Why Tokyo’s Sancha neighbourhood is the perfect base for first-timers

Nestled just two stops from Shibuya, Sangenjaya offers a peaceful retreat with local dining and stunning views. Photo / 123rf
On a recent trip to Japan, Anna King Shahab finds the perfect base for a first-timer in Tokyo – one that is convenient for the city’s attractions and with a calmness timid travellers will relish
Just two stops on the underground from the scramble of Shibuya, Sangenjaya is a largely residential area that flies completely under the radar for tourists. An old district, its name translates as “three tea houses” hinting at its historical renown as a rest stop en route to the heart of Tokyo. Today it’s locally shortened to “Sancha”, and the neighbourhood still offers the sense of being right on the cusp of the metropolis, yet relatively tranquil. A five-day stay in Sancha, helped along with insider knowledge of the area by a local friend, has me singing its praises as a neighbourhood more visitors should consider as a base for exploring the world’s most populous city. Here’s why:
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Located in the Setagaya Ward in southwest Tokyo, Sancha is a four-minute subway ride on the Den-en-toshi line from Shibuya Crossing, the world’s busiest street crossing with close to two and a half million pedestrians striking out from its pavements daily. As an epicentre of tourism in Tokyo, Shibuya’s bright lights, shopping and dining are a drawcard – but it can quickly feel like a sensory overload. As a base, Sancha offers quick and easy access to Shibuya as well as other hotspots such as Shinjuku, Harajuku, Ginza and Ebisu – with none of the frenzy. If Shibuya is full boil, Sancha just simmers away nicely.
It’s lively enough during the day with students, workers and pensioners, but Sancha really comes alive after dark, when its host of affordable dining spots fill with hungry locals. The liveliest cluster is found at Sankaku Chitai yokocho. A yokocho is literally a “side street”, but the term refers to hospo-lined alleyways and bar-hopping precincts; they’re dotted all over Tokyo, and some, like Shinjuku’s Golden Gai, have become famous tourist destinations. The crowd at Sankaku Chitai, however, is very much local, with only a few foreign faces dotted around.
In this tangle of backstreets just over the road from the station, dozens of bars and restaurants open till late serving tasty fare at very reasonable prices – yakitori, sushi, ramen, soba, fried chicken (or perhaps chicken sashimi if you’re feeling brave? … Omoriya is a little spot here specialising in it), and much more. Jostle your way to the bar and order a drink and a few small plates before traipsing off to find your next place to perch – or if there’s a group of you, staff will offer to take your number and call you when a table comes free.
Affectionately known as “Carrot Tower” for its decidedly orange hue, this high-rise above Sangenjaya Station offers a mint – and free – outlook on the city – take the lift up to the 26th floor where an observation deck surrounds the restaurant. Because the immediate area is low-rise residential, you get a pretty unique aspect of more distant landmarks, including Tokyo Tower, and the nearby skyscrapers of Shinjuku. On a clear day, you can see Mt Fuji.
The long straight thoroughfare of Chazawa-dori leads from Sangenjaya to Shimokitazawa (Shimokita for short) – a neighbourhood to the north that has garnered hotspot status for its laidback bohemian vibe, indie vintage shops and hip natural wine bars. With our partners and teenagers off to explore the Ghibli museum, my friend Kyoko and I had an afternoon to ourselves to explore and, after a delicious lunch of cold yuzu ramen at Afuri – the perfect dish in 36C, 98% humidity – we planned to wander Chazawa and park up in Shimokita for an early evening tipple in some trendy spot. In fact, we ended up covering a mere third of this street that Time Out last month named one of Tokyo’s seven coolest, because there were too many interesting things to distract us along the way.
A summer street festival was in full swing and the street echoed to the sound of tap dancers as we set off. We called into a local fishmonger and a grocery store to peruse the offerings, stopped at a kushiage shop for delicious deep-fried skewers. At a shop selling everything pork, we bought piping hot juicy syumai (steamed pork dumplings) – if we’d had room in our tummies, the tonkatsu shop adjoining would’ve made another good pitstop. We browsed the shelves of gourmet shops stacked with artisan local products, and admired beautiful small-batch miso and other ferments in an organic shop while sampling sake.
Kyoko took me under her wing and into a pachinko parlour. A form of gambling-via-loophole (there’s a complicated system whereby winnings are not paid out onsite) pachinko is dressed up as something between pinball and an arcade game. It’s a bit like pokies except there’s arguably an element of skill involved – slight flicks of the wrist can encourage the little metal balls in certain directions – or so the theory goes. The elderly man next to me seemed to have the knack, but my attempts were hopeless. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the bright lights, jaunty sound effects, and insight into a uniquely Japanese phenomenon.
At the end of our day on Chazawa-dori, we hadn’t made it to Shimokita because Sancha ended up offering more than we’d expected. We called it a day over a drink in Kikuya, a cool little bar serving an eclectic list of wines, shochu cocktails, and craft beer on tap (in fact, a nifty canning machine meant we could also order tap beer to go). The menu paired Japanese ingredients with outside influences in dishes like a pani puri-meets-takoyaki – a crisp chickpea flour shell filled with octopus and dashi stock, sitting on top of a tangy katsu sauce – a mouthful of India and Japan at once. Out the front of the bar was a taco pop-up, and beyond that, Sancha went about its business: young and old, modern and traditional. It’s not glitz or glam it offers, but a slice of everyday life.
GETTING THERE
Air New Zealand flies non-stop to Tokyo every day. The flight time is about 11 hours. From Tokyo’s Narita Airport, Sangenjaya is approx. 1 hour, 30 minutes by car, and approx 2 hours if you use public transport.
DETAILS
japan.travel/en/au