Tokyo
I visited Toyko in Autumn of 2015. We went to the Tsukiji fish market at 7:30 but could not get in until 9. So we walked around the nearby markets adjoining the fish market. The various food and items on sale in these markets were truly amazing. While there was lots of seafood that was very very fresh you could buy there were also spices, vegetables, almost anything you can think of. There were also lots of restaurants that were popular considering the lines that often stretched around the corner of people standing in the rain waiting to get in.
Tokyo National Museum: On a rainy afternoon sometimes the best place is the national museum were we looked at various cultural artifacts like swords, pottery, statues. My favorite was the 5,000 year old Jomon pot.
Hama-rikyu Gardens: Hama-rikyu Gardens (built in 1654) which was the private gardens of the shogun in the Edo period. The guest houses which had been recently restored and were on a small lake. It is in the middle of Tokyo and a welcome open space in such a crowded city.
Shibuya crossing, next to the train station, is reputed to be the busiest in the world. There was an amazing amount of people crossing when the light changed.
Imperial Palace: While were unable to visit the Emperor in the Palace we were able to stroll around the Imperial Garden. We entered through a stone gate and walked up through wall fortifications up to the main garden spaces. The garden was very expansive in the center of Tokyo.
Meiji-jingu shire: We walked through an extensive forested garden to reach the Meiji-jingu shrine which was established in 1920. There was a Shinto wedding going on so we watched the final wedding procession and blessing. There was a lot of sake bottles around the inner walls of the shrine from the Constitution Day ceremony which was the day before our visit.
We had lunch at the Design Festa, which is an independent DIY art studio building with studios that can be rented for the day. We ate in a small restaurant called Sahuratei, which specializes in Okonomiyaki or savory pancakes. You mix up the ingredients in a bowl and fry them on a hot grill at your table. They were excellent.
A brief note on restaurants and shops. Many small restaurants seem to specialize in one type of cooking, whether Okonomiyaki, Sushi, yakitori, etc allowing them to focus on the perfecting their craft. I have found that food is generally better at these restaurants than at others that one that try and offer more choices. I noticed also that there are a lot of small shops that also seem to specialize on a particular item. Whether bowls, shoes, or teapots they seem to do the same thing, probably to reduce sunk cost and inventory.
We also walked through historic Yanaka district which survived the earthquake and bombings of WW2. There were lots of cemeteries and shrines along the walk which gave a feel of Tokyo in the early 1900's. There was a very traditional feel to the housing in the area.
Read MoreTokyo National Museum: On a rainy afternoon sometimes the best place is the national museum were we looked at various cultural artifacts like swords, pottery, statues. My favorite was the 5,000 year old Jomon pot.
Hama-rikyu Gardens: Hama-rikyu Gardens (built in 1654) which was the private gardens of the shogun in the Edo period. The guest houses which had been recently restored and were on a small lake. It is in the middle of Tokyo and a welcome open space in such a crowded city.
Shibuya crossing, next to the train station, is reputed to be the busiest in the world. There was an amazing amount of people crossing when the light changed.
Imperial Palace: While were unable to visit the Emperor in the Palace we were able to stroll around the Imperial Garden. We entered through a stone gate and walked up through wall fortifications up to the main garden spaces. The garden was very expansive in the center of Tokyo.
Meiji-jingu shire: We walked through an extensive forested garden to reach the Meiji-jingu shrine which was established in 1920. There was a Shinto wedding going on so we watched the final wedding procession and blessing. There was a lot of sake bottles around the inner walls of the shrine from the Constitution Day ceremony which was the day before our visit.
We had lunch at the Design Festa, which is an independent DIY art studio building with studios that can be rented for the day. We ate in a small restaurant called Sahuratei, which specializes in Okonomiyaki or savory pancakes. You mix up the ingredients in a bowl and fry them on a hot grill at your table. They were excellent.
A brief note on restaurants and shops. Many small restaurants seem to specialize in one type of cooking, whether Okonomiyaki, Sushi, yakitori, etc allowing them to focus on the perfecting their craft. I have found that food is generally better at these restaurants than at others that one that try and offer more choices. I noticed also that there are a lot of small shops that also seem to specialize on a particular item. Whether bowls, shoes, or teapots they seem to do the same thing, probably to reduce sunk cost and inventory.
We also walked through historic Yanaka district which survived the earthquake and bombings of WW2. There were lots of cemeteries and shrines along the walk which gave a feel of Tokyo in the early 1900's. There was a very traditional feel to the housing in the area.
