Street food in Asakusa
Asakusa is famous for it’s traditional older Japan vibe it retains. You’ll find old buildings, Kimono makers, craft stores, sweet shops and even Rickshaws! Asakusa is most famous for the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple which opened in 645 AD! The main street up to Sensō-ji is Nakamise Street this spot offers a lot of souvenir stalls but most importantly street food stalls!
We ventured through Nakamise and the connecting side streets for some unique food to try.
Melon Pan and Ice cream メロンパン
There were a few stalls selling Melon Pan served with Ice Cream so naturally we had to try. Melon Pan is a sweet bread that’s soft on the inside but has a harder sugary crust on the outside that’s cut to look like a Rock Melon, however, it’s not melon flavoured.
If you want to try some highly rated Melon Pan in Japan it might be worth venturing away from Sensō-ji and over to Kagetsudo which is located only two minutes away.
Age Manju 年齢まんじゅう
This is an Asakusa specialty! It’s a Deep-fried Manju which is a traditional Japanese confection similar to a Mochi but Manju is made of rice powder and flours. Age Manju comes in a variety of different fillings to choose from! We love Japanese Custard so quickly decided on the Custard filling. Other fillings available are Anko (Sweet red bean), Black Sesame, Green Tea, Pumpkin and more.
The stall we bought this from is pretty famous and we highly recommend this stall - Asakusa Kokonoe.
Senbei 煎餅
Senbei is flavoured rice crackers. We hit up a stall that freshly grills the Senbei once ordered so that cracker is warm, toasty and lovely! These crackers are fairly thin and snappy, covered in a lovely salty and sweet glaze and comes in two flavours.
Dango 団子
Dango is another traditional sweet. It’s a type of Mochi (sweet pounded glutinous rice) that’s formed into balls and skewered making them perfect for street food. They come in a few different flavours and our faourite is Mitarashi Dango. This one is grilled then covered in a sweet soy sticky dressing.
This Dango is still to this day – the best we’ve ever had!
Sensō-ji
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