Bar hopping - Edo style

I had a chance to head to Asakusa this week, to one of my favorite areas to grab a beer, some old tyme Edo cooking, and chat with random people. The area I'm talking about is a little slice of old Tokyo - styled to look and feel (in many ways without trying) like the little pubs and eateries that used to dot the area right after the war.

The little dining/drink spots may not look like much, but the food they serve is always good and reasonable, and the mix of old Japanese homecooking with Korean influences - as many of the staff and owners are of mixed Japanese/Korean background - makes for a unique and enjoyable experience. You've got hot bowls of nikujaga (肉じゃが - beef and potato soup), yakitori (焼き鳥 - chicken skewers), and buta kimchi (豚キムチ - stir fried pork and kimchi), three of my personal favorites.

I recommend trying out Daikatsu (大勝 - here's a map; you can get there from the temple easily).

The above 2 pics are just general shots showing the area. in winter the little stores all put out plastic curtains to keep in the warmth, and are nice for even a little stop for a beer and some edamame to get you warm after souvenir shopping near Sensoji.

Here's a pic I took of an agemanju (deep fried azuki bean bun) stall near the temple. I always get one or two every time I visit.

And to close, here's a pic of the main temple at Sensoji.

To get there, take the subway at JR Ueno station to Asakusa, and head west down the main street. When you see the gates to the temple compound on the right, you're there. Here's a map of the overall Asakusa/Sensoji area.