Greg's Old Adventures in Japan: Tokyo, Day 2

Tuesday, our second day in Tokyo, began with the second Hello Kitty Bus Ride. The bus took us from Tokyo Station through the Nihonbashi area to Asakusa, where we saw the views along the Sumida River, as well as the crowds at the large temple in the area. January 3rd is still the height of the new year celebrations here in Japan, and many people were there to mark the occasion.

The second Hello Kitty bus, which took us through Asakusa and Ueno.

After the tour we went to Akihabara, the electronics district, for lunch. There are restaurants strewn throughout many of the stores, so we took the opportunity to stare at all the gadgets (Jonathan and I ogled a Playstation2 demo on a 65" flatscreen TV).

After lunch, we took the subway back to Asakusa to explore further on foot. First, we saw the Kaminarimon Gate (Thunder Gate), which is about 100 feet away from the stairs to the subway station.

The gate was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1960. On the other side is a traditional shopping area, the Nakimise. It's basically a narrow pedestrian-only street, lined with shops. The shops are there year-round, although they do the most business at this time of year, thanks to the crowds.

Like I said, crowded.

The temple itself is called Sensoji, and has existed in some form or another since 645. The original was destroyed during WW2 firebombing, and the current structure dates from 1958.

Sensoji, with the five-story pagoda visible behind.

While Sam and Irving stood in line at Sensoji to get everyone fortunes for the new year (Asakusa is one of the only places offering multi-lingual fortunes), the rest of us walked over to the Sumida River. There was a pretty, if not very warm, waterfront park, which afforded us a great view of the Asahi Beer Building.

The building, designed by Philippe Starck and completed in 1989, has earned a number of unflattering nicknames, "golden poop" among them.

After finishing up in Asakusa, we took a subway to Shibuya, where we observed pedestrians filling the Hachiko crossing, and window shopped at some of the stores.

Lots of bright shiny lights. That's Shibuya.

After that, we traveled one quick stop on the train to Harajuku, a trendy shopping district. We walked down Takeshita-dori, a pedestrian-only street, and took in the, er, "sights".

Jonathan in Harajuku

The street is home to a whole subculture which Sam could explain at length but I don't know much about. Crazy fashions, Hello Kitty lingerie, and crepes filled with ice cream and slices of cake line the whole thing. You really just need to walk down it yourself to really understand.

Anyway, after our walk down the street we ate at Sakuratei, a restaurant specializing in okonomiyaki. After dinner, Sam, Jonathan, and Suzanne headed for home, but Susan, Irving and I set out for Tokyo Tower.

333 meters high, built in 1956.

After paying 850 yen apiece, we took an elevator to the observation deck and had a look around. I took the first picture the other night, the others are actually from last year, when I had a tripod along with me. The view was the same both times, you'll just have to trust me.