Tokyo: Things To Do and Places To Visit - A Self-Guided Tour 2016
Some cities are more equal than others. And even among the more equal, I would say Tokyo is probably unparalleled. It is not surprising then that this unique and bustling city has inspired many creative endeavours, be it in fashion, culinary arts, or film. My favourite movie about the place is of course Lost in Translation, and at some point I wanted to build our itinerary around this movie's locations. In the end though, we did not exactly follow the itinerary and instead we just let our moods guide us. By going this way though, we managed to see some of the talked-about locations plus a few others that were pleasant surprises.
Overview before touching down at Haneda airport. From the plane, one could see many of the tower/power grids dotting the city. But for a highly industrialised one, it is surprising to see such deep-blue bodies of water around the city.
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After checking into our hotel, we went out to the nearest place we could put our fingers on...Shibuya. Before reaching Shibuya, I had no idea that the crossing is a sight to behold, it really should be called the Great Shibuya Crossing (sounds like the urban version of that other phenomenal migration). At this 3-way crossing or triangle intersection, the traffic signals are synchronised and when they change to green on all sides, thousands of pedestrians cross the streets simultaneously. I was told by one photographer (and there were many of them taking photos from that corner) that the best place to capture this synchronised human migration is from the 2nd floor of Starbucks at the Tsutaya building. We went there too but we got side-tracked by the many interesting knick-knacks at Tsutaya! And this was where I found a beginner's phrase-book that helped us get through the rest of the trip.
#ShibuyaCrossing
At night this area gets crowded, with shopping malls and restaurants all around. But being Tokyo, everything was so expensive, my budget was just enough for a few scrunchies at Forever 21!
Tokyo has a great train system but taking a cab is a great experience in itself. They are clean and the seats are covered in white lace like this:
We went to Meiji Shrine on our second day, and as usual, we did not know what was in store for us (no patience for guidebooks). We started off at the huge wooden cypress gate and took a long hike along a gravelled-road that could be dusty at times. But the walk was pleasant, being spring, and the path leading to the shrine was lined with leafy trees on both sides. That of course, did not stop our 9-year old from asking that question "Are we there yet?" every 2 minutes.
There were many visitors, tourists and locales alike - quite a few local residents come to pray during lunch break.
Half-way through the hike, there was a stop showcasing barrels of sake (rice wine) on one side, and barrels of wine from France on the other side. As with other religions, wine is likewise offered to the gods during Shinto rites.
At the time of our visit to Meiji Shrine, there was also an exhibit of bonsai plants, some of them as old as 1000 years!
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| This is a 200-year old #bonsai tree...and yes, anyone at this age would be bending too! but this one does so gracefully:) |
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| This is 120 years old! and still blooming!!! |
As in Kyoto (my earlier post), there was also a pair of girls in red skirts and white shirts, who were busy with religious rituals.
Though Sakura/Cherry Blossom season was over when we visited, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Tokyo is a city of flowers. This one was at a nearby roadside near Shinjuku. Every now and then we also saw hydrangeas in wonderful bloom, adding to the charm of this great city.
After the shrine, we walked down to that famous street - Harajuku! And yes, it was bursting with the energy of the young. There was a group of girls who asked me to take their photo. I tried doing so with their handphones, but I think they were exasperated that I could not figure out the buttons! The phone was too high-tech, even for me!
It was not a busy day for Harajuku girls but we managed to see a few ladies in their all-out costumes. These girls truly embody the spirit of Harajuku - carefree, fun, and very comfortable in their attention-grabbing get-ups.
One of the side-streets at Harajuku. This looks a bit more ordinary and might seem out of place in this famed street, but I think it has its own appeal.
Across Harajuku, another street is packed with the young. Many of them were students in school uniforms.
The street, Takeshita, was also lined with food shops, candy stores, vendo machines for crepes!!! among others. There was a long queue for the craze food-of-the-moment, a croquant - a crunchy combination of croque and croissant it seems. Curious, we also joined the queue and I must say the wait was worth it - we had a very rewarding bite.
We also checked out a neighbouring candy shop where the assistant was genuinely sweet! It did not take long for her to convince my daughter to spent her tourist yen here... buying gum balls!
When in Tokyo...This is at one of the restaurants without any menu. Diners go by the chef's recommendation. One of the best sashimis I've tried. And yes, we also ate the tiny buds that we initially thought were purely decorative but edible.
On this day, Ginza gave way to pedestrians, and it was such a lovely day to walk around then.
At the newly renovated Itoya, aka Tokyo's stationery mecca. This is the paper concierge (yes there is such a job title!) checking her inventory.
Itoya has12 floors of stationery heaven, with a cafe on the top floor, and the floor before that is dedicated to a vertical farm! This is probably where they grow the greens for the salads.
Ginza during the blue hour.
And of course, they use Seiko clocks.
The next day, we took the train from Ebisu and went all the way to Tokyo Station because I remember reading about Tokyo's busiest train station in one of Haruki Murakami's novels - IQ84 if I am not mistaken. In that novel, the character was lost in this labyrinth of a station.
And having gone through several platforms at Tokyo Station, it is indeed very easy to get lost in there!
The platforms go many levels underground, and the escalators can be very long.
Up on the ground, we checked out the heritage buildings around the station.
And this is the dome in one of the exits/entrances, beside Tokyo Station Hotel.
We hopped on to the next train that took us to Roponggi Hills. We just wandered around a bit (not much to do there) and I supposed the highlight of that stop was taking a photo of these bright flowers near the station...and a cup of coffee from a French L'Atelier. That's the other thing I've noticed about Tokyo, there are French restaurants, cafes, etc. practically at every other corner!
Before we knew it, our one week in Tokyo was over! and my daughter literally cried because it had to end so soon...Oh well, the tears were also in part due to the fact that she had to resume school the next day;)
The majestic Tokyo Tower at night, taken on our last night at this wonderful city. And yes, it would be great if we could go back again at some point...there are other stationery shops, and the Tsutaya at T-Site, that we wanted to visit but did not have the chance.
Tokyo too is always a great idea! or perhaps grander:)
