We’ll go ahead and say it: there’s no other neighborhood in Tokyo quite like Monzen-Nakacho. In a city filled with endlessly explorable districts and backstreets, this neighborhood stands apart for its intoxicating mix, a place where Tokyo’s past, present, and future can all be experienced and tasted, often on the same street. Part of Tokyo’s shitamachi, the city’s historic old town, Monzen-Nakacho still maintains a laid-back atmosphere rooted in temple life, shrine festivals, neighborhood shops, and local gathering places. On this six-hour food tour, we go deep into Monzen-Nakacho’s backstreets, stopping into tiny storefronts, old food shops, liquor counters, and out-of-the-way izakayas to meet the people who keep the neighborhood’s bellies and glasses full. More than an izakaya crawl, this walk explores the spirit of the neighborhood in three forms: spiritual life, liquid spirits, and community spirit. Rice is the thread connecting them all, appearing as food, alcohol, fermentation, celebration, and ritual. To kick the day off, we’ll start with Fukagawa meshi, a local specialty of clams served over rice and one of the dishes that best represents this part of Tokyo. Next, we’ll taste umeshu, a traditional drink being reinvented in new ways, at a stop with its own strong sense of community. After visiting one of the area’s major shrines, where we’ll explore sake’s close ties to Shinto ritual, we’ll head directly to Fukagawa Fudo-do Temple to take in one of its daily fire ceremonies, a powerful mix of chanting, drums, and flames. After the temple, we’ll stop for nonalcoholic amazake and fermented foods, learning how koji is essential to staples such as miso and soy sauce, as well as drinks including amazake and sake. From there, we’ll visit a couple of neighborhood shops, then stop at a kaku-uchi, an alcohol shop where customers can drink on the premises, followed by a sembei shop and a tuna-focused izakaya serving sake and umeshu. We finish with monjayaki, a savory batter cooked on a tabletop griddle. Sitting among neighborhood locals over more bites and drinks, we’ll get a deeper sense of what makes Monzen-Nakacho so special: the rituals, foods and gathering places that connect faith and everyday life, neighbors and visitors, past and present.
Read More
