Here are some more comparison photos of lost Yanaka and Nezu, "then and now".  (Part 1 here)

Over the years I experienced a lot of things in Japan, many of them amazing, and occasionally disturbing. There have been a few things that truly shocked me, but the destruction of the old buildings of Yanesen is really heartbreaking. 

Yanesen was not like other areas, it was a survivor, with a culture and charm of it's own. Because the district was so untouched, every old building had a value to the town beyond it's own land price. Each one that is pulled down now is a destruction not only of the property, but of the heritage of the area. In a few years Yanesen will be just another faceless Tokyo suburb in the urban sprawl.
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My fascination with Japan originally stemmed from a love of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and the history of old Tokyo, which soon expanded into a wider appreciation of the country. So when in the new year of 1987 I eventually set off to Japan I was determined to live in an area with historical connections to "old Edo" (Edo is the old name for the city).
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