[ by Stian ]
Tokyo is the capital of Japan, and
the largest metropolitan area in the world. Tokyo translates «as
eastern capital» as it's combined by the two words 'to' (=eastern)
and 'kyo' (=capital). The original name of the city was Edo,
but as Tokyo became the capital in 1868 the name was changed as to
include the word 'capital' (=kyo). Tokyo is actually a metropolitan
prefecture, as the Tokyo metropolitan government administrates 23
special wards of Tokyo, each governed as an individual city. The
metropolitan government also administrates 39 other municipalities
west of the prefectures and also two outlying island chains. So in
other words – Tokyo is a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge area, consisting
of many individual cities.
Though as a tourist in Tokyo, you
rarely go outside the special wards area, which is referred to as the
proper city of Tokyo. The population of the special wards is over
9 million people, with the total population of the prefecture
exceeding 13 million people. According to Wikipedia Tokyo is only the
15th most populated city in the world, beaten by among
others Beijing, Jakarta and São Paulo (other cities I have dropped
by this year). Though the total population of the whole metropolitan
area of Tokyo, including the immediate suburbs, exceeds more than 37
million people, and suddenly Tokyo is the largest city in the world
coming to population. UN defines though the population of a city
proper as «the population living within the administrative
boundaries of a city», so in Tokyo's case – the 23 special wards.
The parts of Tokyo we got to see
So as a tourist I thought I was just
visiting one city, but it turns out that I was at least dropping by 7
different individual «cities» (special wards) within Tokyo. The
special wards all have their own city center: area Asakusa + Ueno
(belonging to special ward Taito), area Shinjuku (special
ward: Shinjuku), area Shibuya + Harajuku + Yoyogi (special
ward: Shibuya), area Odaiba + Roppongi + Shinbashi (special
ward: Minato), area Ginza + Tsukiji + Tsukishima (special
ward: Chuo), area Ryogoku (special ward: Sumida) and the area
Akhiabara (belonging to special ward: Chiyoda). In other
words, if you go to Tokyo and tell someone you are going downtown, to
the city center – they will probably ask: «Which one?». Though
all IS Tokyo, but it was interesting to realize how they actually
define the governing of the huge area. I probably forgot some of the
areas I visited, but the areas I (we) did visit are considered the
MAIN areas/districts for tourists to explore and they are all next to
each other, but NOT in walking distance. It took us about one hour at
least to travel from where we stayed, to the one which was furthest
away, even with taxi – at night.
Arriving Tokyo
Company Trondheim arrived a day
earlier than me, but as I am dealing with a strict budget I had to
find the cheapest way to get to Tokyo, and I was VERY lucky. I
had a chat with the staff at the hostel in Kyoto and they made a
couple of phone calls and they actually found me a bus ticket for the
4th of the price of a regular bus ticket, which really
should not be possible. They did warn me though that this bus was
probably not so comfortable, but who really cares when you get such a
«cheap» ride to one of the coolest cities in the world? I was very
very very happy that I actually was able to find a really cheap ride
all the way to Tokyo – HOORAY!!!! It was the night-bus, and it was
not very comfortable, mostly as I had the aile-seat, but I have to
admit that it was not more uncomfortable than buses back home in
Norway – it was pretty much the same standard.
Accommodation in Tokyo + Yuki
I had originally planned to do
couchsurfing while in Tokyo (as it's an expensive city), though I had
not gotten any response to my open request on my travel itinerary on
the couchsurfing-webpage, so I had to check in to a hostel instead. I
had found myself a hostel located in the Asakusa – area. The
hostel called Khaosan Tokyo Original Guesthouse was OK – and had a
very homey-feeling to it – not like regular hostels or similar. It
probably used to be a regular house and someone's during one point.
So I found my way there, but almost immediately after check-in I left
to meet my friends who where staying at a very nice hotel in
Ueno-area (so at least we were all in the same special ward of Tokyo,
haha). Asakusa turned out to be a very very nice area indeed, and
actually a place with many traditional and historical sites, which I
was not aware of before arrival. So I was very pleased with this
coincidence:) As there was a huge traditional festival going on in
Asakusa this weekend, the hostel was fully booked for the weekend, so
I had to change accommodation for a few days.
My next hostel was the Tokyo Hostel,
located in the Minowa -area. This hostel was by far not as nice.
I had to share a 6 bed dorm, which had 2 triple bunker beds, which
was impossible to sit upright in as there were no space. There was a
nice common area though, and I did get to chat with some of the other
guests, but as I hang out with my friends most of the time in Tokyo,
I did not get to connect with many of them. Even though it was not
the worst place to stay, it was a bit difficult to find, and nothing
to see nearby, so I would not recommend this hostel – unless it's
an emergency, cause it was cheap and seemed to always have some rooms
available.
The final 2 nights of my stay in
Tokyo I had planned to stay at a very nice hostel, but as I had
gotten to know this local guy, Yuki, whom Håvard originally had
connected with while in Tokyo, I ended up staying at his place as he
offered me to «couchsurf» at his'. Meaning, he was not a part
of the couchsurfing community, but I had told him about it, and he
found it interesting so therefore he made me the offer of staying at
his house. I accepted as I prefer to stay with local people,
especially the ones I already know I will get along well with. Yuki
did though not even really live in Tokyo, as he was living in the
suburb Hiyoshi, which actually is a part of the neighboring city of
Yokohama, but it is easy to get back and forth to the city center of
Tokyo, so I did not mind. When I first met Yuki, which is gay, I was
very surprised cause I did not get any gay vibe from him at all, as
he is masculine, and very manly in every way. I did make a comment
about this to him, but he told me that in Japan, everyone would know
that he is gay – as the typical Japanese straight man is very
feminine, and skinny. In other words: The way some things are
perceived in Japan is completely opposite compared to the rest of the
world – the more muscles you have and masculine you are the greater
chance it is for you to be perceived as gay. Interesting indeed, but
I do feel sorry for the Japanese girls who might like men for being
MEN;)
Food, Drinks and Party In Tokyo
Ok, I was spending 9 days in Tokyo and
the surrounding areas – so I got many a opportunity to try out
local food. Though sometimes it was just as good to have something
very similar and familiar as well. So we did have breakfast at
Starbucks a couple of times, and dined at TGI Fridays and McDonald's
and drank at local British pub the HubPub and Hard Rock Café. Though
I of course prefer the local places that served local food! This
«familiar» places were all mostly located in the Ueno area, so it
made it very simple for us to go out. Btw...Tokyo's red light
district is ALSO located in the Ueno area obviously...not that we
cared much about this are, haha.
Coming to food most people think of
Sushi to be THE typical Japanese cuisine, though sushi is only a very
small part of the Japanese cuisine as there is sooooo much more. Unfortunately, we never get to see the majority of the fantastic
Japanese cuisine back home in Europe, as people are mostly obsessed
with sushi now days. Ah well. I will mention just a few places that
we/I went to which was GREAT and is recommended for everyone who goes
to Tokyo to drop by, both with traditional food and non-traditional
food:
Cold Stone Creamery – was one
of the first places we got to experience in Tokyo, as it was located
at the base of the Tokyo Skytree. It is to be honest just an
ice-cream shop, but we were totally blown away by the amazing and
cheerful staff that while mixing the ice-cream for us was
communicating really well with us, and then started to sing loudly
and throwing the ice-cream in the air like if they were professional
bartenders working at a high-class bar. It really was funny, and the
ice-cream was amazing, haha.
Fuglen Café: Oh what an amazing
place. Fuglen is a NORWEGIAN bar/café located close to the Yoyogi
Park in Shibuya. The interior of this place is all Norwegian design
imported from Norway, the menu is completely Norwegian as well, with
real bread and brown cheese, and also Norwegian beer as well. The
staff had all lived in Norway during one point so they knew well of
the Norwegian culture as well, though they were not aware that the
Norwegian music they were playing in the background was alternative
Norwegian religious songs from the 70s. I have to say I was
surprised as I really liked the music and I found the concept of the
place to be amazing. It really really is a must-visit when in Tokyo.
Of course I had to order myself two slices of nice bread with brown
cheese. Of course this made me homesick as well. Haha. Brown Cheese
RULES THE WORLD;)
The Lock Up – was an amazing
and funny horror-themed bar/restaurant, located in Ueno, where the
customers were locked up in prison cells. As we had already eaten, we
only ordered ourselves drinks, which were served in
chemistry-containers/mixers as a glass, added nitrogen to make a very
smoky effect. It was really cool and really worth the experience,
but a bit pricey of course. The menu looked nice as well so it is
definitely an option to go eat here as well.
Universal City – is a
restaurant in Shinjuku with many options where there sometimes are
entertainment put on, as there was a stage there. The food they serve
here is pretty much western style of food. I don't know if I were to
ever go here again, but the place brings good memories back as it was
here most of us met Yuki for the first time, as well as we got to
meet another «friend» of Håvard as well, Masa, who also seemed
like a very nice guy.
On Yasai Restaurant – located
in Roppongi, was really really an amazing experience. Yuki brought me
to this place and we shared a Nabe/Shabu Shabu, which turned out to
be an amazing Japanese Hot Pot meal, where we got two different types
of broth and many different kinds of meat and vegetables served, and
we cook it all by ourself in the pot. It tasted really really nice.
This is definitely one of the more genuine and exciting places I had
dinner at while in Tokyo.
Monkichi Restaurant – located
in Tsukishima area, was another place Yuki brought me to. This was
really local and it would have been impossible for me to communicate
here as no one seemed to speak English at all. Here I got to try a
Tokyo specialty called Monjyayaki, and also again okonomiyaki, though
this time Osaka Style.
Gay Party: The gay district is
located in Shinjuku. Most bars and clubs are therefore to be found
here. We had some beers at the Dragon Man Bar, before we moved on to
the Arty Farty Bar for some more beers + dancing, before ending up at
the Arty Farty: The Annex Club, where at least I enjoyed myself a
lot. Poor Håvard became totally wasted and fell asleep. The rest
went home earlier than the two of us – so I had to take care of
Håvard and get him into a taxi. When we got back to the hotel, after
an hour, Håvard realized that he had forgotten his brand new Iphone5
at the club. He was very upset of course, but he got the receptionist
to call the club to ask if they had found his phone, which they HAD!
So Håvard only had to go back and get it (very long ride, very
expensive for him). Tokyo impressed me a lot there – as we left a
full club, leaving a brand new Iphone, and no one bothered to steal
it. It seems like the Japanese have great respect for others
property, which is a really really nice thing. Wish the whole world
could have been like the Japanese in this matter.
SIGHTSEEING IN TOKYO
Tokyo is a MASSIVE city, it really
is huge, and there is so much to see and explore here. There is
something for everyone: Several Zoos, aquariums, parks, museums,
individual city centers, temples, historical sites, shopping streets,
fantastic gastronomic experiences and events/cultural happenings and
so on and so on and so on.... So we had to choose what we wanted to see and to do. As we had
different preferences we did not stay together all the time and some
of the days we split up and did sightseeing on our own as well, which
is ok as well.
Tokyo Skytree
Tokyo Skytree is the tallest
freestanding tower in the world, and is a broadcasting, restaurant
and observation tower. It is the second tallest construction
overall in the world, 643 meters high, only beaten by Burj Khalifa in
Dubai. The tower is located in the special ward of Sumida, which was
located just across the river from my hostel in Asakusa. The
construction of the tower was completed in 2012. The height of 634 m
was selected to be easily remembered. The figures 6 (mu), 3 (sa), 4
(shi) stand for "Musashi", an old name of the region where
the Tokyo Skytree stands. In the evenings the tower is illuminated in
different colors (which seems to be a typical thing for Asia).
As this «IS», or thats what we
thought at least, the place to get the perfect view of Tokyo, we
decided to visit the tower already on the first day. It was as
well a very beautiful day, with clear sky, so it was set for a
perfect opportunity to get a really nice view of Tokyo. As it was not
so far from my hostel we chose to walk the distance, which was a nice
walk indeed. When we finally did reach the tower we ended up standing
an hour and a half in line to get tickets, and then another 30
minutes or something in line for the elevator to the top. The first
tickets only got us to the first level of the tower, so if we wanted
to go all the way to the highest level, we had to purchase another
ticket when we got to the «lower» level. So we did, or actually the
lovely Frode and Morten treated me with the tickets, as they both
were pretty expensive. When we finally got to the top and got to see
the view we realized, or at least I did, that the view was just
plain, nothing really spectacular, but I got my photos, and then we
had to stand in line once more for getting the elevator back down...
I personally felt it was both a waste of time and money to go there,
but at least I can say that I have BEEN there now:) If you have short
of time in Tokyo, don't waste time going here.. there are other
places where you can have a nicer view, for FREE in Tokyo.
Akihabara Electric Town: Manga-Heaven
Akhiabara funnily enough translates
as «field of autumn leaves», but there is neither a field here or
any leaves to see at all, as it is today known as Electric Town. Akihabara is a major shopping area for electronic, computer, anime,
games and otaku goods, including new and used items. Akihabara also
gained some fame through being home to one of the first stores
devoted to personal robots and robotics.
The atmosphere in this area is very
hectic. The buildings are tall and there are massively large posters
of animé in the whole main street. We went here as the «boys»
wanted to check out the offers on electronic products in this area,
but I don't remember anyone doing a lot of shopping. I was mostly
fascinated by the amount of animé/manga bookstores, which also sold
manga-toys and dolls, and there was also a whole bunch of girls
dressed up in manga-style in the streets as well, obviously trying to
convince people to drop by the «manga»-bars in the area (which I
think is not too family friendly). One thing is for sure: When you
picture Tokyo in your head: THIS is the area you see. So it is
definitely worth a visit for sure.
Sensō-ji, the beauty of Asakusa
Sensō-ji is an ancient Buddhist
temple located in Asakusa, almost right next to where my hostel was
located. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, founded in year 628, and
one of its most significant. Adjacent to the temple is a Shinto
shrine, the Asakusa Shrine. The temple is dedicated to the
bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokitesvara). According to legend, a statue of
the Kannon was found in the Sumida River in 628 by two fishermen. The
chief of their village, recognized the sanctity of the statue and
enshrined it by remodeling his own house into a small temple in
Asakusa, so that the villagers could worship the Kannon. The first
real temple was built on the site in 645, which makes it the oldest
temple in Tokyo.
Håvard had a date in one of the
first evenings and explored the area and told me about it the next
day, so I went by myself in the evening the very next day, and WOW
what a beautiful, relaxing and peaceful area it is. Dominating
the entrance to the temple is the Kaminarimon or "Thunder Gate".
This imposing Buddhist structure features a massive paper lantern
dramatically painted in vivid red-and-black tones to suggest
thunderclouds and lightning. Beyond the Kaminarimon is Nakamise-dori
with its shops, followed by the Hōzōmon or "Treasure House
Gate" which provides the entrance to the inner complex. Within
the precincts stand a stately five-story pagoda and the main hall,
devoted to Kannon Bosatsu. In the very late evening there were only a
few tourists there, and even some couples in love. All of the
constructions are nicely lit up and especially the five-storey pagoda
is an impressive sight in the evening. I did return two days later to
explore the area during daytime as well, but WOW it was very very
very very crowded, and impossible to actually get by anywhere. I am
very happy that I chose to explore the area at night first, so that I
was able to experience the tranquility and the spiritual feeling of
the complex (without the hordes of tourists).
Sensō-ji is as well the focus of
Tokyo's largest and most popular matsuri, the Sanja Matsuri, which is
a Shinto festival. This festival happen to take place just when
we were there. The festival always last for 3-4 days in the late
spring, and sees the surrounding streets closed to traffic from dawn
until late evening. It was because of this festival that it was
almost impossible for me to find accommodation for the weekend (and
that I had to change hostel). I did not end up going as I knew it
would be extremely crowded, and I don't like massive crowds. I did
get to see some of the preparations for the festival when I explored
the area in the daytime just before the weekend though. I was told
later though that it was a really nice experience by people who did
go there...ah well, next time then;)
Sumo Wrestling
One of the things I was hoping to be
able to experience, or at least learn more about, is the Japanese
phenomena of Sumo wrestling. Sumo is some of the most Japanese
you can get, so I was superhappy when I realized that there was a
sumo-tournament going on in Tokyo during the week of my stay here,
and there was this very lovely girl at my hostel, Chiara from Italy,
who had asked me in the evening before if I wanted to join her and
some others to attend the tournament. So of course I said yes. Now I
got to both experience sumo-wrestling, and I even had people to go
with (as I guess my friends would not have found this very
interesting). So I and Chiara then headed for another hostel where we
met up with, Christian and Andreas (Germans), Lai (Taiwanese), Karen
(US), Mika (Taiwanese) and Ayumi (Japanese). We then headed for the
Ryōgoku Kokugikan, which is the arena used for sumo tournaments in
Tokyo.
The Ryōgoku Kokugikan building was
opened in 1985 and has a capacity of 13,000 people. It is mainly
used for sumo wrestling tournaments (honbasho) and hosts the hatsu
(new year) basho in January, the natsu (summer) basho in May, and the
aki (autumn) basho in September. It also houses a museum about sumo
as well as the venue used for other indoor events, such as boxing,
pro wrestling, and music concerts. WE were here for SUMO though:-)
So, sumo is basicly a competitive
full-contact wrestling sport where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to
force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground
with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport
originated in Japan and is the only country where it is practiced
professionally. A tournament last for several days, and the whole day
as well, as there are many wrestlers taking part. So we got to the
stadium early in the day as we had planned to stay for the whole day
to attend all parts of the tournament, which started off with the
«fights» between the lower ranked wrestlers. Throughout the day the
higher ranked wrestlers found their way to the ring, while the day
ends with the «fights» between the highest ranked of course, the
yokozunas (grand champions). We also got to observe the ring-entering
ceremony as well as the, which is only done by the yokozunas, and the
so-called bow twirling ceremonies.
Sumo wrestling is, beside watching
extremely and fat half-naked guys «play around», interesting. I
have to admit that I preferred to observe the lower ranked wrestlers
fight as they were more uneven when it came to techniques and even in
weight, as in sumo there is no weight class so a wrestler can risk
facing an opponent twice his own weight. This of course leads to more interesting battles. Also, the rule is that the
lower ranked wrestlers have to start the fight right away, while the
champions can use as much as up to 4 minutes to try to psych each other out
before having to fight. As every match only last for a couple of
seconds, these 4 minutes were pretty everlasting indeed and made it
all boring. Sumo is by the way also probably the gayest sport I have
ever observed, as many fighters use the flat of their hand to fight
with their opponents – and the silly diaper-panties they are
wearing says it all as well really. In the museum the yokozuas are
portrayed in an extremely feminine way as well – dressed in the
traditional kimoni of some kind, carrying teddy bears and so on....
ah well.
We even got to eat a traditional
sumo-meal for lunch, the chankonabe, which is a Japanese stew
commonly eaten in vast quantity by sumo wrestlers as part of a
weight-gain diet. It contains a dashi or chicken broth soup base
with sake or mirin to add flavor. The bulk of chankonabe is made up
of large quantities of protein sources (usually chicken (quartered,
skin left on), fish (fried and made into balls), tofu (or sometimes
beef)) and vegetables (daikon, bok choy, etc.). Though, the
chankonabe serwed during sumo tournaments is made exclusively with
chicken, the idea being that a rikishi should always be on two legs
like a chicken, not all fours. To be honest the chankonobe reminded
me A LOT about a traditional Norwegian vegetable soup. At least it
tasted really well:)
Ghibli Museum
During our stay in Tokyo, Jarle made
me aware of that there is a Ghibli Museum, devoted to the animé
movies from Studio Ghibli! I was totally excited about this
revelation as I LOVE the Studio Ghibli productions:) To me this
museum would be like a second Disneyland, only in a museum version –
so we decided to go of course, though only me, Jarle and Håvard. The
museum, which features Japanese anime work art of Studio Ghibli, and which
is designed by Hayao Miyazaki himself, is not even located in proper
Tokyo City, but is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western
suburb of Tokyo. In other words. It is NOT easy to get there, but we
eventually DID get there... only to realize that tickets had to be
purchased in advance (on-line), and then many days in advance...so there was no
way for us to get inside the museum:( I was really really sad and
upset as I had really looked forward to this for the couple of days
since I got to know about the museum. I could only admire the really
cute exterior of the museum, which looked like it was taken right out
from a scene in a Studio Ghibli production. At least I got to take a
photo right next to my neighbor Totoro, which was displayed and
visible from the outside...
The GIGA intersection of Shibuya
Håvard insisted that he wanted to
experience one of the largest intersections in the world, which was
located in the Shibuya ward. Well, I and Jarle then reluctantly
agreed to come along. Really, who goes to Tokyo to see an
intersection? Well, Håvard obviously. As there was a Starbucks right
next to it we got ourselves a coffee and then found a seat from where
we could see the intersection. It is indeed large... and populated.
Though it was not very interesting really. By the way, Shibuya is
supposed to be a very nice shopping area as well for the ones who
might be interested in knowing that...
Harajuku - district
The term Harajuku became
internationally famous along with the famous song «Harajuku Girls»
by Gwen Stefanie a few years back. Harajuku is actually a
district in the Shibuya ward in Tokyo, with a well know shopping
street called Takeshita street. Especially in the weekends there's is
a lot of young people dressing up in what well might be called
Japanese EMO-clothing and lots of make up, even boys do it. These
young people is referred to as Harajuku girls and boys. So we decided
to drop by in the weekend (on a Saturday) to get a glimpse of this
very typical phenomena of Japanese popular culture. We were though let down,
as there were not so many who had dressed up at all. There were a
few, but not many. Especially this one crazy and extremely out of tune singer
on the bridge towards the Yoyogi park got our attention. It was so
bad it became interesting to be honest, haha. There are as well lots
of stores here were one can buy this typical kind of harajuku-outfits
and make up. We had lunch here, and then just moved on to the Yoyogi
park, which is located close by.
Later in the evening I, Håvard and
Yuki (which we had met up with) ended up attending a Jamaica Festival
close to the Yoyogi Park for a short while and was very nice. We
then headed for Omotesando Street, which is a very nice and popular
shopping street in the Harajuku district, and houses the Tokyu Plaza
shopping center, which has one of the coolest entrances EVER! So if
anyone is going to Tokyo with the means of shopping: Omotesando
Street IS the place. We could find pretty much everything here –
and then I mean stuff that actually carry quality, not just simple
souvenirs. So I definitely recommend this area, instead of Ginza,
which is the most famous area for shopping.
Meiji Jingu (in Yoyogi Park)
Meiji Jinngu is a shrine located in
the Yoyogi Park in the Shibuya ward. It is a shinto shrine that is
dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife. «Shinto» is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the people of
Japan. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to
establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient
past, but refers today mostly to the type of public shrines like this
one, where public events often take place. The original Meiji Shrine
was completed in 1921, and back then it was the first in line shrine
to get governmental support. The current buildings were constructed
in 1958 as the original ones were destroyed during the bombing of
Tokyo, during the second world war.
Mori Tower + Tokyo Tower
The day after Company Trondheim had
returned back to Norway I met up with Yuki again, who took me to the
Roppingi Hills area, which is located in the Minato ward. Yuki
took me to the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, which is the fifth tallest
building in Tokyo, primarily used for offices, but as well retail
stores, restaurants and other tourist attractions. On the 52nd
and 54th floor there are observations deck where tourist
catch a pretty nice view. As we got here pretty late, it was already
dark – but the view was indeed really nice. From this particular
tower we also got a very nice view of the famous Tokyo Tower, which
is Tokyo's «Eiffel Tower», though only painted in white and orange.
The Tokyo Tower was completed in 1958 and is the second tallest
artificial structure in Japan with its 333 meters. Unfortunately it
was a shitty rainy day, so the photos did not turn out very well, and
the reflection of the light in the window did not help either... ah
well. It was still a very nice evening with Yuki (as we had dinner
together later).
Tsukiji Market (Fish market)
It was another rainy day, and it
turned out that all the museums are closed on Mondays (except for
Ghibli Museum which was sold out). So I decided to first explore
the Ginza-area, which is a major shopping area – but it was pretty
boring really (and expensive). So I chose to go to the Tsukiji Market
instead. The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, commonly
known as the Tsukiji Market, is the biggest wholesale fish and
seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale
food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in the
Chuo ward, central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign
visitors. It turned out though that the most of the activity at this
market happen in the early early mornings, and by 11 am a lot of the
shops start to close up and the fishermen go home for the day... so
when I arrived it was pretty much empty, and it really did not look
like a market at all. There were a few stands still open so I got to
take some photos... but it was pretty much waste of time. Note to
myself: If I ever return: Be there at 5 am (AS THAT's EVER going to
happen)...
Imperial Palace Gardens
It was the very last day of my stay
in actual Tokyo, and as it was a very nice day again I chose to go to
the Imperial Palace Gardens, which is located in the Chiyoda ward. On
the way I had to pass by the Tokyo Station building, which is a very
nice building from 1914, and which is the busiest station in Japan in
terms of number of trains (over 3000 trains a day). The Imperial
Palace Gardens is located just a short walk from the Tokyo Station
though. Within the Imperial Palace Gardens, which holds a large area
open for the public, we can find the Tokyo Imperial Palace which is
the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. The whole park is more
than 3 square kilometers large and contains several buildings
including the main palace, the private residences of the imperial
family, an archive, museum and administrative offices. It is built on
the site of the old Edo castle. Unfortunately the area containing the
Imperial Palace itself is NOT open for the public. So I only got to
explore the Kokyogaien and the East Gardens, which was nice enough –
but not that exciting really. One of the most famous photos from this
area is of the Nijūbashi Bridge which leads to one of the gates
crossing the moat, surrounding the Imperial Palace area.
Ueno Onshi Park
Before catching up with Yuki again
on this last day of sightseeing while in Tokyo I dropped by the Ueno
Park, as this park contains a lot of nice sites, including a Zoo (I
did not go there) and a 5 storey tall pagoda. I really wanted to
see and get a photo of the pagoda... but it was very well hidden and
closed for the public when I got there (what happen to my luck on
this trip?). At least I got to take photos of the lovely Shinobazu
pond, the Bentendo temple, the remains of the Ueno Daibutsu, Gojōten
Jinja (row of shrines), the Kiyomizu Kannondō (very nice building)
and the surrounding areas:)
Odaiba – district
In the evening of my very last day
in Tokyo, Yuki took me to the Odaiba district. This area is the
home of the Rainbow bridge, the Fuji TV Headquarters, the «Statue of
Liberty», The Gundam-statue, a pretty large Ferris wheel and the
really nice shopping center of Palette Town, which all interior is
made to look like you are walking in a street in
France/Italy-somewhere... it was a really nice evening, and the
Palette Town is really beautiful, but too expensive for me, so we
mostly did sightseeing there rather than shopping.
Eurovision Song Contest
During my stay in Tokyo the
Eurovision Song Contest was going on back home in Europe, and I could
not miss it!!! I tried to search if there were any place to see
it live, but there was unfortunately not any place to see it live...
as it would start at 5 in the morning. Ah well. At least I had wi-fi
connection at my hostels, so I was able to see it on my computer
thankfully:) Funnily enough for one of the semifinals I was joined
for a short while to watch the show on my laptop by this one old guy
who was staying at the hostel, and always got up at 5 am (as he's an
old man). He found it pretty funny to watch actually. For the final
(which then would be aired very early on Sunday morning) I got Yuki
to join me, as he showed interest for the concept, and we had stayed
together for the whole evening before and had a few beers with my
friends from Norway, before having to say goodbye to them, as they
were leaving the next day. Also Yuki was living pretty far from the
city center area, in a suburb, so he would have had to take a taxi
back home, which would have become filthy expensive for him. So we
were both sitting in the common room at my hostel watching the show
on my laptop, and later joined again for a very short while by the
old guy – haha. It was a very nice time, watching it together with
Yuki, even though both of us were pretty tired. As I predicted in May
last year – Denmark won. So congrats to Denmark for the effort this
year;)
Disneyland
Well... I was supposed to go to
Disneyland when I got to Tokyo, but unfortunately I did not get to
go. I was occupied doing lots of other stuff most of the time and
I had as well hoped to be able to be joined by someone, which I was
not. I especially wanted to explore Disneyland Sea, which is exclusive
for Tokyo and does not exist anywhere else in the world. I will
though for sure return to Tokyo one day so I need something to look
forward till then as well;
KAMAKURA
On the second day of our stay in
Tokyo we decided to leave Tokyo and visit Kamakura, a city located
about 50 kilometers south-south-west of Tokyo. Although Kamakura
proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books
as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate
and of the Regency during the Kamakura Period. As of 2012, the modern
city has an estimated population of 174,412 inhabitants. Kamakura
also has a beach which, in combination with its temples and proximity
to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination for both locals and
foreigners.
Kōtoku-in
We did not have much time to spend
in Kamakura, and we also happened to leave and arrive at different
times. So it was me and Håvard hanging together, while Jarle, Frode
and Morten hang together. The first stop I and Håvard did was at
the Kōtoku-in, a Buddhist temple which is renowned for its «Great
Buddha», a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha which is
one of the most famous icons of Japan. The 13,35m tall bronze statue
probably dates from 1252, but it is unclear, however, whether the
statue constructed in 1252 is the same statue as the present statue.
The statue once was gilded with golden leafs, and it is said that you
can still see traces of golden leafs some places on the statue, but
they really don't know for sure it seems like. But it was a very nice
area to explore for sure.
Hase-dera
The only other place we got to check
out while in Kamakura was the Hase-dera complex, which is one of the
great Buddhist temples in the city, founded in year 736. The
temple is famous for housing a massive wooden statue of Kannon, 9,8
meters tall, one of the largest in Japan. The area also offers a
great view of the Kamakura Bay, as well as the grounds of the temple
are home to hundreds of small Jizō statues, placed by parents
mourning offspring lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.
These statues remain in place for about a year, before being removed
to make way for more statues; it is estimated that some 50,000 Jizō
statues have been placed at Hase-dera since WWII.
ENOSHIMA
We moved on from the city of
Kamakura to the Island of Enoshima, which is a part of the city of
Fujisawa. This island is about 4 km in circumference, and is
located at the mouth of the Katase River, and flows into Sagami Bay.
It is linked to the Katase section of Fujisawa on the mainland by a
600 meter-long bridge. The island houses local resorts, beaches, and
the Enoshima shrine, which was founded in year 853. The island in its
entirety is dedicated to the goddess, Benzaiten, the goddess of music
and entertainment, who is said to have made it rise from the bottom
of the sea in sixth century.
«I, A Criminal?»
The main reason for us going to Enoshima
was that some wanted to experience the Onsen on the island, which is
a form of hot spring. I was not aware of this though. So I was
not too happy when I realized we were going to Enoshima for the onsen
and not for other things, as most onsens in Japan do not accept
tattoos, as people with tattoos are perceived as Yakuzas, members of organized crime. Tattoos are in Japan seen as a badge of
criminality. Even the smallest, most innocent tattoo can restrict a
person to enter a Japanese onsen. So IF I had know we were going to
an Onsen I would have checked before departure if I would be allowed to
enter, but I did not get this chance – and as expected, I was
not allowed to enter the facility. There are a certain few places in
Tokyo that do allow people with tattoos to enter, but you really have
to look them up on-line first to know where they are.
So I ended up, together with Håvard,
as he didn't feel like going to the hot spring, walking around the
island, exploring the Shrine and taking photos – which also was ok.
As we did not know when the rest would be ready for leaving back for
Tokyo I and Håvard went back to the city by ourselves as it was
getting late and I just found my back to Asakusa and had a nice
evening my myself exploring this area as well.
YOKOHAMA
The very last day of my stay in
Japan, Yuki decided to take me to Yokahama, as Yokohama was
pretty close to Yuki's place – AND it was about time to get to see
something else than only Tokyo as well. Yokohama is the second
largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo, with a population of
3,7 million, and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on
Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo. It is a major commercial hub of the
Greater Tokyo Area and is a major port city of Japan today.
After arriving to Yokohama we took a
ferry ride from close to the main station to the Kannai-area, which
is the historic port area of the city. From here we walked to the
Yokohama Harbour View Park, passing through the «French» mountain
and also the famous doll museum in Yokohama (did not go inside it
though), before going back down and walking along the seaside by the
Yamashita Park. Next to the Yamashita park we could see the Yokohama
Marine Tower, which is the tallest inland lighthouse in the world. We
ended up at the Osanbashi Yokohama International Passenger Terminal,
which is an amazing terminal with covered by a wooden roof with
patches of green areas and the opportunity for people to walk around
on top. It really was a very nice construction, as it also felt VERY
Norwegian in every way.
Yokohama is also the home of the
many other interesting sites. Among them the Landmark Tower, the
tallest building in Japan until surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree,
as well as Yokohama Chinatown, which is the largest in Japan and one of the
largest Chinatowns in the world, and also the Cosmo Clock 21, which
was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world when completed in 1989 and
which also doubles as «the world's biggest clock.»
So it was a very very nice day to
hang out with Yuki, who is an amazing and kind person, which I hope
that I will get the pleasure to meet again at one point in the
future. It was very sad to have to say goodbye, but this was my last
day in Japan...
Meeting Up With Kenneth
Yuki followed me to the train
station to say goodbye, and made sure that I got on the right train
to the airport. At the airport
I met up with Kenneth again, who had spent a couple of days by
himself in the Narita-area, where the airport is located. It was nice
to see Kenneth again, and of course after more than a month apart we
had lots to talk about as well with each other, which was a nice
change from last time we saw each other – haha;)
Some last words
I LOVE Tokyo as a city! It is big,
but has so much to offer – and it is easy to get around as well.
Tokyo offers everything you could desire.
So I would definitely like to return to the city one day:) The people
are really nice as well, even though they are a bit difficult to get
in touch with at first, but they are really friendly when you first
get to know them, at least that's the feeling I got of the Japanese.
I had an overall fantastic experience while in Japan for 2 weeks!
Though I realized that there are so many more places I really would
have liked to visit in Japan, that I HAVE to come back one day. Japan
is now so far 1 of 3 countries I really have to return to, the others
being New Zealand and Myanmar of course.
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