Is Nakamise-dori worth it?
The short answer, from a Tokyo hotel insider
Yes, though you don't really get a choice, because it's the 250-metre approach from the Kaminarimon gate to Senso-ji and that's the way in. Stalls have sold fans, senbei and fresh ningyo-yaki along here since the 1600s. It's touristy and it knows it, but buy a doll-cake hot off the griddle and it earns its place. The trick is entirely about timing.
- Best time to go: Early morning, before about nine. It's a different street then, and Senso-ji at the end of it is at its best too. By late morning you'll be shuffling.
- How long to budget: Fifteen minutes to walk, half an hour if you eat as you go.
- Rough cost: Free to walk. Snacks are a few hundred yen each.
- Where it is: Asakusa Station — the street runs from the Kaminarimon gate straight to Senso-ji.
- Skip it if: Nothing, really, if you're going to Senso-ji anyway. But if you hate crowds, come at eight in the morning rather than skipping it, because there's no other way to the temple gate.
It's in Asakusa, so see what else is worth your time around it.
Is Nakamise-dori worth it? Common questions
Is Nakamise-dori worth visiting?
Yes, though you don't really get a choice, because it's the 250-metre approach from the Kaminarimon gate to Senso-ji and that's the way in. Stalls have sold fans, senbei and fresh ningyo-yaki along here since the 1600s. It's touristy and it knows it, but buy a doll-cake hot off the griddle and it earns its place. The trick is entirely about timing.
What can you buy on Nakamise-dori?
Fans, folding umbrellas, senbei rice crackers, yukata, charms, and ningyo-yaki, the little doll-shaped cakes cooked on a griddle in front of you. The food is the part worth stopping for.
How long is Nakamise-dori?
About 250 metres, running from the Kaminarimon gate to the temple. It takes fifteen minutes at a walk, considerably longer when it's full.
When is Nakamise-dori least crowded?
Early morning, before nine. Many stalls open around then and the coach parties have not arrived. Evening is quieter too, but most stalls have shut by then.
Is Nakamise-dori worth it if I hate tourist traps?
Go early and treat it as the approach rather than the destination. It's been a market street for four hundred years, which is a different thing from a tourist trap invented last decade, and at eight in the morning that's easier to feel.