LittleSandyBeach

On our first afternoon in Toyko we went to see the world’s tallest tower… The Skytree. It was built to broadcast television and radio signals as Toyko Tower is surrounded by skyscrapers which were affecting the signal.

At the base of the tower is a massive shopping centre which was our first taste of how busy this city is! On the roof of the shopping centre was a small market which was decorated with hundreds of brightly coloured lanterns.

On our first full day we started off by checking out Senso-ji which is Tokyo’s oldest temple founded in 645AD. We entered through the Kaminarimon Gate that has a giant lantern hanging which weighs 700kg!

Inside we found the famous Nakamise-dori Shopping Street where you can buy traditional snacks, crafts and souvenirs. At the end of the street is the main hall of the temple called Hondo.

Then we got to see the five storied pagoda which is huge at nearly the same height as an 18 story building. The five tiers represent earth, water, fire, wind and void. The central pillar is designed to absorb seismic energy and is said to have inspired the design of the Skytree.

We then went to the Ameyoko Market which is an open-air shopping district that runs along the JR Yamanote train line for 500 metres. There are over 400 shops and stalls to explore selling everything from clothes to fresh fish.

In the afternoon we went to Yanaka Ginza which is a small, quieter shopping street known for its ‘old town’ feeling. It has small, independent shops selling snacks and souvenirs. It’s also known as Cat Town with lots of statues dotted down the street and many cat themed souvenirs.

The next day we started off going to the cinema near our hotel to watch the new Mario film as we thought it was a must do! We enjoyed it and it was nice going in the morning as it was very quiet!

Afterwards we went to take a look around the Imperial Palace which is home to the Emperor of Japan. The grounds are absolutely massive so we strolled around and got to see the main gate that leads into the palace.

From 1603 it was the headquarters of the Tokugawa Shogunate and for 260 years it was the biggest castle in the world. It was mostly destroyed in 1945 by the firebombing of Toyko however was rebuilt in 1968.

Then we went to the nearby area of Jimbocho Book Town. It’s home to over 150 book stores which range from five story modern book chains to small independent book sellers who mostly specialise in antique books.

We then walked to the Akihabara area which is also known as Electric Town. It’s the global capital for anime and gaming. There were so many different arcades, many of them spread over 8 floors with every kind of game you can think of, especially of course claw machines.

For dinner that evening we went and tried a new chain restaurant called Go Go Curry. It’s famous for its very affordable Kanazawa-style curry. You can pick between pork, chicken, sausage or shrimp. We ordered at the vending machine and took our seats at the counter and enjoyed the meal a lot. Makes a nice change from sushi and ramen!

The next day we started off at Tsukiji Fish Market. This is where before 2018 the famous tuna auctions took place with some fish going for over 1 million pounds! The auctions and wholesale market was moved to a new, larger facility at Toyosu Market but there’s still over 460 stalls and restaurants selling all types of food like Wagyu beef to oysters.

We then went across to Ginza shopping district which is Toyko’s most glamorous shopping area with all the high end brands and flagship stores. We went around the Uniqlo flagships store which is the biggest in the world, spread across 12 floors!

The biggest shopping complex in the area is called Ginza Six with over 260 stores. We saw that it has a free rooftop garden so we went to check it out. A very peaceful escape!

Then we went to Hama-rikyu Garden. It is famous for being the hunting ground for Tokugawa Shogun. Interestingly its pond is actually seawater as it directly connects to Toyko Bay and the water level falls and rises with the tide.

We were strolling around one of the ponds and suddenly noticed something you wouldn’t expect there, a Stingray! After some research we found out that many different sea creatures come in and out of the ponds free through the sluice gates connected to Toyko Bay.

We also got to see the 300 year old black pine tree. It was planted in 1709 and has a massive canopy stretching nearly 18 metres across!

To be continued…