Open Kanda & Jimbocho in the guide, with the map, the walks and the places you can see for free.
Kanda & Jimbocho, Tokyo
Old-Tokyo Kanda and the secondhand-book district of Jimbocho. Standing-counter ramen, the world's biggest cluster of used bookshops, and quiet retro kissaten, a few minutes west of Akihabara.
How I use Kanda & Jimbocho
Jimbocho's used bookstores and Kanda's standing soba counters are five minutes and a hundred years apart from Akihabara next door. This is salaryman Tokyo at its most honest. Come at lunch when the queues tell you exactly which curry house matters.
What Kanda & Jimbocho is known for
Kanda and neighbouring Jimbocho are old, honest, salaryman Tokyo: Jimbocho's dense used-book district (the largest in the world), Kanda's standing soba and curry counters, and the old, well-loved Kanda Myojin shrine on the hill. It's five minutes and a hundred years from Akihabara next door.
Getting to Kanda & Jimbocho
Kanda Station is on the JR Yamanote and Chuo lines and the Tokyo Metro Ginza line; Jimbocho Station is served by the Toei Shinjuku and Mita lines and the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon line. It's one stop from Tokyo Station or a short walk from Akihabara.
Come at lunch, when the queues tell you exactly which curry house and soba counter matter. Then browse Jimbocho's bookshops, even if you can't read Japanese, the vintage prints and design books are worth an hour.
What to eat & do in Kanda & Jimbocho
I've vetted 6 places in Kanda & Jimbocho myself, including 2 for ramen. Each one in the guide carries the nearest station and exit, what to order and the reservation reality.
The full names and the exact directions open in the full guide, that specificity is the whole product.
Kanda & Jimbocho, Tokyo: frequently asked questions
Is Kanda / Jimbocho worth visiting?
Yes if you like books, old-school eateries and everyday Tokyo. Jimbocho's used-bookstore streets are unique in the world, the standing soba and curry counters are a cheap local pleasure, and Kanda Myojin shrine is a short walk. A relaxed, low-key half-day next to Akihabara.
How do I get to Kanda?
Take the JR Yamanote or Chuo line to Kanda Station (one stop from Tokyo Station), or the Toei/Metro lines to Jimbocho for the bookshops. Akihabara is a few minutes' walk away.
What is Jimbocho known for?
The world's largest concentration of used and antiquarian bookshops, plus print and map dealers, publishers, and a famous cluster of curry and coffee houses. It's Tokyo's book town.
Explore nearby
- Shibuya, Energy capital.
- Shinjuku, The city in miniature: skyscrapers west, Golden Gai's tin-roof bars and Omoide Yokocho's yakitori smoke east, Shinjuku Gyoen's gardens an unexpected hush in the middle.
- Asakusa, Old-Tokyo temple district.
- Ginza, Old-money Tokyo.
- Harajuku & Omotesando, Takeshita Street's teenage chaos one block from Omotesando's quiet luxury, the most architecturally beautiful shopping street in Tokyo.
- Ueno & Yanaka, Museum row meets a low-key neighborhood untouched by the bubble years.