Kagurazaka (神楽坂)

Kagurazaka (神楽坂) is a fashionable shopping and dining district along a sloping street in Tokyo near Iidabashi Station. During the Edo Period, Kagurazaka was located just outside the outer moat of Edo Castle and gained prominence as an entertainment district with numerous geisha houses and restaurants. Some of the geisha houses survive in the district's narrow alleys to this date.

Kagurazaka also has a significant French presence due to two nearby French schools. A large variety of French cafes and restaurants can be found throughout the district, alongside a host of trendy and upscale Japanese restaurants and ryotei, many of which are tucked away along the sides streets that lead off of the main slope. The main road through Kagurazaka is closed to car traffic everyday from 12:00 to 13:00, and from 12:00 to 19:00 on Sundays and public holidays.

Photos:

"KagurazakaStreet" by PHGCOM - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KagurazakaStreet.JPG#/media/File:KagurazakaStreet.JPG

"Kagurazaka Akagi Jinja" by Kkazeyama - Took a photo during my trip to TokyoPreviously published: flickr.com/thekaz. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kagurazaka_Akagi_Jinja.jpg#/media/File:Kagurazaka_Akagi_Jinja.jpg