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Craig and Efren's travels
Today's plan was to stay a bit closer to home and explore more of north Tokyo.
We didn't plan to get up so early, but we are not yet used to the time difference and were up very early again. We made our typical walk through Ueno Park (past all the joggers) to the Ueno station. We bought tickets to take the subway over one stop to Asakusa to check out the very famous Senso-ji Temple complex.
The word on the street is this is Tokyo's most spectacular temple, and it didn't disappoint. The bright red color of the structures and the towering pagoda are amazing. Many locals stop here on their way to work to prey, and it offered a fascinating glimpse into the daily rituals of the people.
Legend has it that in 628 2 fisherman found a small gold statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy here. A shrine was then built to Kannon which survived the major 1923 earthquake, but not the WWII bombings. The complex we see today has been rebuilt.
Leading up to the temple is the shopping street of Nakamise-dori where all kinds of knick-knacks and souvenirs are on offer. We skipped the trinkets and headed right for the vendor selling hot sweet red bean buns -- delicious! At the entrance of Nakamise-dori is the Kaminarimon Gate with guardian statues and a very cool red ball latern.
After exploring Senso-ji we camped out at Starbucks for about an hour to warm up and to wait until more things opened up. From the Asakusa station we jumped on a different train line and headed to the relatively new Tokyo Sky Tree. When it opened in 2010 it became the tallest structure in Japan, and with the addition of another antenna in March 2011 it became the tallest tower in the world at 2,080 feet and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Needless to say the main draw for schlepping out here and paying the steep admission fee to the observation tower was to soak in the amazing views of Tokyo, and on this incredibly clear autumn day -- to take in breathtaking views of Mt Fuji. The views offered were far superior to the ones we saw yesterday at the TMG building -- both because we were higher up and because the windows provided less glare and enhanced visibility.
We then got back on the subway and headed to the East Gardens of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. We weren't expecting much from this place, but we were pleasantly surprised as the park provided a nice respite from the hectic city and offered great views of the changing leaves on the trees.
Next we were off to the Akihabara electronics district which offers a bazaar of tiny shops along narrow aisles selling any electronic device. Everything from the most advanced cameras, computers and sound systems to the most esoteric of circuits and transistors are on offer. The area more recently has morphed into a "geek" heaven, with all sorts of shops selling anime, action figurines, etc. Efren kinda geeked out with all the anime. Very kool just walking around under the huge neon billboards and signage as dusk descended upon us.
After grabbing a snack here we decided to head back to Ueno by metro to look for a proper sushi joint in our neighborhood for dinner. In the Akihabara metro station, Craig had an interesting experience. Efren dropped a 100 yen coin. Thinking the guy standing next to us actually dropped the coin, Craig picked it up and gave it to the bystander. The guy was completely confused and initially refused to take the coin. Craig, thinking he was being nice, insisted he take it. The poor fellow was probably intimidated by the whole incident -- so he took the coin and ran. Craig was pretty embarrassed when he realized Efren, not this gentleman, had dropped the coin.
We finally returned to Ueno and had great sushi in random hole in the wall restaurant. No menu, no English. We just walked in and said "sushi". There were about 8 seats around a counter with a small preparation area behind. The older gentleman running the restaurant proceeded to cut up the fish and make the sushi right in front of us -- it was absolutely delicious.
We didn't plan to get up so early, but we are not yet used to the time difference and were up very early again. We made our typical walk through Ueno Park (past all the joggers) to the Ueno station. We bought tickets to take the subway over one stop to Asakusa to check out the very famous Senso-ji Temple complex.
The word on the street is this is Tokyo's most spectacular temple, and it didn't disappoint. The bright red color of the structures and the towering pagoda are amazing. Many locals stop here on their way to work to prey, and it offered a fascinating glimpse into the daily rituals of the people.
Legend has it that in 628 2 fisherman found a small gold statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy here. A shrine was then built to Kannon which survived the major 1923 earthquake, but not the WWII bombings. The complex we see today has been rebuilt.
Leading up to the temple is the shopping street of Nakamise-dori where all kinds of knick-knacks and souvenirs are on offer. We skipped the trinkets and headed right for the vendor selling hot sweet red bean buns -- delicious! At the entrance of Nakamise-dori is the Kaminarimon Gate with guardian statues and a very cool red ball latern.
After exploring Senso-ji we camped out at Starbucks for about an hour to warm up and to wait until more things opened up. From the Asakusa station we jumped on a different train line and headed to the relatively new Tokyo Sky Tree. When it opened in 2010 it became the tallest structure in Japan, and with the addition of another antenna in March 2011 it became the tallest tower in the world at 2,080 feet and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Needless to say the main draw for schlepping out here and paying the steep admission fee to the observation tower was to soak in the amazing views of Tokyo, and on this incredibly clear autumn day -- to take in breathtaking views of Mt Fuji. The views offered were far superior to the ones we saw yesterday at the TMG building -- both because we were higher up and because the windows provided less glare and enhanced visibility.
We then got back on the subway and headed to the East Gardens of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. We weren't expecting much from this place, but we were pleasantly surprised as the park provided a nice respite from the hectic city and offered great views of the changing leaves on the trees.
Next we were off to the Akihabara electronics district which offers a bazaar of tiny shops along narrow aisles selling any electronic device. Everything from the most advanced cameras, computers and sound systems to the most esoteric of circuits and transistors are on offer. The area more recently has morphed into a "geek" heaven, with all sorts of shops selling anime, action figurines, etc. Efren kinda geeked out with all the anime. Very kool just walking around under the huge neon billboards and signage as dusk descended upon us.
After grabbing a snack here we decided to head back to Ueno by metro to look for a proper sushi joint in our neighborhood for dinner. In the Akihabara metro station, Craig had an interesting experience. Efren dropped a 100 yen coin. Thinking the guy standing next to us actually dropped the coin, Craig picked it up and gave it to the bystander. The guy was completely confused and initially refused to take the coin. Craig, thinking he was being nice, insisted he take it. The poor fellow was probably intimidated by the whole incident -- so he took the coin and ran. Craig was pretty embarrassed when he realized Efren, not this gentleman, had dropped the coin.
We finally returned to Ueno and had great sushi in random hole in the wall restaurant. No menu, no English. We just walked in and said "sushi". There were about 8 seats around a counter with a small preparation area behind. The older gentleman running the restaurant proceeded to cut up the fish and make the sushi right in front of us -- it was absolutely delicious.
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