Tokyo Part 2
Tokyo – From Tokyo’s Narita Airport, the underground Metro Station is the best option to reach the city center. It’s a good idea to contact your hotel and ask which metro stop is closest to their hotel. (We neglected to do this.) We disembarked at the Tokyo Station, which is like an underground spider’s web of stores, eateries, and bakeries. Finding one’s way to an exit is quite an experience, especially at peak times when people are streaming in all directions like a fast-flowing river. Stop and ask anyone for directions, and you’ll be surprised by how kind and helpful people are despite not speaking English. Just use Google Translate, and you’ll have no problem communicating.
We checked into the Royal Park Iconic Hotel near the Shiodome metro stop. It’s common in Tokyo for the reception floor of hotels to be high up in the building. The Royal Park Iconic Hotel starts on the 24th floor, providing guests with spectacular city views from the comfort of their suites.
Asakusa – Nakamise Dori pedestrian lane is always on our list of places to visit. The little stalls are loaded with classical Japanese items that make unique take-home gifts. It’s impossible to come away without several unintended purchases. The lane leads to Sensoji Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, dating back to 628 AD.
Sensoji Buddhist Temple.Here are our favorite three non-tourist restaurants in the Asakusa area: Tokusen on the corner of Rokku Dori Street, Nakasei, and Sushiro Asakusa on the 3rd floor of the Richmond Hotel. Sushiro Asakusa has booths where you can place your sushi orders using photos on an iPad. Ten to twelve minutes later, a conveyor belt stops next to your table and goes “ding,” and lo and behold, there is one of your sushi orders. The sushi is good, reasonably priced, and it’s a fun experience.
The Meiji Shrine – is a Shinto shrine built to honor Emperor and Empress Meiji. At the entrance to the shrine stands a majestic entry gate – built from cypress wood. It is said to be the largest gate to a shrine in Japan. The area is surrounded by dense forests where azaleas, irises, and water lilies that cover entire ponds thrive. (Late May is the ideal time to visit when the Iris Garden is in full bloom.) The side gardens off the main path, such as the Meiji Gardens, where one has to pay a fee to visit, are the most peaceful and beautiful of all the gardens open to the public.
After exploring the shrine and the idyllic gardens, treat yourself to lunch at the Meiji Restaurant or coffee and pastries at the coffee shop. Both are set among the towering trees.
The Meiji Shrine
The Tokyo Tower – Reminiscent of the Paris Eiffel Tower, it’s a city landmark. It functions as a Radio Tower and an Observation Tower and prides itself on being three meters (9 ft 10.11 inches) higher than the Eiffel Tower.
Across the street from the tower is a small gem of a park known as Momiji-dani – Maple Valley. With its waterfall and maple trees, Momiji-dani is seen to imitate a mountain and valley. It was designed in the late Meiji period (1868-1912) and retains many aspects of its original design. Rest awhile on a bench beneath a maple tree and soak up the sounds of the birds calling to one another and the waterfall that provides a background lullaby.
From Momiji-dani, cross the main street to the vast semicircular park where locals picnic and rest on blankets. Walk across the park to Zojoji Temple, founded in 1393 as the Kanto area’s first Nembutsu dojo (practice hall). During the Edo Period (1600-1868), it was the temple of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The building was severely burned in the Second World War. Since its restoration, it has functioned as a center for religious and cultural activities.
The Mausoleum of the Tokugawa Shoguns – located behind the Zojoji Temple, is worth a visit. The mausoleums’ layout and sculptural designs, contrasted with the bright red Tokyo Tower that overlooks the temple grounds, are worth seeing and rarely crowded with tourists.
To the left of the Zojoji Shrine, don’t miss a forested path lined with thousands of dolls, most of them wearing red or pink caps and aprons. They hold windmills that turn in unison in the breeze. They are called the “care guardian deities of children” and are dedicated to the safety and growth of children as well as the memory of stillborn or miscarried babies.
The Tsukiji Fish Market, also known as the Inner Market, is no longer a fish market. What remains is the Outer Market, which has a wide variety of restaurants and food stalls. The majority of them focus on fish and seafood dishes.
In 2018, the Fish Market moved to a new site in Toyusu. Now occupying three levels, it is one of the world’s largest fish markets. Take the Yurikamome line to the Shijo-mae Station. The market is open from 5 am to 5 pm, Monday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and Wednesdays. For the best experience, get there between 5 am and 7 am, when it’s at its liveliest.
NOTE: The most popular experience is watching the Tuna Auction, which starts at around 5.30 am.
Plan on spending approximately four days in Tokyo.