Getting High

This is our last day in Japan and I think all 3 of us are quite ready to come home. I am glad we came back to Asakusa for our final stay. At first I thought it was too far out in the sticks, but it is only a 15 min metro ride from the city centre (if a mega city actually has a centre). There was some logistics to take care of this morning that required a JR ticket office and I wanted to test the route for tomorrow's journey to the airport, so we went into Tokyo Station. It was a wise move and we made 2 important discoveries. Firstly, the connection suggested by Google maps for the subway would have meant dragging suitcases for about half a kilometre up and down numerous flights of stairs in the rush hour. And secondly, the return half of our Narita Express open return ticket needed to be exchanged for actual seats on an actual train (I had suspected that they would). So now that is sorted it just leaves the unfinished business of the Senso-ji and the Sky Tree. 

Senso-ji in Asakusa is one of Tokyo's most colorful Buddhist temples. So colourful in fact that I mistakenly referred to it as a Shinto shrine yesterday. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple. Visitors enter the temple grounds through the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) and then run the gauntlet of over 200 meters of souvenir shops before reaching the temple's second gate, the Hozomon. Beyond the Hozomon Gate stands the temple's main hall and a five storied pagoda. As expected, both buildings are relatively recent reconstructions, the original structures (or earlier reconstructions) having been destroyed during WW2. The temple grounds were packed with visitors, tourists in kimonos and the odd YouTube influencer (in both senses of the word), plus 3 tired Scottish bairns reluctantly ticking off their final temple. 

After lunch, we headed out on foot for the Sky Tree. Despite looking like it was just the other side of the river, it took 10 minutes to reach it. Tall towers always look nearer than they really are, and smaller. Photographing the Sky Tree from the riverside walkway invariably includes some of the tall buildings in front of it. In particular the headquarters of the Asahi Brewery Company, immediately to the right of the Sky Tree and lit up in dark blue in last nights shots. In the daylight, the true concept of the buildings design is revealed as a tall glass of golden beer, with the roof forming a white froth on top. Further right and lower down is the Asahi Group Hall, with what the company describes as its striking Golden Flame adorning the roof. The local residents are less kind and have christened it the golden turd. I will leave you to judge which description seems more fitting.

The Tokyo Skytree is actually a television and radio broadcasting tower, replacing the older Tokyo Tower, which is no longer capable of providing complete digital coverage, as it is surrounded by so many high-rise buildings. At a height of 634 meters, it is the tallest structure in Japan and was the second tallest in the world at the time of its completion in 2012. There is a large shopping complex with an aquarium at its base and observation decks at 350 and 450 metres, offering spectacular views out over Tokyo. At night, LED lighting washes the tower's white lattice work and the tower quietly illuminates the night sky. It really is a beautiful sight.

I don't think any of the 3 of us are particularly comfortable with heights, but there was never any doubt that we were going all the way to the top. The first elevator took us up to the Tembo deck at something like 10 meters a second. Acceleration and deceleration were smooth and there was no sensation of speed. The views of the city were spectacular, stretching as far as Shinjuku, with it's tall skyscrapers merging with the clouds. There was a glass floor at one point - would you have stepped out onto it? A second set of elevators took us to the 450 metre high Tembo Galleria "the world's highest skywalk". This elevator went up the outside of the central column, so you got an unnecessary reminder of what was actually happening. The view was equally mesmerising as 100 metres below and the knowledge that you were the highest up you had ever stood without wings attached was just amazing. It really was a high point of the holiday! And what a way to finish an amazing 2 weeks travelling around in this beautiful country.Read more