After taking a look at a few of the shrines in Yanaka, I came back to the main street to see what was there. Which was cats.
And some older buildings on side streets.
And more cats.
I didn't plan it but it was a day when stores put their wares out on the street and lots of people came to shop.
It was nice. There was a real community feeling with so many people shopping and visiting. I didn't take photos of the groups of people sitting outside places to eat, having a good time, talking and laughing. There was a lot of that.
Because the shopping area in Yanaka is called Yanaka Ginza. Now they don't have expensive stores like Ginza, but it's the idea of having a main area for shopping where everyone can go to.
And there were a lot of people there. And cats on buildings.
Cat hanko or stamps.
Pick a place, there's probably a cat on the sign.
Cat tail shaped donuts at Yana tail? Along with an advert for Nankozaka NecoJitaya, a stew and wine bar that serves food with cat decorations.
Even kanji cats.
How about a maneki neko with a taiyaki?
Now this looked interesting. A crooked case with neko taiyaki. Or would that be nekoyaki? Except I'm not sure about that one with the hot dog.
I had to take a look inside where they were baking up kitties. These taiyaki molds are actually special just for this business. Which is called Maneki-ya.
Yes, there were a lot of cat things in Yanaka Ginza.
For all these cats, I did not see one single live cat.
I did see a dog
or three. Maybe why no live cats? The crowds of people would be another reason. But it was okay. I mostly came to see the sakura and to take a look in the area. What was nice was seeing the community.
And that was my visit to Yanaka. Except there are a couple more temples I will be sharing.
So with all that cat stuff, did I buy anything? Of course I did. And I ate it.
Nekoyaki from Maneki-ya. And these were delicious! I enjoyed the matcha with anko beans and the custard version. If you like taiyaki and are in Yanaka, I definitely recommend stopping there.
