Japan - April 2019

April 2019

April 2019 Read more

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Traveler Japan - April 2019
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- Apr 9, 2019, 11:07am
- 🌬 14 °C
- Altitude: 8 m
- Japan Kanagawa Kawasaki Kojimachō Tama Unga 35.54707, 139.7666535°32’49” N 139°45’60” E
Day 1
Into Japan
April 9, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
As we flew on our first short hop to Munich, before connecting to Tokyo, the brilliance of flying Lufthansa became immediately and consistently apparent - the Germans are ruthlessly, fabulously efficient. The check in process, boarding, food on board and the like was all done with a minimum of fuss...unlike the huge queues and ridiculous wheely suitcases evident in British airports! We even had time for a sneaky pint in the layover 😊

As daylight dawned and breakfast was served on the plane, we flew the final few hours over Russia, Mongolia and Japan. Vast swathes of these countries are astoundingly, alarmingly flat... perfectly square and rectangular fields with the odd solitary house dotted amongst the vast dusty-coloured landscape and frozen lakes. The weather was nonetheless beautiful and we could see Mount Fuji on our terrifying approach into Tokyo. We swung south past the city before turning west and dropping to a scarily low altitude over the water before the runway finally hoved into view.

We did spend a little time on the pan once we had landed - the evidently irked Lufthansa pilot let us know this was because the parking space booked to us was currently occupied by another (presumably tardy) aeroplane!

A brief lavatory stop in the airport has perhaps set up the trip nicely - the toilet had more buttons on it than the entirety of my kitchen. The toilet door also suggested that in an emergency, Disaster Prevention should be contacted...what kind of emergency in a toilet needs Disaster Prevention?! We spent some time in the airport trying to work out the way to the hotel via Tokyo's fabulously complex subway system, aided by some very friendly locals.Read more
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- Apr 9, 2019, 12:54pm
- 🌬 14 °C
- Altitude: 27 m
- Japan Tokyo Chiyoda Kasumigaseki Sakuradamon 35.67892, 139.7549835°40’44” N 139°45’18” E
Day 1
Imperial Palace
April 9, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
We took the monorail and train to Yurakucho where, instead of getting on the subway, we took a gentle stroll past the Imperial Palace towards our hotel. The gardens in which the Imperial Palace is housed were beautiful and we got our first sight of the blooming cherry blossom cascading over the moat walls and into the water below. Tokyo was very much defying expectations at this point - it was low rise, open air and, in the gardens at least, incredibly quiet...certainly not the extravagant excess that we had expected.Read more
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- Apr 9, 2019, 2:53pm
- 🌬 16 °C
- Altitude: 25 m
- Japan Tokyo Chiyoda Kasumigaseki Kokkai Gijidōmae Eki 35.67385, 139.7433335°40’26” N 139°44’36” E
Day 1
National Diet
April 9, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 16 °C
A short walk from the Palace took us past the National Diet and through the Japanese equivalent of Whitehall. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed out into the heart of government, walking past the members' offices, National Diet Library and the Supreme Court being taking a tour of the House of Representatives. A very strangely architectured building, varying from hospital-esque Ellis Island, to American Art Deco to something more traditional in the chamber, it seems to lack a sense of continuity - it is simply functional on a massive scale. A fascinating tour nonetheless.

We finally managed to check in to our hotel. Rooms famously small in Tokyo, but we managed to find one with a bit of space. Worryingly though, the drill in the event of a fire seems to be to put a plastic bag over your head...! That aside, Japanese hospitality is brilliant. Beyond the usual hotel room amenities we have pyjamas, kimonos, a well stocked bathroom and a computer tablet in the room.Read more
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- Apr 9, 2019, 7:06pm
- 🌙 13 °C
- Altitude: 52 m
- Japan Tokyo Minato-ku Roppongi Roppongi Eki 35.6628, 139.73135°39’46” N 139°43’52” E
Day 1
An evening in Roppongi
April 9, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
The cherry blossoms are as beautiful at night as they are in the day, so we headed to Roppongi to see them and find some food. Wandering through the streets is a heady mix of neon lights, fadd signage for 5th floor bars and some uncomfortable cultural differences, like tiny puppies for sale in shop windows. We did manage to find some quick food by way of some rice bowls and both clocked up over 30,000 steps for the day!Read more
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- Apr 10, 2019, 1:00pm
- 🌧 4 °C
- Altitude: 18 m
- Japan Tokyo Chiyoda Nihombashi-Edobashi Tokyo Station 35.68131, 139.7670535°40’53” N 139°46’1” E
Day 2
Breakfast in Tokyo Station
April 10, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 4 °C
Breakfast is a fairly generous word for our start to the day, given that we had it about 1pm! A rather late start to the day, with more than a few uses of the snooze button as we tried to fight off the time difference. When we finally rose, the weather too wanted to thwart us - it was raining, and it continued to rain all day. We made our way to the nearest station, purchased a 24hr ticket and endeavoured to work out how the metro works.

It actually isn't as complex as the map suggests - coloured/names lines with numbered stops along each one. At Tokyo Station, we found some breakfast in a tiny store - fish, rice, pickles and some strange flavourless mush (the latter of which neither of us finished).Read more
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- Apr 10, 2019, 2:41pm
- 🌧 4 °C
- Altitude: 13 m
- Japan Tokyo Taito Asakusa Sensō Ji 35.71497, 139.7966835°42’54” N 139°47’48” E
Day 2
Sensi-jo
April 10, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 4 °C
Braving the metro again, we headed north to Asakura. The plan was initially to visit the Tokyo Museum via the Sensi-jo Temple. On arrival, we found ourselves in the somewhat covered shopping streets of Asakura selling a range of sweets, tat, clothing and food. Many Japanese restaurants have plastic look-a-likes of their menu in the window, and there is little that is less appetising than the horrific results!

We battled through the sea of plastic see-through umbrellas that all of the locals seem to all own (and who have little concern over who they take out with them!) to the temple. With architectual and religious echoes of our trip to Thailand, the temple thronged with tourists despite the weather, and meant for the first time we saw more than a couple of other westerners.

The weather remained wet, but also bitterly cold. After our outdoor jaunt, we headed to the metro to warm up and to find a warm drink, and abandoning our planned museum visit in favour of seeing other bits of Tokyo.Read more
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- Apr 10, 2019, 4:34pm
- 🌧 3 °C
- Altitude: 45 m
- Japan Tokyo Shibuya Udagawachō 35.66094, 139.6983235°39’39” N 139°41’54” E
Day 2
Shibuya
April 10, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 3 °C
From one end of the Ginza Line all the way to the other, we departed at Shibuya Station. The Shibuya scramble crossing is the quintessential image of Tokyo - thousands of people crossing in every direction. For us, this meant watching the sea of umbrellas battle for space on the crossing - quite a sight!

We found somewhere to warm up with a coffee, whilst wandering around the first but of Tokyo that was as we expected this city to be - busy, neon and a little overwhelming. The lack of space means many of the shops and cafes are in basements or the upper floors of buildings. Therefore it is often a challenge to work out what any building contains other than a directory hung on the building side. It certainly means that you can't easily approach either shopping or eating by looking in through windows to gauge your own interest.

We did briefly stop at the Disney Store...the display in which made it look like a massacre of cartoon characters had taken place!Read more
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- Apr 10, 2019, 5:49pm
- 🌧 4 °C
- Altitude: 23 m
- Japan Tokyo Minato-ku Higashiazabu Akabanebashi Eki 35.65509, 139.745135°39’18” N 139°44’42” E
Day 2
Tokyo Tower
April 10, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 4 °C
We went, we saw, it was wet so we left.

From Shibuya, we jumped east a few metro stops to see the Tokyo Tower. Still raining and with very low cloud, we took a peek from the entrance to the metro station from which we had just come, took a few snaps before disappeared back into the metro for the most complex of journeys.Read more
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- Apr 10, 2019, 7:30pm
- 🌧 4 °C
- Altitude: 33 m
- Japan Tokyo Chuo Ginza Ginza Eki 35.67021, 139.7639535°40’13” N 139°45’50” E
Day 2
Ginza
April 10, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 4 °C
On leaving Tokyo Tower, we had to take three different metro lines for one stop each to get to Ginza....we're pretty sure it was quicker than walking (and also that the same wouldn't be true in London...). Here, we took in what appears to be the Tokyo equivalent of Regent Street with vast numbers of designer shops, department stores and fancy restaurants. Battling the rain, soaked and cold, we wandered the neon streets before heading home for the night. We found a local deli for a quiet bite to eat before retiring to try and fathom the route to the cruise shop tomorrow.Read more
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- Apr 11, 2019, 9:37am
- 🌬 13 °C
- Altitude: 32 m
- Japan Tokyo Minato-ku Toranomon Tameike Sannō Eki 35.67436, 139.7404735°40’28” N 139°44’26” E
Day 3
Hie Shrine
April 11, 2019 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
We couldnt quite decide what to do this morning but, after making an effort to get up earlier than yesterday, the weather helped us decide. After a quick croissant for breakfast, we headed to the Hie Shrine just behind the hotel. This large shrine is dwarfed by the skyscrapers around it but is nonetheless a peaceful space which looked beautiful in the morning sunshine.Read more
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