We got a slower, later start to our first day in Tokyo. We slept in, had breakfast at the McDonald's across the street and wandered along the street in front of our hotel...
These brightly colored steps lead up to the local pachinko (similar to slot machines) parlor, an extremely popular loophole for illegal gambling in Japan
I was a bit wary of a drink with the vitamin C equivalent of 34 lemons but it was pretty tasty
I don't know what it cost, but now I wish we had gotten our pictures taken...
We learned that our hotel was right next to the hospital
The view from the station platform was very different in the daylight. We could also see the sumo arena on the other side of the station...
sumo arena
our hotel on the right and the hospital on the left
We could immediately tell that Andy was much more comfortable now that we were back in Tokyo and he knew just where he wanted to take us: Senso-ji, or Asakawa Kannon, Temple, the oldest and most colorful temple in Tokyo.
The crowds at the station should have been an immediate clue as to how popular it was as well!
We entered the temple grounds via the Kaminarimon, or Thunder, Gate...
Then we wandered the almost 700 feet of about 90 shops of Nakamise towards the rear gate to the temple...
Chris buying a tiny sake set from a gachapon (capsule toy machine)
this machine was constantly making these warm delicious little sweets stuffed with red bean
We didn't buy one of the giant brown sugar bread loaves seen above but Chris did buy a horse hair toothbrush
We also took a bit of a detour down a side shopping street...
The we reached the Hozomom, or Treasure House Gate...
One of the two Nio statues, guardian deities of the Buddha
The Senso-ji Temple was founded in 645. The current temple is much newer, having been built after the temple was destroyed during a bombing raid in WWII.
the temple courtyard was quite crowded
tying my unfortunate o-mikuji (fortune) to leave it behind
doing a ceremonial hand washing before entering the main hall
covering themselves with incense to evoke the Buddhist divinities
The main hall was very elaborately decorated...
The rear exit enters a lovely and peaceful garden...
Like many temples and shrines we visited, there was also a large row of food vendors. We grabbled some yakisoba and
I have no idea what these are called but they were very tasty and filled with a vegetable filling
We continued walking down other shopping streets and eventually stumbled upon a well-known bakery selling warm melon pan. I waited in a long line around the building but it was worth the wait!
Then we kept walking a stumbled on another shopping street....
because these two vending machines weren't enough, they put another one of the other side of the alley
this sign made us giggle: while pigs might not say "oink" they also don't say "groin"
The yellow vending machine on the right sold frozen ramen to take home. The white machine on the left was for ordering from the little restaurant.
We really wanted to see Andy's old neighborhood while we were there, so we hopped a train to take us to Shibamata, a classic Tokyo neighborhood on the edge of the city. This neighborhood is not only like stepping back 50 or 60 years in time but also known for a very famous series of 48 movies that ran from 1969 to 1995 called "It's Tough to Be a Man." Statues of Tora-san greet you as soon as you walk out of the station.
While we took statue pictures of "Mr Tiger" and looked at some pants I loved in a little shop (I went back later and bought them), Andy bought us some delicious food that he often bought when he lived there. I don't know what they were but they were very tasty!
Since it's frowned on to eat while walking in Japan, we found a little out of the way spot to enjoy our snack before wandering down to see Andy's first apartment building in Japan...
stacked bicycle parking saves on space
his building was the white one on the right between the orange-brown building and the new-since-he-moved gray building
Although he doesn't miss the long commute or being so far from the rest of Tokyo, it didn't take long to see how much he missed and loved living in Shibamata. He showed us all of his favorite little places, including the shop with the first Japanese Nintendos and a super fun and retro sweet shop!
even the vending machine was cute and retro
Then we strolled along Taishakuten-sando, a shopping street named for the Buddhist temple at the far end of the lane...
old school gachapon
These daruma dolls are everywhere in Japan. The owner makes a wish and then colors in one of the eyes black. Then when the wish comes true, the other eye is also colored in.
At the end of the street is the Taishakuten Daikyo-ji, a Buddhist temple built in the late 19th or early-20th century, although the first temple on the site dates back to 1629. It is a quiet, peaceful spot without all the tourists and trappings that go along with it...
Instead of numbered sticks and drawers, here your fortune is delivered by a dancing dragon inside of a vending machine...
After leaving the temple, we walked toward the Edogawa River and Shibamata Park...
the street signs in Shibamata have these elaborate dioramas inside
neighborhoods also have random Coke vending machines
While still technically part of Tokyo, Shibamata Park couldn't have felt any different. Families picnicked under the cherry blossom trees while kids chased one another, people were walking/jogging or bicycling down the trail, youth sports teams were practicing soccer and baseball, and others were having a Molkky tournament (one of our favorite yard games). It was fantastic and just made you smile!
each of the plots in this flower garden were planted by a different class or civic organization
this ferry dock was modeled after the one in the Tora-san movies and took people on a small boat across the river to Chiba
The park also housed the museum for the movie series but we choose to forego it and head back to the shopping street to pick up a treat before heading back to the hustle and bustle of the big city...
Most of the stalls were closed or closing but thankfully the kusa-dango stand was still serving. Kusa-dango is mugwort (Andy told us it was grass and that he had to pick it out from his teeth once) flavored dumplings topped with chunky sweet red bean and vanilla ice cream. While it doesn't sound appetizing, I actually really enjoyed it.
Although trains don't stop as often so far in the outskirts, we didn't have to wait long to catch a train to the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest thing in the city. In fact if you notice a very tall tower in any of our Tokyo pictures, it's the Skytree. It seems like you can see it from everywhere in the city!
And at 2080 feet high it's easy to see why! This radio/tv tower is the tallest free-standing tower in the world.
It was also the longest line we had waited in on our trip thus far! We waited so long we got to watch the sunset... Pretty but also frustrating. :/
But eventually we got to ride the high speed elevator up to the Tembo Deck at 1148 feet. From that high up you really get a feel for how truly big and dense Tokyo is!
It is a very impressive structure but it is very pretty all lit up at night!
We grabbed a bite to eat at the food court and did a bit of shopping at the Skytree Mall...
No comments:
Post a Comment