 is departure. Tonight is the call.
Blue Note Note
If Blue Note Tokyo hasn’t happened yet, tonight is the other option (Apr 17 being the first). Same rule applies: if Blue Note is tonight, daytime should be moderate only. Nezu + Yanaka is ideal — unhurried, done by 14:00, rest before the show.
Weather Routing
| Weather | Morning | Afternoon / Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | Nezu Shrine (best clear) | Yanaka walk, Nakano, or Golden Gai |
| Rain | Nakano Broadway (fully indoors) | Golden Gai (the alleys have partial cover; umbrellas fine) |
| Mixed | Nezu in light rain is fine | Nakano or Shinjuku covered |