Temple lanes where cats hide in shops and art
Yanaka, a few stops north of Ueno in Tokyo, is an old neighborhood of temples and narrow lanes where wooden houses from the mid-1900s still stand. Cats turn up everywhere here, on shop signs, in sweets and souvenirs, and in sculpture, so a walk becomes a quiet search for them. Start from Nippori Station on the JR Yamanote Line, and bring some cash, as small shops may not take cards.
A shopping street of about 60 small shops along some 170 meters, selling croquettes, sweets and cat-themed goods over the counter. Look for the baked doughnuts shaped like a cat's tail. The street is narrow and busy, so eat your snack by the shop where you bought it rather than while walking through the crowd.
A short flight of stone steps at the top of the shopping street, looking straight down the length of it. The name means roughly 'sunset steps', and the view down the street in the late afternoon light is the classic one.
The home and studio of sculptor Fumio Asakura, who loved cats, where his cat sculptures are shown among his other works. You walk through the house in socks, past a courtyard pond, and up to a roof garden. It is closed on Mondays and Thursdays and on some other days, so check the official site before you go.
A cafe in a converted old row house, where you can paint a small unglazed clay cat and take it home. The sweets are shaped like cats too. It is closed on Mondays.