Tokyo Stroll Supplement: Bunkyō Ku

This page indexes, contains corrections, and has additions to Bunkyō Ku in Tokyo.
Related pages for specific neighborhoods/areas exist for Hakusan / Koishikawa, Hongō, and Yanesen (which is partly in Bunkyō Ku).

For information on Tokyo Stroll and this web supplement see Tokyo Stroll Supplement home page

For users of the Organic Maps, Maps.Me and Google Maps apps the items below have bookmarks you can import into those apps to make navigation easier.
Instructions and links are on the Viewing Locations in Organic Maps, Maps.Me, Google Maps, or Google Earth page.

Some entries on this page may include a note that says "Description to be added soon ." These entries are for items I felt should be listed even if the description is not ready to assist those who wish to plan a trip. When possible I included a link to an official web page, I suggest also doing web searchs for more information.

Official pages for each of the ku of Tokyo will have sections of interest to visitors. These will likely be labeled as dealing with culture, tourism, or events.
Bunkyō-ku official site: https://www.city.bunkyo.lg.jp

Akamon: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 168

Amezaiku Yoshihara Sendagi: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 456

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum / Yakyū Dendō Hakubutsukan (野球殿堂博物館)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Korakuen Station (Marunouchi Line, Namboku Line), Kasuga Station (Mita Line, Ōedo Line), Iidabashi Station (Chūō–Sōbu Line, Tōzai Line, Yūrakuchō Line, Namboku Line, Ōedo Line), Suidobashi Station (Chūō-Sōbu Line, Toei Mita Line)
WEB: https://baseball-museum.or.jp

Bunkyō Civic Center (文京シビックセンター)

As you have walked through this part of Tokyo you may have occasionally noticed a large tall building to the South East. This is the building that houses the government offices for Bunkyō Ward, sometimes you will see it referred to as the Bunkyō City Hall. Once you are at the building take the elevator up to the 25th floor (Open: 9:00 – 8:30) observation deck where you can enjoy an excellent 330-degree view of the city. If it is a clear day you will have a good view of Mount Fuji beyond the skyscrapers of Shinjuku. You may even spot a few things in the neighborhood to explore if the sun is still up.

Bunkyō Historical Museum / Bunkyō Furusato Rekishikan: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 180

Chōjiya: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 458

Dangozaka: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 456

Denzūin: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 165

Eisei Bunko (永青文庫)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Waseda Station (Toden Arakawa Line), Edogawabashi Station (Yūrakuchō Line)
WEB: https://www.eiseibunko.com

Enjōji: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 153

Former Ise Pawnshop / Kyū Iseya Shichiten: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 183

Fujinomori Inari Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 182

Genkakuji: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 166

Hakusan Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 153

Hantei (はん亭)

A restaurant in an older three-story wooden building which has been designated an important cultural property. This is the original 1917 building having survived the major fires that destroyed so much of Tokyo. Hantei specializes in kushiage, deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables, elevated to fine cuisine. For easy ordering they serve one set course, the ichinozen which is six skewers served in sequence, further rounds can be ordered for a greatly reduced price until you are full. You can then finish off the meal with optional rice and desert. There are seasonal variants in what they serve which adds an element of traditional Japanese dining. There are some English speaking staff and an English menu. Seating is either traditional on tatami on the second and third floors or chairs at tables on the first.
WEB: http://hantei.co.jp

Harimazaka: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 156

Higo-Hosokawa Garden / Higo Hosokawa Kōen (肥後細川庭園)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Waseda Station (Toden Arakawa Line), Edogawabashi Station (Yūrakuchō Line)
WEB: https://www.higo-hosokawa.jp

Hikawa Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 159

Honmyōjizaka: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 181

Hōshinji: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 182

Isego: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 458

Isetatsu: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 455

Jigenin: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 164

Jirō Inari Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 158

Kaneyasu: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 180

Kikumi Senbei 456

Kikuzaka: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 183

Koishikawa Annex, Museum of Architecture, The University Museum, The University of Tokyo / Tōkyō-daigaku Sōgō Kenkyū Hakubutsukan Koishikawa bun’in: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 158

Koishikawa Botanical Garden / Koishikawa Shokubutsuen: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 156

Koishikawa Kōrakuen (小石川後楽園)

A garden which was laid out in 1629 on the Mito Han estate by Tokugawa Yorifusa, his son Tokugawa Mitsukuni would oversee the completion of the work. An advisor on the construction of the garden was Zhu Zhiyu a noted Confucian scholar and refugee from China after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. It was he who gave the garden its name. Today this is the oldest garden in Tokyo Some noted features of the garden include the ponds, streams, manmade hills, older structures, bridges of stone or wood, many pathways, flowers, and a rice paddy for teaching how hard farmers worked which is still planted and harvested by school children today. Specifics on much of this can be found in the brochure given out at the garden. The garden is also known for Autumn foliage starting in late November, plum blossoms in February, cherry blossoms in late March, azaleas in April-May, and more than one type of iris in mid-April-June.
PDF: http://www.kensetsu.metro.tokyo.jp/content/000026922.pdf

Komagome Inari Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 461

Kōrakuen Hall / Kōrakuen hōru (後楽園ホール)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Korakuen Station (Marunouchi Line, Namboku Line), Kasuga Station (Mita Line, Ōedo Line), Iidabashi Station (Chūō–Sōbu Line, Tōzai Line, Yūrakuchō Line, Namboku Line, Ōedo Line), Suidobashi Station (Chūō-Sōbu Line, Toei Mita Line)

Kyū Iwasaki-tei Garden / Kyū Iwasaki-tei teien: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 175

Mansei: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 164

Mori Ōgai Memorial Museum / Bunkyō Kuritsu Mori Ōgai Kinenkan: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 457

Nensokuji: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 159

Nezu Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 458

Obake Kaidan (おばけ階段)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Nezu Station (Chiyoda Line), Todaimae Station (Namboku Line)

Printing Museum / Insatsu Hakubutsukan (印刷博物館)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Edogawabashi Station (Yūrakuchō Line), Myogadani Station (Marunouchi Line), Iidabashi Station (Chūō-Sōbu Line, Tōzai Line, Yūrakuchō Line, Namboku Line, Ōedo Line)
WEB: https://www.printing-museum.org

Reiunji: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 173

Rikugien Gardens / Rikugien (六義園)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Sengoku Station (Mita Line), Sugamo Station (Yamanote Line, Mita Line), Komagome Station (Yamanote Line, Namboku Line)
WEB: https://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/teien/en/rikugien/outline.html

Rinsenji (林泉寺)

This temple has an unusual type of Jizō statue, a shibarare Jizō, a "bound Jizō" which dates from 1602. This refers to a practice that started in the Edo Period of tying a string around a statue of Jizō as part of a prayer, when the prayer is answered the string is to be removed. Originally at this temple it was for the recovery of stolen or lost property, now people do for pretty much anything.
The shibarare Jizō of Rinsenji is mentioned by Kodō Nomura in one of his Zenigata Heiji stories.

Rinshōin: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 175

St. Mary's Cathedral / Tōkyō Katedoraru Sei Maria Daiseidō (東京カテドラル聖マリア大聖堂)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATION: Waseda Station (Toden Arakawa Line)
WEB: https://catholic-sekiguchi.jp

Sakai Inari Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 172

Sansakizaka: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 456

Sanshirō Pond / Sanshirō ike: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 172

Shinjuin: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 166

Snake Road / Hebimichi: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 458

Sōkeiji: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 156

Sudō Park / Sudō Kōen: Tokyo Stroll, Yanesen Chapter, page 458

Tadonzaka: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 181

Takehisa Yumeji Museum / Takehisa Yumeji Bijutsukan: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 173

Takuzōsu Inari Jinja and Jigenin: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 164

Tarō Inari Jinja: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 156

Tayori

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATION: Nippori Station (Keisei Main Line, Jōban Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line, Yamanote Line), Sendagi Station (Chiyoda Line)
WEB: https://hagiso.com/tayori/

Tokyo Dome City (東京ドームシティ)

A large modern entertainment complex founded in 1955 which has been added to and changed many time since. Included are the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium, the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, a hotel, an amusement park, a bowling alley, a hotel, roller skating arena, a large theater, the hot spring La Qua, various other attractions, and the location of ever changing special events. This modern entertainment district provides quite the contrast to the many older sights found in Bunkyō Ward.
WEB: https://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp

Tokyo Waterworks Historical Museum / Tokyo To Suidō Rekishikan: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 183

Toyo Bunko Museum (東洋文庫ミュージアム)

Description to be added soon
NEAREST TRAIN STATIONS: Sengoku Station (Mita Line), Komagome Station (Yamanote Line, Namboku Line)
WEB: https://toyo-bunko.or.jp/museum/

Tsuboya: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 174

University Museum, The University of Tokyo / Tōkyō Daigaku Sōgō Kenkyū Hakubutsukan: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 175

University of Tokyo / Tōkyō Daigaku: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 168

Ushi Tenjin Kitano Jinja (牛天神北野神社)

Founded in 1184 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Kamakura shogun. Yoritomo had a dream in which Sugawara no Michizane standing on a cow shaped stone informed him two important events would take place. The shrine was then constructed as thanks. The main entrance to the shrine grounds is to the East where there is a long stairway to the shrine. The shrine itself is an older wooden structure with some impressive komainu statues. The grounds are known for a ume blossom flower viewing festival early in the year. On the grounds you will see a sacred stone in straw rope enclosure, and a tall memorial stone to Nakajima Utako famous poet and instructor to many writers including Ichiyō Higuchi and Miyake Kaho. The memorial to Utako was put up after her death in 1903. Enter on the West through a long pedestrian street and stairway.
WEB: http://ushitenjin.jp

Wadatsumi no Koe Museum / Wadatsumi no Koe Kinenkan: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 183

Yayoi Museum / Yayoi Bijutsukan and the Takehisa Yumeji Museum / Takehisa Yumeji Bijutsukan: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 173

Yayoiken Hongō (やよい軒 本郷)

The local branch of the restaurant chain Yayoi. I include it here as this is an excellent place to get a Japanese style breakfast at very reasonable prices. As you enter there is a machine where you can order and pay for your meal. This is a touch screen device and has an English menu option for easy selection. Pay for your meal, collect your ticket and change then seat yourself. You don't need to be able to speak Japanese as the ticket has your selection. Refills on rice and tea are free, just help yourself.
WEB: https://www.yayoiken.com/en/

Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Hall / Yokoyama Taikan Kinenkan: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 172

Yushima Seidō: Tokyo Stroll, Akihabara and Kanda Chapter, page 69

Yushima Tenmangū: Tokyo Stroll, Hongō Chapter, page 173

Zenkōjizaka Mukunoki Tree: Tokyo Stroll, Hakusan / Koishikawa Area Chapter, page 164