Tokyo/Toshima
From World travel guide
Toshima (豊島) is a ward in northwest Tokyo, Japan.
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Get in
The main train hub for the area is Ikebukuro, covered in a separate article.
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Get around
The Toden Arakawa line, the last streetcar line in Tokyo, putters through Toshima starting from Waseda University (just across the district line in Shinjuku), through Zoshigaya, Ikebukuro, and all the way to Minowa at the northern edge of Taito.
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See
There is, quite frankly, very little in the way of attractions for tourists in Toshima.
- Zōshigaya Cemetery (雑司が谷霊園 Zōshigaya-reien). The final resting place of Lafcadio Hearn and about the most exciting attraction in this neck of the woods. Near Higashi-Ikebukuro station.
- Kōgan-ji Temple (高岩寺). This small temple in Sugamo is known for two magical statues: Togenuki Jizō, who heals sick children, and the boddhisattva Kannon, who will cure your pains if you wash the appropriate part of the statue. More morbidly, you can also pray to Kannon for a swift and painless death, so you will not be a burden to your relatives in your old age.
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Do
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Buy
- Ikebukuro is home to two of the largest department stores in the world, Seibu and Tobu.
- Sugamo (巣鴨), on the JR Yamanote line, is popularly known as "Grandma's Harajuku" (obaachan no Harajuku), and indeed most shops in the area do seem targeted towards a geriatric clientele. For the (rare) tourist, however, this means a plentiful supply of tea, pottery, kitchen implements and clothes in styles that went out of fashion 50 years ago. The area is at its liveliest on the 4th, 14th and 24th of each month when a street market is held.
- Maruji (丸治). Sugamo 4-21-11 and three other outlets nearby, [1]. Probably the most famous and successful shop in Sugamo, Maruji specializes in one thing: red underwear (赤パンツ aka-pantsu). By energizing a pressure point below your navel, Maruji's crimson panties, boxers and longjohns will keep you warm and fill you with vigor — or so they say. ¥800 and up.
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Eat
- Konaya (古奈屋). Sugamo 3-37-1, [2] (in Japanese). The original shop of restaurant chain renowned for its curry udon noodles. The noodles are cut by hand, the special curry stock is brewed for two days, and you can rest assured that your ¥1050 will, indeed, get you the best curry udon you will ever eat. Open for lunch only daily except Monday.
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Drink
- Ikebukuro has an extensive assortment of places to drink and get drunk.
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Sleep
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Contact
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