Who’d have guessed there was a centuries-old snack shop too just a quick stroll away from one of downtown’s busiest rail hubs?

Ikebukuro might not be as world-famous as Shibuya or Shinjuku, but it is, without a doubt, one of the busiest, most developed parts of downtown Tokyo. As you can see in the picture above, massive department stores, multi-level shopping complexes, and office towers surround Ikebukuro Station.

But believe it or not, just a 10-minute-walk away from Ikebukuro is a place that makes it feel like you’ve somehow warped to another part of Japan, and maybe even another period in Japan’s history.

We stumbled across this surprising spot while on an ambling, initially destination-less stroll in the neighborhood. After exiting the east side of Ikebukuro, we were in the most congested part of the district, so we kept walking until we came to an intersection, a little beyond the Junkudo bookstore, where this narrow little side street caught our eye.

The sense of mystery only intensified as the surface turned from asphalt to cobblestone, with scarcely enough space for two people to walk past each other without brushing shoulders.

Now way too captivated by curiosity to turn back, we kept going and crossed over into Zoshigaya, one of Tokyo’s temple districts.

The path we’d been walking on came to an end at a T-intersection, so we zigzagged left and then right again, putting us on another cobblestone path, this one lined with trees.

And after walking a little further, we found ourselves at a temple called Zoshigaya Kishimojin…

…and then standing underneath this amazing icho (gingko) tree.

Even standing at the edge of the grounds, it was difficult to fit the entire tree within a single photo.

Craning our necks to look up at the branches, filled with healthy green leaves that provided shade from the sun even as they nearly glowed in the afternoon light, we wondered how tall this tree was.

Thankfully there was a sign next to it ready to provide that information: slightly over 30 meters (98.4-feet) tall (or 1.67 Gundams, to use the international scholarly standard for measuring height). The sign also informed us that the trunk has a circumference of 8 meters, and that the tree is…more than 600 years old!?!

▼ 樹齢　六百年以上 = Tree’s age: more than 600 years

Though the exact date of planting isn’t known, the tree is said to have been at the temple since the Oei era (1394-1428), and its historical value has earned it official designation from the Tokyo metropolitan government as a natural monument.

This isn’t the only thing on the temple grounds with an amazingly long history, either. Once we could finally manage to look away from the icho, we turned our head and spotted this snack stand, called Kawakamiguchiya.

Yes, the name is a bit of a mouthful, but that’s not entirely inappropriate for a store that sells all sorts of things to munch on. Specifically, Kawakamiguchiya is what’s called a dagashiya, a store that specializes in inexpensive, traditionally old-school treats of salty, sweet, or sour flavors.

A lot of dagashiya have retro aesthetics, and in Kawakamiguchiya’s case they’re absolutely warranted, since the shop first started selling snacks to temple visitors in 1781, making this its 245th year in operation.

▼ Our walking route from Ikebukuro Station to Zoshigaya Kishimojin

▼ There’s also a charming shopping street on the south side of the temple grounds.

Despite being just 10 minutes from Ikebukuro Station, Zoshigaya Kishimojin is so different from the congested buzz of downtown Tokyo that it feels like a little pocket dimension, or maybe a part of the city that’s magically frozen in time, and definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for something different than what modern city life offers.

Temple information
Zoshigaya Kishimojin / 雑司ヶ谷鬼子母神
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Soshigaya 3-15-20
東京都豊島区雑司が谷3丁目15-20
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24
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