Food Market Tour @ Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo

Being one of the more iconic parts of the city, and the location of Sensoji temple, Asakusa has always been a checkpoint for tourists and locals alike. And it is no surprise that when there are people, there will be hungry people. And where there are hungry people, there are food shops. 

A stunning pavilion. Photo was taken last year. 

The temple grounds of Sensoji are simply stunning and will probably pop up in a Google search if you are looking for temples in Japan. Its iconic red structures are spellbinding to see and is a great place to visit at any time of the year. Being a tribute to Kannon, the Japanese manifestation to the Buddha of Compassion, Sensoji also has important religious significance and is a hub for pilgrims from all over Japan. 

Fancy a go at checking your fortune? The counters between  the main altar has an omikuji counter just for that.
Just look out for the sign that says みくじ

My previous visit last year in October did not go too well as I got my fortune told via an omikuji (みくじ) and I got the worst fortune. Luckily this time, I had a better prediction. Well, like the saying goes: if you have been at the bottom, the only way is up. 

On with the eating! This is the part of the shopping street closest to the Temple. 

Feeling pretty good about myself now, some celebratory food is in order. And what better way to start off with something deep fried, sweet, chewy and just plain good? The fried manju stall was my first port of call. And all streets seem to direct me to Nakamise Dori, the famous shopping street between Sensoji and Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gates. 

Front of the shops

Located just outside temple grounds, Kokonoe (九重)  is a very popular food stall and serves fried manju and located at the back end of Nakamise Dori that is near the Sensoji temple. Agemanju ofrfried manju is a stuffed mochi which is battered and then deep fried till golden brown. Imagine the Japanese version of Scottish battered sweets and you probably get the idea. 

The wares up close

And there are an assortment of varieties and flavours vary from standard adzuki to matcha and curry. Prices range from ¥130 to ¥200, depending on the fillings. I decided on the goma, which is black sesame and a curry stuffed one.The obasans manning the shop are very friendly and they do try to speak some English. However, this is an exception as even in tourist dense places like Sensoji and Asakusa in general, there are very few English speaking Japanese shop owners. So thats a brief summary about the service, but how about the food? 

Sweet sweet sesame. 

As predicted, the curry was savoury and strong. The filling has chunky bits of vegetables and provides an interesting dimension to the manju, which is already has a crunchy and chewy combo. Unlike its origin source, the curry filling is quite mild, but well spiced. There is a strong turmeric aroma and there was some kickback of coriander seeds. It has a slightly complex flavour. The goma has a more traditional flavour, and being a sweet variant, I feel this is more apt to have as a manju. As the paste inside is smooth, it feels more "subdued" in a sense and the flavours tend to be more in harmony than the curry version. 

Time for something crunchy...

Needing something more substantial in terms of crunch factor, the senbei stall was up next. A staple as a snack,  its one of my favourites when I feel peckish and is a healthier alternative to the cookie. Or so I would like to think.  I got mine laces with seaweed from Kineya (杵屋) the senbei shop I patronised located in Nakamise Dori. 

Yum!

In addition to selling gift packs and packets by the kilos, you can sample individual pieces from the place. I throroughly enjoyed by rice cracker and prices vary from ¥50 to ¥75 , depending on the flavour. 

Buns! Buns everywhere!

Still needing more, I went to the standard staple which is bread. And this time its melon pan, and stopped by Kagetsudo. Just located in the backstreet, this quaint bread shop sells mostly melon pan. You would have probably known by now that despite its name, a melon pan has no melon nor is it made with a pan. Its just a melon shaped bun which has a sugar crust on top. 

Say cheese! A picture of the friendly owner. 

The owner was very friendly and the bun was really good. A crunchy exterior was then taken over by a flossy and tender inside. The inside of the bun was fairly sweet, like a standard piece of bread. However, its the flossy texture that takes the cake, or rather, takes the bun? Each bun is ¥230  and can fill up a small stomach. It was really big and was almost as big as my face. 

Little prepared me for what was about to happen. 

Needing a sweet finish, the final stop for me is a sweet potato shop located near one of the side exits of Nakamise Dori and that is Oimoyasan (おいもやさん) . And getting their sweet potato desserts is a no brainer.  From the outside it looks more like a baked pastry, but in fact is just sweet potato. So how does it taste?

Looks more like a Twinkie than mashed sweet potatoes. 

It was an amazing specimen, with a unique texture. Fluffy all the way through akin to whipped butter, yet it crumbles like a Twinkie. Well, it does look like it, but tastes far superior.  The morsel has a flavour very similar to creme anglaise or a french custard cream. 

It really crumbles! 

It was syrupy sweet and had a floral aftertaste. An orchestrated assault to your senses, one piece was a mere ¥250. If this was a more longer lasting morsel, I would have easily bought more to bring back home. But alas it was not meant to be. 

The front of the shop. Do yourself a favour and try one of the sweet potato desserts!

This was a throroughly satisfying food crawl and like my previous trip to Tsukiji Fish Market, it is not possible to eat everything. There are many more food stalls that I have yet to explore, and there are also some that only open closer to lunch hours. I was here from 9.30 am  and left about 11 am, and yet some only started unfolding their shutters. So if you are up to trying everything, you  need to head to Nakamise Dori later. Just take note of the crowds. 

Although some shops were still closed, at least you can enjoy some street art painted on the shutters. 

But I hope this article gives you some idea on what to expect and be used as a kick start to your own trip to Asakusa. Also, note that the area also sells toys and souveniers and street food is not really the main focus. So technically, this is not a food market per se, but the variety really makes it feel like one. And if you have noticed the food I have eaten, there was no meat on tow, so vegetarians can take some solace on the food sold here. Do note that Kokonoe does sell pork manju. So please be mindful about it. 

Do check out some of the other wares in store from other shops. 

Going to Nakamise Dori and Sensoji is relatively easy as its just a few minutes walk away from Asakusa station, which is located on the Ginza Line and Asakusa Line.