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- Right near Narita Airport! Enjoy the Retro Atmosphere of Naritasan Omotesando Road
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Right near Narita Airport!
Enjoy the Retro Atmosphere of Naritasan Omotesando Road
Walk to Naritasan Omotesando Road on foot from the station
JR Narita Station and Keisei Electric Railway's Keisei Narita Station are the closest stations to Naritasan Omotesando Road. This time, we've decided to start you from JR Narita Station. A "Naritasan" lantern hangs at the entrance of the station.
Leave the station, and walk towards the left. When you come upon a stone sign labeled "Omotesando," turn left, and you'll be at the entrance to Naritasan Omotesando Road.
Right near the entrance of Omotesando Road is a Chinese zodiac stone statue.
Walk down Omotesando Road while enjoying a variety of culinary delicacies, including freshly made shoyu senbei (soy-sauce-flavored rice crackers), sakura dango (cherry blossom rice dumplings) packed full of bean paste, milk-flavored soft-serve ice cream, and thick, rich milk.
Omotesando Road, with its retro atmosphere
As you walk down Omotesando Road, the buildings of the cityscape will take on and more and more of a retro atmosphere. Traditional Japanese houses line the street one after another. You'll feel like you've time-traveled into the Japan of a long time ago.
This building is a special pharmacy that sells Kampo (traditional Chinese herbal medicine). It has an enchanting atmosphere that stopped us in our tracks.
Walk down even further, and you'll begin to see the entrance to Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple in the distance.
Must-have! Unagi (eel) from long-standing shop "Kawatoyo"
Unagi (eel) is perhaps the most distinctive culinary delicacy of Naritasan Omotesando Road! The savory aroma of grilled unagi wafts through Omotesando Road, and, seduced by the aroma, long lines of people wait for a bite. This is the long-standing unagi shop, "Kawatoyo."
Their process: hand-pick the freshest unagi, then clean, steam, grill. This is thought to be the secret as to why Kawatoyo's unagi tastes so good.
A shop employee guides us up to the 2nd floor. The Japanese-style house, built in 1917, has a warm, retro Japanese atmosphere. Displayed on the wall is a work of calligraphy, on which "Kawatoyo" is written in bold, strong strokes.
The unaju (grilled eel on top of rice) is served! The freshly grilled unagi and the modestly sweet sauce, packed with umami, is incredibly delicious. One bite, and you'll never forget it! It comes with a clear soup made from unagi liver, and Narita's specialty tsukemono (Japanese pickled vegetables).
Cleaning, steaming, and grilling the unagi on the spot does take a bit of time. The store provides coloring pages and colored pencils for children, so that parents can wait with their children, free from anxiety, for the unagi to be served.
Coloring pages and colored pencils for children
Information
Address: 386 Nakamachi, Narita City, ChibaHours: 10:00am ~ 5:00pm
Regular Closures: Open all-year round (irregular closures depending on the time of year)
Access: 10 min. walk from JR "Narita Station," Keisei Electric Railway "Keisei Narita Station"
Official Website: http://www.unagi-kawatoyo.com/
Pay a devotional visit to Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple!
Finally we arrive at our destination, Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple. Over 10 million people have been said to visit Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple, which has over a thousand years of history. The photograph shows the main gate at the entrance.
Nio-mon Gate ('Gate of Deva'), a designated Important Cultural Property
Nio-mon Gate's Nio-ike Pond is a hojochi (lake made for freeing captured fish), with a turtle made of stone. It's said that if you throw a coin towards the turtle and the coin manages to land on top of the turtle, your wish will come true.
We now come upon the Daihondo (main hall). There is a solemn atmosphere around the Daihondo.
On the right side of the Daihondo is a sanjunoto ('three-storied pagoda'). 25m tall, its vibrant, colorful engravings draw the eye.
The fox-shaped amulet sold at Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple is a rare one. It is thought to provide good luck with respect to career advancements and pave the way for better fortune in general.
If you want to try your luck, draw a kaiun omikuji ('good luck fortune slip')! Drop in 100 yen, shake the omikuji container, look at the number on the end of the stick, then go to the drawer of that number and remove your omikuji. The front of the omikuji is in Japanese; turn it over for English, Chinese, and Korean translations.
In Naritasan Park, behind Daihondo, bloom plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, and azalea, depending on the season. There are a variety of things to see in this large park, including a lake, a waterfall, fountain, Heiwadaito ('The Great Pagoda of Peace'), and calligraphy art museum, so it is definitely worth a visit.
Information
Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple
Address: 1 Narita, Narita City, Chiba
Worship Hours: Always open
Access: 10 min. walk from JR Narita Station, Keisei Electric Railway's Keisei Narita Station
Narita Shinsho-ji Temple Official Website: http://www.naritasan.or.jp/
Buy some Narita souvenirs
If you want to buy some souvenirs from Narita after your visit to the temple, you can go to "Yoneya Yokan Mihashi Tetsuro Shoten," which is on the right-hand side when you leave Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple. Here, you can buy things like peanuts, a Chiba specialty, and "teppozuke," a type of tsukemono (Japanese pickled vegetable) made by pickling gourd in soy sauce with green chili pepper, as well as famous desserts like yokan (sweet bean jelly).
Information
Yoneya Yokan Mihashi Tetsuro Shoten
Address: 337-1 Honcho, Narita City, Chiba
Hours: 9:00am ~ 5:00pm
Holidays: No holidays
Access: 10 min. walk from JR "Narita Station," Keisei Electric Railways "Keisei Narita Station"
There are countless flavors of Hayashida no Osenbei ('Hayashida's Rice Crackers') rice crackers. If you're a fan of rice crackers, don't forget to buy some on your way home!
Information
Hayashida no Osenbei
Address: 490 Saiwaicho, Narita City, Chiba
Hours: 9:00am ~ 5:00pm
Regular Closures: Mon., or following day if a national holiday, no closures in Jan. and May
Access: 8 min. walk from JR "Narita Station," Keisei Electric Railways "Keisei Narita Station"
Rest at a café on your way home!
After your walk down Naritasan Omotesando Road, wouldn't it be nice if you could relax and enjoy some fragrant coffee? You can do just that at "Hashira Deli & Café," right in front of JR Narita Station.
In this shop with its cute décor, the manager carefully pours out each cup of coffee.
We ordered a latte, and received one with a cute little bear cub drawn on the foam, courtesy of the manager. We were able to relax, gazing out into the yard with its stone lanterns. The experience rid us of any fatigue we had from the walk.
Latte with a bear cub drawn on the foam
Information
Hashira Deli & Cafe
Address: 839-30 Hanazakicho, Narita City, Chiba
Hours: 7:30am ~ 7:00pm (L.O. 6:00pm)
Regular Closures: Sun. (Irregular closures on Mon., temporary closures possible. Make sure to check official site for details)
Access: 1 min. walk from JR Narita Station, 2 min. walk from Keisei Narita Station
Official Website: http://www.hashiracafe.com/
Pay a visit to Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple, enjoy culinary delicacies and pick out souvenirs while wandering around Naritasan Omotesando Road's Japanese-style, retro cityscape, then spend some leisurely time savoring coffee… A sample course that allows you to take in all that Naritasan has to offer. If you're going through Narita International Airport, why not stop by Naritasan Omotesando Road? Your Japan trip is about to become a lot more interesting!
■ Promotional video: Naritasan
Click here for the full version of the promotional videoClick here for the e-guidebook of Chiba's highlights and tour plans 《Chiba Japan Perfect Guide for Tourists》 ⇒Download here |
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THIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON INFORMATION FROM 03 24,2017 Author:DiGJAPAN! Editorial Team
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