Ebisuya, the Best Tour Guide Company Around for Asakusa! Explore Asakusa in a Fun New Way via Rickshaw

If you have ever come to Asakusa to sightsee, you would have seen plenty of muscle men dressed in “Happi” coats (traditional Japanese coats), wearing “tabi” (traditional Japanese socks), right? Many of you I’m sure have even been asked if you’d fancy a ride on one of their rickshaws. These men are known as “shafu” (or “rickshaw men” in English), and just as their name suggests, they are the drivers of rickshaws. The Japanese kanji of rickshaw (Jinrikisha) is very straightforward, quite literally meaning “a vehicle pulled by the power of a person”, and was a widespread form of transport during the Meiji period (roughly 145 years ago) and continued to be so for over 60 years. Up until the birth of trains and cars, rickshaws were the equivalent to present-day taxis, and functioned as a form of public transport.

“So why does this form of transport still exist in Asakusa?” you may ask. In this present day, rickshaws can even be found outside of Asakusa, in places where many tourists tend to flock to, such as Kamakura and Kyoto, and are primarily in operation to serve those tourists. But the men who take these tourists around, aren’t just ordinary rickshaw men like back in the day. They also act as tour guides, giving recommendations on great places to check out as they take you around.

With so much excitement waiting to be had, our girls Alisa Urahama and Tina Tamashiro took a ride on one of these rickshaws in Asakusa!

With the help of the rickshaw men, our two hopped into the rickshaw to go for a ride. Most rickshaws are just like the one our girls hopped on, with only enough room for 2 people. The rickshaws come with a comfy red sofa for you to sit on, and even a blanket to place over your lap.

Once all the necessary preparations have been completed, it’s time to depart on our rickshaw adventure! The rickshaw even uses the side path on which pedestrians use, and there are no windows or other objects to block your vision, so you can fully enjoy the view around you. The rickshaw men even give you travel advice and recommendations that probably wouldn’t be available to you in a guide book, and advise each customer on-the-go based on their interests. Our girls listened intently on their rickshaw man’s words of advice.

At the end of their adventure the rickshaw man pulled them into an area near Sensou-ji, where they hopped off and took a photo at the foot of Azumabashi, a bridge well known for its bright red color.

Tourists can rest easy and thoroughly enjoy their ride with Ebisuya as they even have rickshaw staff who can guide you in languages such as English and Chinese. You can even put in reservations in advance over the Internet, so be sure to check it out!

Photo by kobadog
Translated by Cheryl Coyle

Ebisu-yaNHK WORLD

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