Sugamo is an area of Tokyo known as Grandma’s Harajuku, because the shopping street’s popular with older people!
The main street is Jizo Dori, which has a retro, Show Era feel, with lots of shops and places to eat. There’s a famous shop that sells red underwear, which is a popular gift once you’re over 60 years old, because they’re thought to bring good luck and long life. There’s a small shrine at the start called Shinshoji where we saw plum blossoms (at the end of February). Halfway along is Koganji, a shrine dedicated to healing ailments, which is why Sugamo originally became popular with older people. We also saw lots of Sugamon, the cute duck mascot, including Sugamon’s fluffy butt! At the end of the street is tram station called Koshinzuka. The Sakura Tram (aka Toden Arakawa Line) connects Sugamo with Waseda University, Ikebukuro, suburban areas of north Tokyo and Minowabashi (which is north of Ueno and Asakusa). Filmed at the end of February 2023.
00:00 Intro
00:40 Jizo Dori
02:02 Koganji Temple
03:19 Jizo Dori
04:21 Sugamon’s Butt
05:04 Sakura Tram
06:40 Jizo Dori
09:00 Train Stamp
10:21 Wrap-up
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24 Comments
Afternoon Amy how are you? Loved watching your old to new Japan videos here & thanks to you showing me the best places to visit there in Japan I would love to visit there next year myself soon! Koganji Temple looks so wonderful & must have been there in Tokyo for years here! Cheers for sharing & stay safe from London, England!
Looks good ❤
Brilliant content as usual. We got back last Saturday, 1st visit, and my head is still spinning! This video was perfect to treat withdrawal symptoms x
A bit of light tram-hopping would ease me in gently and if worst came to worst, I could buy one of those Granny Shopping Carts for support.
I was in Japan around the same time (late feb/early march), but by the time I reached my hotel I’d been awake for almost 50 hours since I was too excited to sleep the night before and I couldn’t sleep on the flight, so I couldn’t manage much more than getting food from a combini and then passing out at 6pm. I’m glad you had a better first day
This actually IS in my top 10 things to do 🤭
Your japan videos are getting me exciting for my pending trip back there in 2.5 weeks! Going to keep an eye out for any new places that i havent heard of before…and definitely going to check out the huge new Animate and the giant Kura Sushi 😊
I think visiting Sugamo is very worth it! My dad and I enjoyed visiting the many shops, trying some snacks, and buying a few souvenirs (no red panties, though). We did go from Sugamo directly to Ikebukuro, it is a quick trip from one place to the other. I love and miss the train noises!
This is really nice. Going to a chilled over a fast-paced place is a good idea. I am still planning my trip so getting more ideas as to what we'll like to do on day 1.
Your videos always make me nostalgic for my Japan holidays.
Nice video…An area of Tokyo that’s new to me.
I'm so happy for you guys that you get to visit again at long last! You're remarkably articulate after that long flight!
The first time I went to Japan I stayed near Ikebukero, I loved walking around that whole area. I'm still super excited each time you upload that you finally made it back to Japan! In the grand scheme I guess it wasn't that long, but for awhile it seemed like travel would never return to normal.
With the return of foreign tourists, major tourist spots are very crowded.
It's great that you pay attention to grandmother's Harajuku in such a situation.
It's nice to see the more laid back areas, especially if it's your second or third visit to Tokyo. I actually tend to spend more time in places like that, just soaking up the atmosphere.
Just starting to plan for my first trip to Japan and love your videos. The train station stamps are brill.
Nice video. I was in Sugamo about a week and a half ago with a Japanese friend. We took the Sakura tram from Waseda and got off at Sugamoshinden. Walked down the main shopping street past Maruji, the red underwear shop but went off a side street to go to Sekka, a popular kakigori cafe (opposite Koganji Temple) where they give you a huge bowl of shaved ice to eat. We couldn't find anywhere decent to have a meal in Sugamo so we took a Saikyo line train to Akabane instead for okonomiyaki and monjyayaki.
Lovely well thought out video as always. Greatly appreciate all that you do. ❤
Amy, I think the strategy that you and Phil discussed about first day activities was really good. It is hard to anticipate how tired and jet lagged one can feel when landing a bunch of time zones away–plus you have the added benefit of experience. Nice to see Phil again, too!
Thank you for sharing this experience. We will be staying in Sugamo on our future trip to Japan. We felt it may be a nice change of pace from the rest of the city. Good to know that it is close to Ikebukero, may need to try out that tram.
Nice to see you guys back in Tokyo! Will look forward for the videos!
Do you know of any other specialty sesame shops in Japan? I went to one in nishiki in Kyoto which was amazing, 5 years go. Would love to know some others
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Just wondering where you got your stamp book! Is it your design or did you get it when you arrived in Japan?
Sugamo looks like one of those neighborhoods you can go for lunch and have a nice time. I just got back from Japan a couple weeks ago and tried my luck with the stamp book I got. Though it was only near the end of my trip that I started stamping it. I'm definitely saving it for next time!