Japan in the Spring - Tokyo 2

We spent our second day in Tokyo with a gentleman from the Tokyo Free Guide.  I was alerted to the  service by my friend - it was a great experience.  I had to apply for the service two months in advance and the service provides a local volunteer as a guide for a day, no fees other than covering meals and transportation costs.  The best thing about this is getting to know someone who actually lives there - it was a great cultural exchange.  The volunteer actually has to pay a nominal annual fee to be part of the service.

Our guide introduced himself in an email, a retired professional with a spouse and grown up family.  He was very helpful in helping us plan our day, pointing out closures, and making reservations for lunch.  He picked us up at our hotel and took us to the various spots on our itinerary and at the end of the day went out of his way to show us the way to Ginza.  

It was another packed day starting with a trip to the Asakusa Visitor Center, a Kengo Kuma building looking down upon the famous Nakamise Shopping Street.  The view from the top was definitely better than the one at street level.  It was insanely packed all the way to the Sensoji Temple - apparently a must-visit for Tokyo visitors.  

View from the top floor of the Asakusa Visitor Center,

The Asakusa Visitor Center designed by Kengo Kuma

Inside the building

The busy crossing to Nakamise Shopping Street

The packed entrance to the Thunder Gate

The even more packed Nakamise Street

Sensoji Temple - the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo

Younge ladies dressed up for the visit.  There is a shop across from the Temple that rents entire outfits, including accessories for tourists. 

Sukiyaki lunch at the Asakusa Imahan was definitely the highlight of the day.  Delicious food and amazing service!  It was lucky that we had reserved a room because when we arrived at the restaurant, the dining room which doesn't require reservation is completel full and they were not even taking wait lines.

An after lunch stroll along the waterfront allowed a glimpse of the river and the famous Tokyo Skytree Tower and the Asahi flame (nicknamed the "golden turd" for obvious reasons)

The Hamarikyu Gardens yielded a respite from the bustling Asakusa area.  The beautiful Otemon bridge rook us into the gardens with some of its beautifully landscaped areas but also my first encounter with Tokyo wildlife.  The duck pond also has some Canvas backs which I didn't expect to see. 

Otemon Bridge



A brown-eared bulbul - a lifer for me in the most unexpected place, and I didn't even have my birding lens with me!

The Shogun's teahouse surrounded by beautiful Japanese pines.  

A 300 year old pine on the property

Love this window sign in one of the Shogun's lodges

We walked form the Hamarikyu Gardens to Ginza, gawking at all designer houses along the strip.  The Kabuki Theatre was was quite exceptional among all the glitz.  Since the neon lights were not on yet we decided to have an early dinner to beat the crowd at the Chikuyotei Ginza.  The eel dinner was exceptional!  Coming out onto Ginza with its lights turned on was a treat as you can see below.

The Kabuki-za Theatre, the largest in Japan, opened in 1889

Front door of the Theatre

One of many interesting buildings on the Ginza strip

Ginza crossing - you just have to catch it in that 30 seconds before you get run over!

Ginza Crossing when the lights came on

A few of the buildings on the strip that caught my eye...

I was proud to say that we made it back to the hotel on the subway without having to take a taxi.  It was easy, because our Guide had found us the best route among the many options available.  Tokyo is just amazing with so many varied options for transport!  But even more remarkable was how busy and yet pleasant it was even at night.  There were no scary corridors or dangerous platforms to navigate, everything was orderly and calm in spite of the bustle.  Above all, it felt safe! 

Taking the wrong turn coming out of the subway yielded unexpected opportunities for photography.  As the landscape was not familiar, we decided to turn back, but not before taking a few shots!  

This wrapped up our remarkable two days in Tokyo.  In the morning, we negotiated the train station again and made it to Yokohama to catch the boat.  Wish there were more time in Yokohama as it looked interesting.  All I could manage was this night shot of the harbour before we took to sea.

Next stop:  Nagoya

Japan in the Spring - Tokyo 1

I visted Japan this spring on a cruise on the south side of the island.  We were lucky to have great weather most days, a bit cool, which didn't help the cherry blossoms although we did get a glimpse of it in the last week. The visit is such a pleasurable experience I can't wait to tell you all about it!  Thanks to two dear friends who are pros in Japanese food and culture having lived there before and visited regularly since, we were armed with lists of places to see, things to do, places to eat which all helped to make this a great experience.

We started in Tokyo.  Haneda airport was easy to negotiate and we found the Airport Express Bus ticket counter easily.   I tried self-service at the ticketing machines, it wasn't hard figuring out the route number from the overhead map but it wouldn't take my credit card.  (TIP: I have since figured out cash is the way to go for the train tickets!)  We finally got tickets at the ticket counter for the bus that took us to the bus terminal a short walk from our hotel in Shinjuku (a district in Tokyo) - a bargain at $12 CAD.  (A taxi would have been around $120 and not much faster).  There was no problem communicating in English.  What a contrast with my first visit in 1975 when hardly anyone spoke English and I remember having to resort to drawing to communicate.  

It was dinner time in Tokyo regardless of our body clock so we ventured out to the streets of Shinjuku to gawk at the busy restaurants with tables spilling out onto the sidewalk.  It was refreshing to be in a city with a busy street life at night and there didn't seem to be any safety concerns at all.  Our first bowl of ramen was tasty and very satisfying!  

Streets of Shinjuku at night

An exceptional bowl with spinach, bean sprouts and cabbage, vegetables are not common unless deep-fried!

Our first destination the following day was the Meiji Shrine.  It is just a couple of stations from the hotel and we could have walked but knowing that we had a long day of walking ahead of us, we decided to brave the rush hour traffic and took the train.  It was an eye-opening adventure and we experienced in person what we had seen online of Tokyo train stations in rush hour.  Proud to say we survived the ticket machine and the crowd and found our way to the relatively peaceful Meijijingu.  

This is how far back we were standing on the platform, but we got on the second train

The main Tori gate at the Meiji Jingu

 

Sake wine barrels lined the path to the shrine - sacred ritual wine is an essential component of Shinto purification rituals

 

The "temizuya" where worshippers wash their hands and mouth before proceeding

The main courtyard of the shrine

Lineups to purchase amulets and votive tablets

Omamori or amulets for luck and protection

Ema - votive tablets for special personal prayers are hung around a divine tree with wishes written on the reverse side.  These are offered at the morning ceremony held every days and the supplications are conveyed by the priests.

These camphor trees, planted in 1920 at the time of the enshrinement of the Meiji Jingu, are considered sacred.  Known as "Meoto Kusu" or "Husband and Wife", the coupled tress have become a symbol of happy marriage and harmonious family life.

One of the side entrances

Because of our early start, we finished at the shrine and ended up on Omotesando Street ahead of schedule, too early for lunch (especially after our sumptuous hotel breakfast).  So we walked the famous street with its designer buildings and designer fashion houses all the way to our destination, the National Art Centre.

Lineup for donuts?

Omotesando has been describe as the "catwalk" of Tokyo architecture.  I can see why. These are just a few that caught my eye.

Long line up outside the Gentle Monster store.

The National Art Centre -  stunning in green glass and curves

Inside the NAC

A reflection of the NAC on the building across the street

On our way to Rappongi Station to take the train back to the hotel, we stopped by a noodle place for lunch, attracted by its distinctive look.  I've since found that many Japanese restaurants have very attractive entrances.  You will see more of these in upcoming posts. 

We went back to the hotel for a midday break - (TIP:  it's so important to stay at a place in the middle of everything so we could take these essential breaks.!)  We wandered out to Omoide Yokocho, a maze of narrow alleys near the busy Shinjuku Station with lots of street food.  These narrow alleys seem to be an incredible hive of activity all day, not just at night.

Shinjuku Crossing

We went on to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building's 45th floor to see the much touted Tokyo nightview.  We were surprised at the long lineup to go up the elevator but equally surprised that it didn't take that long.  The view was indeed worth it.  

We had to take a taxi back to our hotel as Google got lost under the canopy of the many covered passages under the government mall.  It was a short ride as we were at worst a 15 minute walk from the hotel if we hadn't got lost.  Our night ended with dinner near the hotel at a place serving small dishes with mostly locals.  We tried a sampling of several things on the menu - they were delicious.  My first full day in Tokyo ended with 22,751 steps, a record for me.