Owing to a bit of jet lag, we went to bed around 9 pm on Friday night and were up at 3:30 am on Saturday. We couldn't go back to sleep so just decided to start our day. After showering and getting ready, we started the day super early at around 6 am. It was a rainy day so we kept our umbrellas with us.
Our first stop of the day was Tsukiji Fish Market. First we took the JR Yamanote train to the closest station to the market. JR Yamanote is a circular track that runs within the city of Tokyo and connects the major stations with high speed train. After getting off, we asked for the subway train directions from someone. It was quite funny since he called two other people who we guessed to be his subordinates. All three of them were dressed in suites and probably going to work. They were all nice enough to check the directions on their phones and then point us in the right direction. We also visited a grocery store within the subway network and got a packaged waffle and a small pack of chocolate milk that we had during the subway ride. After getting off at the fish market station, we strolled around the market and saw fresh seafood of all kinds being sold for really low prices. We had missed the tuna wholesale auction that happens every morning at 5 am at this market. It's the largest fish market in the world. We had sushi at a restaurant at the market and it definitely was the freshest sushi that we've ever tasted.
Then we walked to our second stop of the day, the Hama Rikyu Gardens. Our day had started so early that when we reached the park entrance, we found out that the park hadn't opened yet as there were still a few minutes to go till 9 am. When the park opened, we bought tickets and got a free audio guide with it. The audio guide was GPS-enabled so when we reached the location of the next commentary item, it started playing automatically - another small example of Japanese electronic advancement. The park is primarily man-made and has ponds, flower gardens, small hills, tea houses and small islands connected by wooden bridges. Other features include gates to control the water level in the ponds inside the garden by controlling the flow of water from the Sumida river and even the Pacific Ocean. The main attraction in the park is a tea house on a small island where the shoguns and the royal family used to come to have tea, relax and have official ceremonies. It's called the Nakajima tea house. We stopped to have traditional Japanese green tea called Matcha tea in the traditional way - sitting on a tatami mat on the floor after taking off our shoes at the entrance and having a confectionery item before the tea and then picking up the cup with the right hand, placing it on the left palm, turning it clockwise twice and then finishing the tea in 3-4 sips. The whole affair was quite relaxing. After having the tea, we continued walking around the park and then reached the water bus dock. Our water bus journey started at 10:30 am and we were doing a cruise on Tokyo's famous Sumida river. The cruise lasted about 45 minutes and we disembarked in the Asakusa area.
A rickshaw guide tried to sell us a tour on the rickshaw to our next stop, the Sensoji temple. Initially we were a little hesitant so we told her that we would come back after lunch and went to the KFC across the road for lunch. Samia had a chicken burger whereas I tried a slight variant of the same burger with Japanese sauce on the patty. It was delicious.
We had decided to do the 30 minute rickshaw ride with the same guide since she spoke excellent English. Her name was Yuka and we later found out that she learnt perfect English from her American mother despite never leaving Tokyo in her 19 year life! It was a great decision to do the rickshaw ride since she took some very nice pictures of both of us together with some very interesting backgrounds. Whenever she stopped at a traffic light, she would tell us about the history of the Asakusa area. We saw a traditional Japanese comedy house, a geisha training center, a street lined with statues of raccoons (believed to have morphing powers in Japanese culture), shops that sell sweet potato ice cream and dessert, the location of the oldest theme park in Japan and other inner streets of Asakusa that we would've never explored otherwise. She also suggested us to try the tempura of the area since it's a speciality. We also found out about her background and that she is a university student studying languages and translation. She answered all our questions about Japanese religion, demographics of Tokyo and some phrases of the Japanese language. After the ride, she also gave us a small souvenir sticker and a postcard. She dropped us off at the oldest gate of the Sensoji temple after taking a very nice picture that included the 400 years old gate and a five storey pagoda, the second largest in Japan.
We entered the Sensoji temple. In Japan, when the word temple is used for a place of worship, it signifies a Buddhist temple whereas a shrine always refers to a Shinto shrine. Shinto is the folk Japanese religion which is more like a code of conduct for everyday life mannerisms than an elaborate spiritual philosophy. Back to the Sensoji temple complex. The complex of course has the Buddhist Sensoji temple but it also has a small Shinto shrine, a pagoda (a tall vertical structure with multiple roofs, each one smaller than the one below it) and a street Nakamise Dori with colorful souvenir shops lining the sides. The most recognizable image of the Sensoji temple are the large red lanterns that have black Japanese characters written on them. These were built to light the streets close to the temples so that the gods could see and thus their large sizes. We also saw gigantic straw slippers hanging from the walls, also for the gods. We witnessed some of the religious rituals of the worshippers - fanning smoke of burning incense over themselves, washing themselves and drinking the water of a fountain with the statue of a warrior in the center, burning incense sticks while bowing to the temple and praying after dropping coins in the offertory boxes in front of the temple (and even the Shinto shrine). After taking some pictures at the temple, we walked along Nakamise Dori and shopped for souvenirs.
We walked back to the subway station and bought fried shrimp tempura on our way. It tasted great and the shrimp seemed to be larger than the one we're used to in North America.
Our next stop was the Tokyo National Museum. We saw a nice collection of Japanese artwork and paintings from all eras dating back to the Heain period. However, the best collection was the temporary exhibition of Buddha statues from the Kamakura era that look very lifelike because of a technique used that make the eyes of the statues glitter like humans.
After the museum, we had ice cream cones from a roadside truck and then walked to the train station to catch the JR Yamanote to our next stop. After getting off the train, I had coffee and Samia had lemonade. Then we walked to the area that we had come to see, the Akihabara Electronic Market. Apart from being a heaven for gadget lovers and video games lovers, we also saw some other strange characteristics that have come to be identified with this growing subculture of Japanese new generation. We saw some disturbing 18 plus arcade games and maid cafés and the sad thing is that the clientele is not only young Japanese males but also older male adults. Apart from that, we saw manga and anime shops - definitely a unique experience.
After Akihabara, we took the train back to our hotel and freshened up for dinner. We asked our hotel concierge for recommendations at a walking distance and she gave us a long list of places within 5 minutes of walk from our extremely centrally located hotel. We had trouble finding our first choice (a Thai restaurant) and by the time we found it, they had just closed. So we dined at a Spanish tapas restaurant. The food was really good and we had patata bravas, fried mushrooms, a small personal sized pizza and a baked cheesecake for dessert. Then we walked back to our hotel. After a very long day with 15.5 km of walking, we are really tired now. Samia has already fallen asleep and I fell asleep a few times while writing this. Looks like I'll barely manage to finish this before sleeping. Hope you liked the detailed update. Tomorrow will be another day of exploring this ginormous city.
Till then, take care and good night!
Our first stop of the day was Tsukiji Fish Market. First we took the JR Yamanote train to the closest station to the market. JR Yamanote is a circular track that runs within the city of Tokyo and connects the major stations with high speed train. After getting off, we asked for the subway train directions from someone. It was quite funny since he called two other people who we guessed to be his subordinates. All three of them were dressed in suites and probably going to work. They were all nice enough to check the directions on their phones and then point us in the right direction. We also visited a grocery store within the subway network and got a packaged waffle and a small pack of chocolate milk that we had during the subway ride. After getting off at the fish market station, we strolled around the market and saw fresh seafood of all kinds being sold for really low prices. We had missed the tuna wholesale auction that happens every morning at 5 am at this market. It's the largest fish market in the world. We had sushi at a restaurant at the market and it definitely was the freshest sushi that we've ever tasted.
Then we walked to our second stop of the day, the Hama Rikyu Gardens. Our day had started so early that when we reached the park entrance, we found out that the park hadn't opened yet as there were still a few minutes to go till 9 am. When the park opened, we bought tickets and got a free audio guide with it. The audio guide was GPS-enabled so when we reached the location of the next commentary item, it started playing automatically - another small example of Japanese electronic advancement. The park is primarily man-made and has ponds, flower gardens, small hills, tea houses and small islands connected by wooden bridges. Other features include gates to control the water level in the ponds inside the garden by controlling the flow of water from the Sumida river and even the Pacific Ocean. The main attraction in the park is a tea house on a small island where the shoguns and the royal family used to come to have tea, relax and have official ceremonies. It's called the Nakajima tea house. We stopped to have traditional Japanese green tea called Matcha tea in the traditional way - sitting on a tatami mat on the floor after taking off our shoes at the entrance and having a confectionery item before the tea and then picking up the cup with the right hand, placing it on the left palm, turning it clockwise twice and then finishing the tea in 3-4 sips. The whole affair was quite relaxing. After having the tea, we continued walking around the park and then reached the water bus dock. Our water bus journey started at 10:30 am and we were doing a cruise on Tokyo's famous Sumida river. The cruise lasted about 45 minutes and we disembarked in the Asakusa area.
A rickshaw guide tried to sell us a tour on the rickshaw to our next stop, the Sensoji temple. Initially we were a little hesitant so we told her that we would come back after lunch and went to the KFC across the road for lunch. Samia had a chicken burger whereas I tried a slight variant of the same burger with Japanese sauce on the patty. It was delicious.
We had decided to do the 30 minute rickshaw ride with the same guide since she spoke excellent English. Her name was Yuka and we later found out that she learnt perfect English from her American mother despite never leaving Tokyo in her 19 year life! It was a great decision to do the rickshaw ride since she took some very nice pictures of both of us together with some very interesting backgrounds. Whenever she stopped at a traffic light, she would tell us about the history of the Asakusa area. We saw a traditional Japanese comedy house, a geisha training center, a street lined with statues of raccoons (believed to have morphing powers in Japanese culture), shops that sell sweet potato ice cream and dessert, the location of the oldest theme park in Japan and other inner streets of Asakusa that we would've never explored otherwise. She also suggested us to try the tempura of the area since it's a speciality. We also found out about her background and that she is a university student studying languages and translation. She answered all our questions about Japanese religion, demographics of Tokyo and some phrases of the Japanese language. After the ride, she also gave us a small souvenir sticker and a postcard. She dropped us off at the oldest gate of the Sensoji temple after taking a very nice picture that included the 400 years old gate and a five storey pagoda, the second largest in Japan.
We entered the Sensoji temple. In Japan, when the word temple is used for a place of worship, it signifies a Buddhist temple whereas a shrine always refers to a Shinto shrine. Shinto is the folk Japanese religion which is more like a code of conduct for everyday life mannerisms than an elaborate spiritual philosophy. Back to the Sensoji temple complex. The complex of course has the Buddhist Sensoji temple but it also has a small Shinto shrine, a pagoda (a tall vertical structure with multiple roofs, each one smaller than the one below it) and a street Nakamise Dori with colorful souvenir shops lining the sides. The most recognizable image of the Sensoji temple are the large red lanterns that have black Japanese characters written on them. These were built to light the streets close to the temples so that the gods could see and thus their large sizes. We also saw gigantic straw slippers hanging from the walls, also for the gods. We witnessed some of the religious rituals of the worshippers - fanning smoke of burning incense over themselves, washing themselves and drinking the water of a fountain with the statue of a warrior in the center, burning incense sticks while bowing to the temple and praying after dropping coins in the offertory boxes in front of the temple (and even the Shinto shrine). After taking some pictures at the temple, we walked along Nakamise Dori and shopped for souvenirs.
We walked back to the subway station and bought fried shrimp tempura on our way. It tasted great and the shrimp seemed to be larger than the one we're used to in North America.
Our next stop was the Tokyo National Museum. We saw a nice collection of Japanese artwork and paintings from all eras dating back to the Heain period. However, the best collection was the temporary exhibition of Buddha statues from the Kamakura era that look very lifelike because of a technique used that make the eyes of the statues glitter like humans.
After the museum, we had ice cream cones from a roadside truck and then walked to the train station to catch the JR Yamanote to our next stop. After getting off the train, I had coffee and Samia had lemonade. Then we walked to the area that we had come to see, the Akihabara Electronic Market. Apart from being a heaven for gadget lovers and video games lovers, we also saw some other strange characteristics that have come to be identified with this growing subculture of Japanese new generation. We saw some disturbing 18 plus arcade games and maid cafés and the sad thing is that the clientele is not only young Japanese males but also older male adults. Apart from that, we saw manga and anime shops - definitely a unique experience.
After Akihabara, we took the train back to our hotel and freshened up for dinner. We asked our hotel concierge for recommendations at a walking distance and she gave us a long list of places within 5 minutes of walk from our extremely centrally located hotel. We had trouble finding our first choice (a Thai restaurant) and by the time we found it, they had just closed. So we dined at a Spanish tapas restaurant. The food was really good and we had patata bravas, fried mushrooms, a small personal sized pizza and a baked cheesecake for dessert. Then we walked back to our hotel. After a very long day with 15.5 km of walking, we are really tired now. Samia has already fallen asleep and I fell asleep a few times while writing this. Looks like I'll barely manage to finish this before sleeping. Hope you liked the detailed update. Tomorrow will be another day of exploring this ginormous city.
Till then, take care and good night!
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