Beside the famous sento public bath, Akebono-yu in Oku-Asakusa, is a small concrete building that is hard to miss. Nestled between the apartment buildings is a giant blue sign with the words, CHARI YA TOKYO and a motif of Tokyo tower hanging against the wall behind a rack of thin-framed steel bicycles. Propped outside of the door is a handmade table and an array of posters. Walking into the space you are greeted by bottles and bikes hanging from the ceilings, a small but well equipped bar counter with two youthful men working on their computers. Ikkei Eguchi contacts clients and manages deals, while Keisuke Igarashi manages the social media as well as all multilingual communication. This is CHARI YA TOKYO.
Started a little over a year ago, CHARI YA TOKYO is a cycling tour company that bases itself in Asakusa and guides its guests to destinations all over the larger Tokyo area. These services are multilingual, in Japanese, English, and Chinese, and are nothing like what you have experienced before. With their smooth riding ROCKBIKES, their bluetooth speaker that blasts out music as you ride along, as well as custom made cycling bags, you can be assured that this team has not left anything out when aiming to prepare the best experience for its guests. The tours themselves feature not only tourists areas like Tsukiji and Kamakura, but also include history, local destinations, and little known secrets that even Japanese people aren’t aware of.
Eguchi, originally from Oita prefecture, had always been drawn to the Asakusa and shitamachi area, though he was originally working in the west side of Tokyo at a cycling cafe in Ebisu. In 2015, he quit this job and decided to move his attentions towards the east side of town. Asakusa was the perfect place to base his tours which aimed not only to provide basic tourist information but provide an experience for guests to take home with them. Alongside his interests in cycling, he has also worked to organize and plan events freelance and approaches his tours with a similar mindset.Treating the tours as if they are events, he works to find the best course to showcase the everyday in the most interesting light. By showing the sides of Tokyo that not even Japanese people have experienced before, guests can feel as if they are experiencing the unique, rare, and personal.
Having a guide to show you the world as you go along is a deeply personal experience, and with the CHARI YA tours, they aim not just to show places but to have guests experience the cycling lifestyle and Japanese culture. They hope they can inspire guests to take what they learn back with them to their countries. Using Asakusa as a base seemed like the most natural choice for showing Japan as it is. The frill and overly commercial vibe of west Tokyo contrasts to the east as the people of Asakusa focus more on pursuing what they want to do rather than focusing on how much it will sell for. Eguchi believes that no matter what comes, no matter how many times Asakusa is reborn, it will never forget its tradition, and the small, unique culture of its shops and history will live on against any and all obstacles.
1C Todoroki Mansion 4-16-3 Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo 111-0032
09:00-16:00
Irregular Holidays（Please check website)
http://chariyatokyo.jp/