Today was my first full day in Japan on this trip, and it was jam-packed. I woke up fairly early, still not being used to the 13-hour time difference here. I decided to skip breakfast, settling for a can of Boss Coffee (I'll still never get used to being able to get hot can of coffee from a vending machine) and heading for the subway station.
After a few mix-ups with getting on the wrong line or getting off on the wrong stop, I made it to Asakusa in pretty good time (and learned, along the way, that Google Maps is extremely helpful for navigating the subway system in Japan). It was fairly quiet when I arrived at the famous Kaminarimon gate.
Many of the shops on Namikase-dori, one of Japan's most famous souvenir spots, were closed or just opening, but I was happy to not have to deal with crowds. I made my way to Sensoji Temple, the centerpiece of Asakusa and one of the oldest, most well-known Buddhist temples in Japan.
As is custom, I washed my hands from a ritual fountain and stood near the incense burner for a bit, and then went inside. The inner shrine is amazing, filled with paintings, sculptures, and decorations covered in gold. However, photography wasn't allowed...but I did get a picture of the paintings on the ceiling.
After that, I went outside and into the nearby garden. I don't think I checked out that garden at all last time I was at Sensoji, and I'm glad I went this time. It was filled with several small Buddhist and Shinto shrines, with wooden signs explaining what each shrine represented. There were also a handful of cherry trees in bloom, but nothing compared to what I'd see later.
At one particular shrine, a Japanese man started a conversation with me (in English), asking where I was from and explaining that he'd been a student in America 40 years ago. I took the opportunity to practice conversing in Japanese, and at least he mostly understood me. He pointed out that the shrine was one of the most revered in Japan but not as well-publicized as a tourist location, so I went in and checked it out. Again, no photos were allowed inside (it's the standard with temples and shrines) but I got the outside.
From there, I wandered over to the opposite side of the grounds, where there was an entirely Shinto section, complete with a torii gate and several small shrines. There was even a Shinto wedding taking place, with everyone in traditional outfits, but I didn't want to be rude and take pictures. After that, I headed back to Nakimase-dori, grabbing a skewer of Japanese fried chicken along the way. By now, the temple grounds and Nakamise-dori were very, very crowded--I'd lucked out with timing. I made my way through the crowds and picked up a few souvenirs.
Finally, I decided to head over to my next stop: the Tokyo National Museum. It was tough to leave Sensoji and Asakusa, though; I feel like I could've spent a whole day there.
A quick subway ride later and I was in Ueno. I walked over to Ueno Park, where the museum was, enjoying the hot, sunny weather. The walk was fairly crowded, but the museum itself wasn't bad.
They had a lot of really cool ancient Shinto and Buddhist artifacts as their current exhibition, but they didn't allow photography for most of the stuff. I did a fairly quick tour of the museum (I'd been there last time I was in Japan) before heading outside into the garden area. There were many more cherry trees blooming there, and people were having picnics and hanging out in traditional garb in the teahouses throughout the garden.
It was very peaceful, strolling the grounds and drinking an iced green tea. After I finished my walk through the gardens, I went into the special exhibition galleries where they had a special exhibition featuring artifacts from an esoteric Buddhist temple that were all national treasures and, you guessed it, no photography allowed. It was fascinating to see all the ancient art and implements that I guess the public rarely gets to see.
After that, I decided to have lunch, and sought out a local tonkatsu restaurant. Tonkatsu is Japanese fried pork cutlets with a side of shredded cabbage, and is a very popular dish. It also came with rice and pickles, as well as a variety of sauces and seasonings, and it was delicious.
Stuffed, I made my way via subway to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. One of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, it's the heart of the Shinto religion in Tokyo.
Before visiting the inner shrine, I bought an amulet that's supposed to bring good luck in finding a good job...let's see if it works. Then it was off to the shrine, where plenty of people were gathered to make offerings and prayers.
As I left the shrine's grounds, my legs were starting to get a bit sore from all the walking, so I thought I'd head to Shinjuku Gyoen Park and hang out there for a bit. Shinjuku Gyoen Park is supposed to be one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in Japan, and it certainly didn't disappoint.
It was pretty unreal to be there with petals falling like snow and thousands of people having picnics, taking photos, or just standing and contemplating the trees. I sat under a tree for a bit, giving myself a rest and taking in the sights, before wandering around the whole loop of the park (I'm only putting a select few photos from this, and this entire trip, on this blog; the rest will go on Facebook when I get home).
At that point, I'd finished doing what I wanted to do for the day, so I thought I might check out some of the shopping hot spots. I went to Sunshine City first, which is literally a city within a city, full of all kinds of shops and attractions.
I mean, you're not going to NOT go to the Pokemon Center in Tokyo when it's right there.
After a bit of wandering around the overwhelming mall/city, I took the ear-popping elevator up to the observatory on the 60th floor, which was the main reason I'd liked the place last time. This time, though, it was totally different--they'd redesigned the place around a Doraemon theme, which is a Japanese cartoon show, and it was pretty much unrecognizable (plus you had to pay admission; it was basically a mini indoor theme park for kids). However, the windows with the incredible views over the city were still there, so it was worth it.
By then it was getting dark, so I figured I'd check out some of the more neon-heavy parts of Tokyo. I stopped briefly in Akihabara, the "geek capital" of Tokyo, and walked around a bit and went into a couple stores, though I refrained from spending any money.
Then I made my way over to Shinjuku, and took a brief stroll around just to sight-see. At this point I was completely exhausted; I considered getting some sushi but decided to just head back to my hotel.
Finally, I got back to my hotel around 10pm. Wiped out after walking over 14 miles and having gotten an early start, I took a much-needed soak in the tub and wrote up this entry. Tomorrow is mostly a travel/relaxation day over in Hakone, near Mt. Fuji, but I need to get up early again so I'm off to sleep (it's past 11pm Japan Time).
More to come tomorrow!
Many of the shops on Namikase-dori, one of Japan's most famous souvenir spots, were closed or just opening, but I was happy to not have to deal with crowds. I made my way to Sensoji Temple, the centerpiece of Asakusa and one of the oldest, most well-known Buddhist temples in Japan.
As is custom, I washed my hands from a ritual fountain and stood near the incense burner for a bit, and then went inside. The inner shrine is amazing, filled with paintings, sculptures, and decorations covered in gold. However, photography wasn't allowed...but I did get a picture of the paintings on the ceiling.
After that, I went outside and into the nearby garden. I don't think I checked out that garden at all last time I was at Sensoji, and I'm glad I went this time. It was filled with several small Buddhist and Shinto shrines, with wooden signs explaining what each shrine represented. There were also a handful of cherry trees in bloom, but nothing compared to what I'd see later.
At one particular shrine, a Japanese man started a conversation with me (in English), asking where I was from and explaining that he'd been a student in America 40 years ago. I took the opportunity to practice conversing in Japanese, and at least he mostly understood me. He pointed out that the shrine was one of the most revered in Japan but not as well-publicized as a tourist location, so I went in and checked it out. Again, no photos were allowed inside (it's the standard with temples and shrines) but I got the outside.
From there, I wandered over to the opposite side of the grounds, where there was an entirely Shinto section, complete with a torii gate and several small shrines. There was even a Shinto wedding taking place, with everyone in traditional outfits, but I didn't want to be rude and take pictures. After that, I headed back to Nakimase-dori, grabbing a skewer of Japanese fried chicken along the way. By now, the temple grounds and Nakamise-dori were very, very crowded--I'd lucked out with timing. I made my way through the crowds and picked up a few souvenirs.
Finally, I decided to head over to my next stop: the Tokyo National Museum. It was tough to leave Sensoji and Asakusa, though; I feel like I could've spent a whole day there.
A quick subway ride later and I was in Ueno. I walked over to Ueno Park, where the museum was, enjoying the hot, sunny weather. The walk was fairly crowded, but the museum itself wasn't bad.
They had a lot of really cool ancient Shinto and Buddhist artifacts as their current exhibition, but they didn't allow photography for most of the stuff. I did a fairly quick tour of the museum (I'd been there last time I was in Japan) before heading outside into the garden area. There were many more cherry trees blooming there, and people were having picnics and hanging out in traditional garb in the teahouses throughout the garden. 
It was very peaceful, strolling the grounds and drinking an iced green tea. After I finished my walk through the gardens, I went into the special exhibition galleries where they had a special exhibition featuring artifacts from an esoteric Buddhist temple that were all national treasures and, you guessed it, no photography allowed. It was fascinating to see all the ancient art and implements that I guess the public rarely gets to see.
After that, I decided to have lunch, and sought out a local tonkatsu restaurant. Tonkatsu is Japanese fried pork cutlets with a side of shredded cabbage, and is a very popular dish. It also came with rice and pickles, as well as a variety of sauces and seasonings, and it was delicious.
Stuffed, I made my way via subway to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. One of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, it's the heart of the Shinto religion in Tokyo.
Before visiting the inner shrine, I bought an amulet that's supposed to bring good luck in finding a good job...let's see if it works. Then it was off to the shrine, where plenty of people were gathered to make offerings and prayers.
As I left the shrine's grounds, my legs were starting to get a bit sore from all the walking, so I thought I'd head to Shinjuku Gyoen Park and hang out there for a bit. Shinjuku Gyoen Park is supposed to be one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in Japan, and it certainly didn't disappoint.
It was pretty unreal to be there with petals falling like snow and thousands of people having picnics, taking photos, or just standing and contemplating the trees. I sat under a tree for a bit, giving myself a rest and taking in the sights, before wandering around the whole loop of the park (I'm only putting a select few photos from this, and this entire trip, on this blog; the rest will go on Facebook when I get home).
At that point, I'd finished doing what I wanted to do for the day, so I thought I might check out some of the shopping hot spots. I went to Sunshine City first, which is literally a city within a city, full of all kinds of shops and attractions.
I mean, you're not going to NOT go to the Pokemon Center in Tokyo when it's right there.
After a bit of wandering around the overwhelming mall/city, I took the ear-popping elevator up to the observatory on the 60th floor, which was the main reason I'd liked the place last time. This time, though, it was totally different--they'd redesigned the place around a Doraemon theme, which is a Japanese cartoon show, and it was pretty much unrecognizable (plus you had to pay admission; it was basically a mini indoor theme park for kids). However, the windows with the incredible views over the city were still there, so it was worth it.
By then it was getting dark, so I figured I'd check out some of the more neon-heavy parts of Tokyo. I stopped briefly in Akihabara, the "geek capital" of Tokyo, and walked around a bit and went into a couple stores, though I refrained from spending any money.
Then I made my way over to Shinjuku, and took a brief stroll around just to sight-see. At this point I was completely exhausted; I considered getting some sushi but decided to just head back to my hotel.
Finally, I got back to my hotel around 10pm. Wiped out after walking over 14 miles and having gotten an early start, I took a much-needed soak in the tub and wrote up this entry. Tomorrow is mostly a travel/relaxation day over in Hakone, near Mt. Fuji, but I need to get up early again so I'm off to sleep (it's past 11pm Japan Time).
More to come tomorrow!
