Our last stop Japan...Tokyo

Left scorching Bangkok for a cooler Japan on Wednesday and arrived 6 hours later to the biggest city, Tokyo. The temperature was 25 degrees colder than in Bangkok! We flew low cost Air Asia again and the flight went well bringing us into Narita Airport which is about 50 km from Tokyo. After an hour or so on a bus we were picked up by our AirBNB host and settled in to our new place for next few days.

We were late booking Japan so I wasn't able to have much choice of accommodation as this is the beginning of Japanese holidays and many people are on the move so I was happy to use AirBNB as a lower cost alternative.

The first day we were up to try and conquer the subway system which is no easy feat! We ended up at Shinjuku station that handles over 3 million passengers a day, has 60 exits and it was overwhelming! 

But we did manage to find the Japan Rail station where we picked up our JR Pass for the next two weeks and made some reservations to get us around the country. This pass can only be bought outside the country and will save us a lot of money as everything here is so expensive even transportation.

It cost us 1100 CAD for two passes for two weeks travel on the subways, buses and trains. We hope to put it to good use in the coming days.

We also found the exit that took us to the Obsevatory 55 stories on top of the Municipal Building. It was cloudy but still able to see the vastness of this city of over 13 million people.

Mt. Fuji was in the distance in this one but too gray to see it...

One thing we noticed immediately here is the cleanliness compared to SE Asia, everything inside and out is spotless...

Some interesting public art installations...

Another thing are the vending machines everywhere which dispense beer as well as water...

Don was not feeling well, he has picked up some kind of bug so we went back to our accommodation early as Tokyo is a city to visit only if you are well as the distances are long and the crowds are massive...

On the way we stopped into the grocery store to pick up something for supper as the stores here have so much takeaway food of all kinds...

Tempura which is lightly battered food, here it was shrimp and veggies...

Sashimi which is thinly sliced raw fish...

I opted for my favourite which was sushi...

Here is a picture of Shibuyu crossing, one of the busiest in the world, very difficult to walk the streets here, so many people. For movie buffs, this is where the movie, Fast and Furious was filmed.

This picture was taken as we were going up an escalator to a very modern shopping Center, loved the way it is framed...

There are some quiet areas in Tokyo like the park that surrounds the Mejii Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meijiand his consort, Empress Shoken. 

The shrine was completed and dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and the Empress Shoken in 1920, eight years after the passing of the emperor and six years after the passing of the empress. The shrine was destroyed during the Second World War but was rebuilt shortly thereafter.

Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He was born in 1852 and ascended to the throne in 1867 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration when Japan's feudal era came to an end and the emperor was restored to power. During the Meiji Period, Japan modernized and westernized herself to join the world's major powers by the time Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912.

The gate to the shrine built from 1500 year old Japenese Cypress...

Before entering the shrine you must wash your hands and mouth...

On the way into the shrine there are rows and rows of wrapped sake barrels...

It is a series of low buildings around a courtyard, very simple compared to the temples we are used to seeing in SE Asia...

For 500yen you get to leave wishes behind...

This was a nice quiet place away from the busyness of the streets with lots of locals and some tourists...

Another day we took the subway to some of the neighbourhoods outside the core including the Tijisii Fish Market which is one of the largest wholesale fish markets in the world. We had to be there by 3am to see the daily auctions but that didn't happen. We did however get to see a lot of the product selling in the outer market which was full of people lining up for fresh fish meals...

All kinds of dishes to try with a lot of it served raw or just slightly cooked...

Of course we had to try something so settled on this dish full of fresh seafood...tuna, scallop, mussels, squid and others we didn't recognize...

The guy used welding torches to slightly cook them and they were delicious...so fresh and tasty!

If the food so far is any indication we will be eating a lot more seafood in the next couple of weeks!

We also visited Senso-Ji Temple which is the oldest Buddist temple in Tokyo and one of the most significant. It was originally built in 645 but was heavily damaged in WWII and rebuilt.

Dominating the entrance to the temple is the Kaminarimon or "Thunder Gate". This imposing Buddhist structure features a massive paper lantern dramatically painted in vivid red-and-black tones to suggest thunderclouds and lightning.

 Beyond the Kaminarimon is Nakamise-dori with its shops and thousands of people...

One of the traditions for people entering the temple is to coat themselves with the incense from a huge burner which is said to heal you of what ails you!

Some pictures of the grounds...

A couple dressed in traditional clothing presenting their offerings...

And of course food stalls, the Japanese love to eat...

 

Street art...

Colorful fans...

We also visited another small neighbourhood, Yanaka Ginza, which is pedestrian only and not quite so crowded...

Lots of little alley ways...

Beautiful flowers everywhere...

The homes here are small and close together but many people have beautiful flowers...

We stopped to have a Sapporo which is the popular Japanese beer and had to sit on cartons in front of the store and these characters were playing what looked like spin tops but they were quite good at it as well as entertaining the passerbys...

Also a funny story...while we were sitting there two young women came along and we struck up a conversation and one of them was from Mexico. We were sharing some stories and laughing when the older gentleman sitting a little ways away came over and told us to be quiet as we were making too much noise, especially me!!! The other woman who was Japanese said they are not used to talking loudly especially in public. 

We had noticed on the subway there were signs to turn off their phones and not to talk on them. We also observed the people as they greet each other, very quietly and humbly. I think I might have a hard time fitting in here!

Overall we have found Tokyo challenging dealing with the sheer numbers of people and trying to figure out the transportation system and directions when few street signs are in English. But the people here are very friendly and helpful, often walking with you to show you the right subway exit.

I think to really get to know the city we would need a lot more than 3 days but we have tried to experience what we could especially with Don feeling under the weather. I think we tackled the biggest place first so the rest should be a piece of cake...hopefully!!!