Cycling Ginza-Tsukishima-Tsukuda

After leaving the Imperial Palace, we headed to a very busy and expensive area called Ginza for a brief stop. We keep taking videos trying to capture the masses of people at train stations and tried again at Ginza, but they aren't translating well. Trust us, there were hoards, and we didn't hang around long. But the streets were so thick with moving bodies, we had to walk our bikes.

Just wanted to point out the yellow path in the first picture. These are on all streets, train stations, and airports in Japan to guide blind people. They were put into place in the 1960s. We haven't actually witnessed anyone using them as intended, but what a thoughtful thing for a country to do. We saw them in Hokkaido as well.

We rode over a large bridge, which is shown in several pictures, for a brief stint on Tsukishima Island. In 1892 following a big earthquake, all the debris was dumped in the bay in this area and the island built on top of it. Fun fact, Japan experiences an earthquake every 10 days(!).

Tsukuda is a small island adjacent to Tsukishima where every family of its tiny population is a proud descendant of fishermen. Voting against major development for their area, its citizens have created a tranquil oasis amid the numerous skyscrapers of Tokyo surrounding it.

We thoroughly enjoyed our islandhopping bike tour with Yomi, our guide! Afterwards, enjoyed a lunch of gyoza, rice, soups, and condiments.Read more