We woke up just before 7 am on Sunday but relaxed and stayed in bed. We also decided to change our plan for today a little and do a day trip of Kamakura. We figured out how to use the water boiling machine in our room and had in-room coffee. Then we got ready and left for the day around 10 am.
We stopped at a bakery near our hotel for breakfast. We had a croissant, a lemon cake and a couple of chicken buns and latte. Then we took the JR Yamanote line train to the Tokyo station. This station is the oldest train station of the city and was one of the first ones that was built using red bricks and that gives its exterior a grand look. We took a couple of pictures and then took the next train to the station closest to our first stop of the day, the Edo-Tokyo museum.
The Edo-Tokyo museum chronicles the history of the city of Tokyo starting from 1590 all the way to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The museum uses small scale models to depict how the city used to be at various times. It also features a life size replica of the Nihombashi bridge which is quite imposing.
The current Imperial family of Japan came to power around 700 but didn't have any real political power till the Meiji Restoration of 1868 (more on that later). The political power was held by various local warrior lords, each with his own Samurai force. When Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power around 1600 and formed his "bakufu" (feudal government), he chose the city of Edo (the old name of Tokyo) as the new capital. His title was Shogun and his Shogunate (referred to as the Tokugawa period) was an era of peace in Japan during which all contact with the rest of the world was cut off. It's important to note that the Imperial Emperor still held a ceremonial role during all this time and the imperial line continues pretty much uninterrupted to the present day.
The bakufu of Shogun Tokugawa was a state that distributed resources to its people based on their income and collected taxes. They had split citizens into different castes and assigned them specific roles. This sounds socialistic but at the same time, the state was very functional economically with concepts of gold/silver/bronze currency, currency exchanges, highly specialized skilled jobs and welfare protection provided to the citizens.
The Edo period ended with the Meiji Restoration of 1868 when the real political power was returned to Emperor Meiji who opened up Japan to the rest of the world, upon pressure from the US. Edo was renamed as Tokyo. However, this democracy was problematic, specially in the 1920s and 1930s since the military was very powerful and kept challenging China, leading to all out war in 1937. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, US in 1941, it led to a war with the US and its allies that culminated in the horrific nuclear atomic bombings of 1945 that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After 1945, with the help of the US and its allies, Japan started modernizing and westernizing and the people eagerly adopted Western values of commerce and advancement - so much so that today they undoubtedly lead the world in technology. The 1964 Olympics were instrumental in the reconstruction and facelift of Tokyo and since then, the urban growth of this giant city has been happening exponentially.
The museum gave us a detailed insight into the agriculture of Tokyo and trade of crops. It also highlighted the woodwork skills, printing, dying and fashion choices of the city's inhabitants. There was a section on Kabuki as well. Kabuki is the Japanese form of theater in which only male actors perform, even the female roles. Elaborate makeup and dresses are a distinct feature of Kabuki.
After exiting the museum, we spotted a Sumo wrestler standing outside dressed in a kimono and talking on the phone. We discreetly took a picture of him. The area of Ryogoku that has the Edo-Tokyo Museum is also home to Sumo Wrestling. Unfortunately, we won't have time to see a Sumo Wrestling match during this trip.
Then we took the JR train to Kamakura, a town about 40 km from the Tokyo station. The train ride was about 70 minutes after which we boarded a local train. After that, we started walking to the temple. On our way, we had a halal chicken pita from a Turkish Doner shop. Then we continued walking and reached Kotoku-in, the temple famous for the statue of the Great Buddha. The bronze statue is 37 feet long and one of the most recognizable symbols of Japan. We took pictures and then left to head back to Tokyo. It was worth the one and a half hours of getting there to see this magnificent statue.
We got off at the Shibuya station. This is another of Tokyo's major stations and like the other major stations of Tokyo and Shinagawa, not only does it have scores of platforms and thousands of commuters but also many shops, restaurants and cafés adjoining the station. We exited the station into Shibuya's Scramble Crossing area, the so-called Times Square of Tokyo and definitely on par with its American counterpart in terms of the activity, the glitter, the neon signs, high glass buildings and high-end brand stores. The Shibuya Scramble Crossing is the largest in the world and when the pedestrian signal is green, you can see hundreds of pedestrians crossing the road from all 4 sides. Then we stopped at a Ramen noodles place and shared a noodle soup. After that, we walked to McDonald's and had fish fillet for dinner. Then we walked around some more and bought Tylenol and Samia bought some Japanese beauty products.
After that, we headed back to our hotel and reached our room a little after 10 pm and have decided to call it a night. We are checking out tomorrow morning to take the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima which is going to be a 5 hour ride. Since there will be 5 hours of traveling tomorrow, I'll write about our impressions of the people of Tokyo and the country of Japan. We have another day in Tokyo on Friday so we will explore the remaining things on our list that day.
Till the next update, take care and good night! :)
We stopped at a bakery near our hotel for breakfast. We had a croissant, a lemon cake and a couple of chicken buns and latte. Then we took the JR Yamanote line train to the Tokyo station. This station is the oldest train station of the city and was one of the first ones that was built using red bricks and that gives its exterior a grand look. We took a couple of pictures and then took the next train to the station closest to our first stop of the day, the Edo-Tokyo museum.
The Edo-Tokyo museum chronicles the history of the city of Tokyo starting from 1590 all the way to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The museum uses small scale models to depict how the city used to be at various times. It also features a life size replica of the Nihombashi bridge which is quite imposing.
The current Imperial family of Japan came to power around 700 but didn't have any real political power till the Meiji Restoration of 1868 (more on that later). The political power was held by various local warrior lords, each with his own Samurai force. When Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power around 1600 and formed his "bakufu" (feudal government), he chose the city of Edo (the old name of Tokyo) as the new capital. His title was Shogun and his Shogunate (referred to as the Tokugawa period) was an era of peace in Japan during which all contact with the rest of the world was cut off. It's important to note that the Imperial Emperor still held a ceremonial role during all this time and the imperial line continues pretty much uninterrupted to the present day.
The bakufu of Shogun Tokugawa was a state that distributed resources to its people based on their income and collected taxes. They had split citizens into different castes and assigned them specific roles. This sounds socialistic but at the same time, the state was very functional economically with concepts of gold/silver/bronze currency, currency exchanges, highly specialized skilled jobs and welfare protection provided to the citizens.
The Edo period ended with the Meiji Restoration of 1868 when the real political power was returned to Emperor Meiji who opened up Japan to the rest of the world, upon pressure from the US. Edo was renamed as Tokyo. However, this democracy was problematic, specially in the 1920s and 1930s since the military was very powerful and kept challenging China, leading to all out war in 1937. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, US in 1941, it led to a war with the US and its allies that culminated in the horrific nuclear atomic bombings of 1945 that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After 1945, with the help of the US and its allies, Japan started modernizing and westernizing and the people eagerly adopted Western values of commerce and advancement - so much so that today they undoubtedly lead the world in technology. The 1964 Olympics were instrumental in the reconstruction and facelift of Tokyo and since then, the urban growth of this giant city has been happening exponentially.
The museum gave us a detailed insight into the agriculture of Tokyo and trade of crops. It also highlighted the woodwork skills, printing, dying and fashion choices of the city's inhabitants. There was a section on Kabuki as well. Kabuki is the Japanese form of theater in which only male actors perform, even the female roles. Elaborate makeup and dresses are a distinct feature of Kabuki.
After exiting the museum, we spotted a Sumo wrestler standing outside dressed in a kimono and talking on the phone. We discreetly took a picture of him. The area of Ryogoku that has the Edo-Tokyo Museum is also home to Sumo Wrestling. Unfortunately, we won't have time to see a Sumo Wrestling match during this trip.
Then we took the JR train to Kamakura, a town about 40 km from the Tokyo station. The train ride was about 70 minutes after which we boarded a local train. After that, we started walking to the temple. On our way, we had a halal chicken pita from a Turkish Doner shop. Then we continued walking and reached Kotoku-in, the temple famous for the statue of the Great Buddha. The bronze statue is 37 feet long and one of the most recognizable symbols of Japan. We took pictures and then left to head back to Tokyo. It was worth the one and a half hours of getting there to see this magnificent statue.
We got off at the Shibuya station. This is another of Tokyo's major stations and like the other major stations of Tokyo and Shinagawa, not only does it have scores of platforms and thousands of commuters but also many shops, restaurants and cafés adjoining the station. We exited the station into Shibuya's Scramble Crossing area, the so-called Times Square of Tokyo and definitely on par with its American counterpart in terms of the activity, the glitter, the neon signs, high glass buildings and high-end brand stores. The Shibuya Scramble Crossing is the largest in the world and when the pedestrian signal is green, you can see hundreds of pedestrians crossing the road from all 4 sides. Then we stopped at a Ramen noodles place and shared a noodle soup. After that, we walked to McDonald's and had fish fillet for dinner. Then we walked around some more and bought Tylenol and Samia bought some Japanese beauty products.
After that, we headed back to our hotel and reached our room a little after 10 pm and have decided to call it a night. We are checking out tomorrow morning to take the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima which is going to be a 5 hour ride. Since there will be 5 hours of traveling tomorrow, I'll write about our impressions of the people of Tokyo and the country of Japan. We have another day in Tokyo on Friday so we will explore the remaining things on our list that day.
Till the next update, take care and good night! :)
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