Tokyo: a city of diversity

We were tired enough to sleep in well, but our biorhythm isn't adjusted yet to sleep long. Nevertheless, we both slept well and caught our necessary Z's to start the new day full of energy. We wake around 07:00 and to our great surprise, no jetlag issues so far!

We head downstairs to the breakfast area. An employee graciously welcomes us and takes our breakfast vouchers. We discover the breakfast buffet with a mixture of Japanese and Western style options ranging from croissants to hot sausages and rice dishes. We stick with our Belgian routines and go for a bowl of granola with yoghurt or milk and a croissant. With some scrambled eggs we don't take the step into classic Asian breakfast yet. One has to grow slowly... right?

With some jummy in our tummy, we head out to discover our first full day in Tokyo. We go to the nearest subway station and have to check a few times where to cross the road in order to get on the pedestrian overpass taking us across some busy roads. Once arrived in the subway station we discover the ease of the IC-cards and the automated gates. Just a tap when you enter a station, and another tap when you exit the station. The system deducts the fare amount and subtracts that from your IC-card. In case you don't have enough balance left for the journey, there are fare adjustment machines in every station to top up your IC-card. Efficiency and comfort.
Most gates also work in both directions adjusting easily to the passenger flow in morning or evening rush. Speaking of rush hour, in the subway station, we notice quite quickly we're in the middle of the busiest city on Earth. Having said that, people keep to the left hand side. Don't run or rush. In other words: it works. On the platform there are markings on the ground to illustrate where to stand for a carriage to arrive and allow the exiting flow enough room to vacate the carriage. Unlike Belgian subways or trains, every subway stops in exactly the same spot, so (de)boarding can be predicted.

We follow the lead of some Japanese people and orderly board the next train to Sensoji. One of Tokyo's most famous temples. On the train we immediately notice the quietness. Everyone is on their phones. They don't talk (or do so quietly), they have their backpacks in front of them. It's an awkward feeling, but at the same time very pleasant. You can simply feel the respect for another being.

We exit the subway and are not far from Sensoji temple. It's only 08:30 so most of the stores leading up to the temple are not even open yet. It provides an opportunity to see the temple with less people than in a couple of hours. Sensoji is what many other temples in Japan will still be: gracious by itself and in its architecture. The dark red paint with the black tiled roof provide a classic yet beautiful view. Especially the pagoda next to the temple makes a nice combination of buildings.
At one point, a man asks us to take a picture of him in front of the temple with one of those retro film wind and rewind cameras. Instant nostalgia! And also, a little pressure to take the good shot.

We read and learn a bit about the habits of placing a wish in a coin locker. The ritual for washing your hands and mouth at one of the fountains and the clapping in front of the altar. We walk around and enjoy the atmosphere and incense filled air. By the time we end our visit, the main street leading up to the temple has opened most of their stores and the number of tourists has doubled as well. We stop for a quick visit in the tourist information center because it offers a nice view on the shopping street and temple. From the viewing platform you can also see the Asahi beer tower and Tokyo Skytree (the latter you can actually see from many places in the city).

Having inaugurated our first Japanese temple, we head to the river side to take a short walk in Sumida Park before heading over to the Tokyo Skytree. From the riverside we get some other nice views on the Asahi Beer tower with the golden flame (or golden poop, depending on how you look at it) on top of it. Asahi is Japan's own beer brand with the main building here in Tokyo.

Soon after, we arrive at the base of the Tokyo Skytree. Of course, one does not simply walk in at street level. You have to take some escalators up, then proceed to the West Main Entrance or whatever in order to get in. It's not busy and we can quickly buy a ticket from the vending machine without waiting in line.

Tip for future travelers: check the weather forecast a couple of days beforehand and decide if you want to visit the Skytree. Tickets are cheaper if you buy them beforehand.

With our ticket we go to one of the elevators that takes us up to the 350th floor (350m). This is the base viewing gallery. Another elevator will take us even further up to the 450th floor (450m). It's interesting how agents manage the tourist flow and count the number of people to wait for a certain elevator. Again... it's all very efficient and it works. Before we the doors of the elevator close, the agent guiding us into the elevator provides a brief explanation of the artwork inside the elevator and the lights that are visible through the glass part of the elevator roof. Perfectly timed to make a deep bow at the end when the doors close.

In no time the elevator rushes to the 350th floor and we're welcomed by an amazing view over the city. On a clear day, you can even see Mt. Fuji from here. But unfortunately, there are too many clouds or it's too hazy to see the famous mountain. Nevertheless, the vast city underneath our feet is equally impressive! We go around, enjoy the views and go further to the 450m. Which is... in my opinion little difference from the 350m. On the way down you make another stop at the intermediate floor where there's a glass floor section as well where you can stand on.

With our both feet back on ground level, we head back over the river to the west. Direction of Ueno park but making sure to pass by Kappabashi. A street or area that is famous for all restaurant necessities. Ranging from cutlery, plates, fish tanks, advertisement signs, and of course: the iconic plastic plates. In Japan, a lot of restaurants have a replica of certain dishes stalled outside. It's a real "sport" to make those dishes as realistic as possible. Walking through the street we're baffled by how many different types of dishes we see and the detail that's in it.

After having gone up and down the main street in kappabashi, we continue our journey to Ueno Park. Ueno is a huge park, next to a train station with a museum, and even a zoo inside. It's around noon, and our stomach is starting to complain it wants some new food. After having found the entrance to Ueno Park, we head to a food court inside the park. Three floors, all stacked with little restaurants. Because we don't really know what we like in Japanese kitchen, we select a restaurant solely based on the pictures on the menu. In hindsight we think this was probably a Chinese restaurant... A bit of a bummer for your first real day in Japan. Nevertheless, the food was amazing!

After our lunch, and hopefully not entire disgrace for our eating style, we discover the park. There's a huge statue of a whale next to the museum. We skip the zoo and walk choose the route along a small temple/shrine with some tori gates in front.
Because the park is slightly less impressive than anticipated, we decide to return to Hama Rikyu Park that was to closing time yesterday. With a train station just next to Ueno, we're in no-time near the park. We also know how to walk the maze of under- and overpasses to get there well before closing time.

Hama Rikyu is nice. It gives me certain Central Park vibes from Manhattan with the tall skyscrapers of the shiodome district around. On the other side, the park is cornered by a river and the ocean. All the ponds in the park are also connected with the ocean so are fluctuating with the tide. It's a calm place with birds, lots of green areas and nice trees. We enjoy the scenery, eat a biscuit on a bench and reflect on all the different things we've already seen in this world of its own.

When the park is about to close, we head back to the hotel to take a few minutes of break. We plan to have dinner tonight in the same area as Sensoji temple. Reason is twofold: one, we can see the temple at night when it's nicely lit. Secondly, we read about a nice restaurant in the vicinity of the temple.
When crossing the skyscraper Caretta Shiodome, we head up to the top floor to get another nice view of the neighborhood and the park we just visited. It's really baffling how many new things you discover here: a floor of restaurants, some shopping stores, the cinema.

After a refreshing shower and some relaxing, we head back out to the same area we visited this morning. It's crazy how the atmosphere has changed and there are many small restaurants with cosy lights outside. Despite our information online, the restaurant we looked for was closed. So... we had another look online and found a nice sushi-place not too far away. Although our feet hurt from an entire day of walking, the sushi-restaurant had standing places only. It was super tiny with only a few places around the counter behind which the chefs prepared the fresh sushi. We were a bit stressed, because we don't want to make a bad impression, but at the same time, we have little to no experience in Japanese cuisine. I think the story of our lunch meal proofs as much.

We had a great time. The people were very nice and the sushi absolutely delicious. We had a variety of different types and enjoyed every single bite of it. The restaurant wasn't cheap, but also not crazy expensive. We knew up front that this would be a rather high-end sushi meal. So... whenever visiting Japan: be advised that there are a ton of different types of sushi-restaurants with their own prices and quality.
Another little funny thing is that you almost always get some matcha-tea. The cup, hot water, matcha powder, etc are available at your table, or counter in this case. It's a bit weird when they ask you what you want to drink, because combing a soda with some hot tea is sometimes a bit weird.

After our delightful meal, we walked over the Sensoji temple grounds and enjoyed the temple in a different setting. There were also way less people, so we can actually recommend going there at night. We also got another view on the illuminated Skytree that apparently has a different color theme every night.

Tired from another full day of walking (30.000 steps), we head back to the Ginza subway station. We walk the shopping street at night towards our hotel and for the second time in a row, we quickly fall asleep knowing that tomorrow, our feet will really hurt.Leggi altro