Guided walking tour in Tokyo - Japan’s cultural curiosities

Start off at Ningyocho, a district known for its old traditions and, as you’ll discover right away, tasty treats. That’s because the smell of cinnamon will lead us to our first stop, a shop that specializes in Japanese sweets.

Next up, we’ll stop at an incense store that dates back to 1705, where we’ll learn about Kōdō, the art of appreciating incense and the traditional Japanese incense ceremony.

Hungry? Good! We’ll stop at a snack shop from the Showa Era that carries treats popular in the early 20th century, including candies, caramels, Ramune soda, fish jerky, and bean paste snacks, to name a few.

We’ll then cross the street to a shamisen shop, and learn a bit about this traditional Japanese musical string instrument. From there, we’ll head to a local tenugui shop, where they sell woven hand towels depicting Japanese scenes.

Next you'll go to one of the eight temples in Ningyocho. You’ll visit a shrine where virtue, longevity, learning, and wealth are worshipped. You can offer a prayer here, and wash a coin to ensure a prosperous life.

Once you’ve exhausted Ningyocho, you’ll visit another nearby neighbourhood, Nihonbashi. The district of Nihonbashi was a hub for merchants during the Edo period.

Visit a seaweed shop, as well as an old-fashioned stationery shop that was established in 1946. You’ll get to browse through the display of calligraphy brushes, inks, traditional paints, handmade greeting cards, and little dolls.

The tour will finish at the Nihonbashi information centre, where we will get to taste a few more traditional Japanese sweets before saying sayōnara.