We Can't Get Enough Tokyo!

Even after spending a few days in Tokyo we were still marvelling how much there is to do there.  Our 'to do' list didn't seem to be getting any shorter!  Since it was Sunday we were headed to Harajuku, Tokyo's fashionista district where the costumed (known in Japan as 'cosplay') kids come out to play.  Walking out of our hotel, the first thing that struck us was how organized Japan is compared to some of the other places we've been...

Japanese sidewalk repair...

...contrasted with Burmese sidewalk repair.

First up, though, we checked out Ueno Park near our hotel - home to many museums, temples, shrines, and a lake.

Chad cleanses his hands at one of the shrines.

If the grass isn't out yet, the locals throw down a tarp on which to picnic.

Beneath the torii (shrine gates)

We were a bit early for full cherry blossom season, but some were out already.

Whatever that duck has got, these carp want it.

Some decent lakeside gypsy-style jazz

On arriving in Harajuku we first headed into the Meiji-Jingu gardens.  Meiji-Jingu is arguably Tokyo's finest Shinto shrine.

The smoking area at the visitor centre.  Smoking in allotted areas only!

Lunching on udon, while pretending it isn't bathing in fish broth.

A lovely shrine.  May even be the 'most splendid', as the Lonely Planet claims.

This is one of the most popular spots in Tokyo to have a wedding.  Note that the car has a lift up top so as not to ruin the bride's hair do.

Back in Harajuku, we joined a million other people (probably literally) out enjoy a balmy Sunday afternoon window shopping in Tokyo's fashion distrcit.

Pretty much all the graffiti in Tokyo is confined to this one telephone pole.  It's probably just an art installation.

From there we headed over to the Shibuya crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world with an estimated 100,000 people an hour passing through!

Yeah, cross that street!

Followed by spending the rest of the day trying out craft beer bars.  What?  We're the McFrothys - that's what we do!

Tokyo - Day Three

The next day was just as bright and sunny.  We figured out the train system and headed across town to the Shinjuku neighbourhood.  Getting there was a bit of an adventure, as Shinjuku's train station is Tokyo's largest - and is far and away the world's busiest transit hub, serving over 3.6 million commuters per day!  Luckily for us, it was Saturday so there were fewer people than a normal day as we tried to navigate our way out.  Our first stop was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building where (for free!) you can head up to the 51st floor and get a bird's eye view of the city.  The Tokyo we had seen to date was mostly lower rise (6-10 story) buildings, but this area had high-rises one would expect.

A fancy building along the way.

Before heading up, we stopped for Chad to eat a snack he picked up in the basement of a mall in the train station.  Many of the rail lines own huge department stores, which are attached to the train station.  In the basement they have food stands selling all kinds of delicious looking treats.

The view from above definitely gave us some perspective on the size of Tokyo - buildings as far as the eye can see.

Next we headed for the park next door.  There we found a traditional Japanese shinto temple.  In general, all the temples we saw were much less ornate than those in Thailand, but they were beautiful in their natural materials, simplicity and orderliness.

You can pay for a little wooden plaque on which you write your wishes.  Or cheap out and go the paper route :)

We moved from the west side of Shinjuku, which caters to business people, to the east side, which is apparently seedier (though definitely no Downtown East Side of Vancouver!)

Looks like a warning not to swear within earshot of small children.  

This was also a day of checking out some craft beer bars, as detailed in Chad's hoplog post.  But for those of you who don't make it over there, I am including a shout out to the sweet potato chips I tasted at a place called The Watering Hole.  Hot, fresh, lightly salted, insanely delicious - I am not ashamed to admit that I had two orders!

Tucked next to the red light district is a pocket of lowrise buildings called the Golden Gai.  Over 300 tiny bars are crammed into the backstreets of this district, which is quiet during the day but apparently comes alive at night.

The idea is that you choose a bar and pay a cover charge for your seat, since they are so small (6-10 seats) they can't rely on volume of business to make their dollars.  Many are known as being good places for conversation on a particular topic.  But only about a dozen of the bars actually allow foreigners... hence the sign above.

Sadly, we were too early for a drink in the Golden Gai.  We headed on our way.

The entrance to the Kabukicho entertainment district (i.e., the red light district)

The crowded, narrow side streets beside the train station also looked like a fun place to grab a drink.  They hung fake cherry blossoms in honour of the season (though we were on the early side for cherry blossom viewing, too).

More of Tokyo

No, the McFrothys didn't get lost in Tokyo.  We were too busy to blog while there, and have been caught up since in the excitement of returning to Canada.  But with so many Japanese adventures to report on, we're back!  When we last left you, we were rejoicing in the cool air and clean streets of Tokyo, and trying desperately to decipher the menus at the local restaurant we visited.

Our first full day in Tokyo dawned sunny and bright, a blessedly balmy but reasonable 18 C.  Out on the streets, one of the first things we noticed was that you are not supposed to smoke while walking down the street.  A breath of fresh air, indeed!

Left mystified by the subway and train map posted at our hotel, we set out on foot towards to the Akihabara neighbourhood, known to be the spot in Tokyo for electronics geeks to check out.  Being married to an electronics geek, I thought that was an appropriate first port of call!

Outside our not fancy but reasonably priced 'business' hotel, ready for a day of adventure.

Typical Tokyo alley along the way.

In Akihabara, one can find storefronts full of game machines, where you can put in a yen or two and try your luck at pulling out toys like the stuffed animals below.  The contents of some machines made less sense to me - if I wanted a juice box, for example, I would probably just buy one at 7-11 rather than gambling that I could win one!

This seven floor mega mall has every kind of electronics that you could imagine.  Everything from cameras to computers to gaming systems to... a whole section devoted to blood pressure monitoring machines?

Enjoying some matcha over lunch in the fancy food area on the top floor.

The closest we got to finding a Japanese Allie.

Shopping for beer fridges...  

A favourite pastime of Japanese salary men is pachinko, a game akin to slot machines, where little steel balls are dropped through a series of pegs.  The rows of machines below - empty midday - feature wrist rests so that one doesn't have to exert effort while holding down the play button, which is the total extent of the activity required.  Apart from smoking.

Spring had definitely sprung in Japan!

We managed to spend the whole day wandering Akihabara and then down along the Sumida River.

A Japanese parking garage.  They are many stories tall, and quite narrow (like 20 feet wide).  The car goes up (or down) the elevator and is slotted in its parking spot.  When leaving, the car is rotated on the circular platform, so it can pull forward onto the road.  No wasting space on those up and down ramps!

The lovely walkway along the Sumida with the Tokyo Sky Tree in the background - the world's second tallest structure.

We had planned to go out to an izakaya that night, but it was Friday and the friendly staff at our hostel advised that we had little to no chance of finding a seat.  Instead we ended up following a crowd of students into what turned out to be a Korean barbeque restaurant (though it took us a while to figure out as the menu wasn't in English and the staff spoke no English at all).

This is where the beer is?  Then that's where we shall go.

Not the most Japanese meal, but still a tasty success!

After a very busy, though not photo filled, first day we headed back to our hotel.  I will leave you with this shot of a Japanese wonder - their toilets.  Most feature heated seats (with the temperature adjustable to your liking), a series of rinsing choices, and the option of a flushing sound without the flush in case there was any need for that.  An everyday marvel!

Does your toilet come with a control panel?