Naritasan Omotesando — Attraction in Narita

Stepping Back in Time on Naritasan Omotesando

We decided to explore Narita town upon arrival at Narita Airport on 30 July 2025, before heading to our rented apartments in Machiya, Central Tokyo. It turned out to be a perfect choice — a gentle immersion into Japan’s history and culture before the buzz of the capital.

We took this street unintentionally when walking towards Naritasan Shinshoji from the station, and it felt like stumbling into a living postcard from another era.

Naritasan Omotesando stretched out ahead — an 800-meter slope lined with Edo- and Meiji-era wooden shopfronts, each with its own story. Here, time seemed to slow.

Shop signs were hand-painted, noren curtains swayed in the breeze, and the air carried a faint scent of soy glaze and grilled eel.

Narita’s fame for unagi dates back centuries, and we saw it in action — chefs deftly cleaning live eels right at the storefront, just as they have done for pilgrims visiting Naritasan Shinshoji Temple since the Edo period. Watching it felt like witnessing a craft handed down unchanged through generations.

The street itself was once the main pilgrimage route to the temple, and the sense of purpose lingers. Inns, teahouses, and sweet shops once catered to travelers on foot; today, they welcome visitors from around the world while preserving the same warmth and rhythm. The architecture tells its own story — dark timber, tiled roofs, and sliding windows that have looked out on hundreds of years of footsteps.

Every few steps offered a glimpse into another era: a traditional sweets shop selling monaka wafers filled with sweet bean paste, a lantern-lit alley leading to a hidden garden, an old merchant’s house repurposed as a crafts store. It was history you could touch, smell, and taste.

By the time we reached the temple gates, the modern world felt far away. Naritasan Omotesando wasn’t just a walk — it was a journey through Japan’s cultural memory, one that made our first hours in the country...

This is the beautiful street full of shops leading to the Naritasan-Shinsoji Temple. We came from the JR Narita Station East Exit on a friday night and walked along the bustling brightly-lit bars of Omotesando catering to lots of locals laughing and eating and unwinding in lots of Izakaya lining the street closer to the JR Station. It gets quieter the nearer you walk towards the temple. Saturday morning, we found lots of people strolling along the street with the daytime shops open selling various food from fresh produce to pickled to dried to freshly cooked and grilled. The smell wafts from all directions and if not for the January cold, i can imagine warm summer days by the beach from all the seafood grilling. Famous are Unagi (eel) restaurants and by noon, every single restaurant had a line so make sure you get to the temple early and have brunch instead if you want a seat without lining up. The architecture was fabulous with the old structures well-maintained and most have modern amenities inside but traditional wood facades still intact. Make sure to bring cash as some vendors still opt for that although credit/suica cards are acceptable in some shops especially souvenir ones. Also, note that those taking cash are usually cheaper when we did the comparison. Definitely worth the time to check out the shops and try the...

Visited in Nov 2023. We arrived on an early flight via Narita Airport, stored our luggage there & took a short train ride to Narita City. The vibe of this street, from JR Narita to Naritasan Temple, is very much like a less congested version of Nannenzaka slope to Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. Except it slopes downwards to the temple. There are shops, restaurants & cafes on both sides of the street. This town is famous for unagi but there are also many shops selling snacks & pastries. Keep an eye out for the charming animal statues along the entire length of this street. Be aware the road is open to vehicles. There are some kimono rental shops, allowing for a quick few hours of photoshoots against the background of traditional buildings & the main...