We had quite an adventurous time exploring the city of Tokyo.  It’s really easy to get around Tokyo on a train, it’s convenient and economical.  Taxis are also available but the fare is pretty expensive especially during rush hour.

Places to Visit 

Harajuku

Harajuku Station

We got off the train at Harajuku Station and right across the station is the famous Takeshita Street with all sorts of stores ranging from clothing to cute souvenirs to delicious local  street foods, they’ve got it all here.  This is a popular hangout spot for the younger crowd and is very busy and packed with people!  

Our favorite snack here is the Harajuku crepes, we had one before lunch and one after, it was fantastic. Just can’t get enough of those!!!

Meiji Shrine

The Meiji Shrine was a nice walk from Harajuku Station. The Meiji Shrine was built to honor Emperor Meiji, the 122nd emperor in Japan, and his consort, Empress Shoken. This shrine is amazing as it provides a serene environment surrounded by a man made forest in the middle of busy Shibuya. 

Meiji reigned during a time when Japan opened up to the world after a long period of isolation to foreigners at the end of Tokugawa Shogunate.  Meiji took the initiative to establish friendships with officials from other countries and introduce Western civilization and technology into Japan while still maintaining Japanese identity.  Empress Shoken supported the emperor during his reign and promoted National welfare and women’s education.

The Sake barrels and wine barrels on both sides of the entrance are offerings to the Meiji Shrine.

Chozu-ya or Tami’s-ya 手水舍

This pavilion contains basins filled with water for visitors to cleanse their hands and mouths before entering the main hall to worship their God. The ceremonial ritual begins by scooping up water from the water basin (chozubachi) into the left hand to cleanse before the right and then into the left again to clean the mouth.

Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken loved to write poems. It was said that the emperor and the empress wrote about 100,000 and 30,000 poems respectively during their lifetime. About 30 poems with English translation were selected and visitors can pick them from the Omikuji box at the main sanctuary at the shrine.

Hachiko Statue

Paying a visit to Hachiko statue and experiencing the world’s busiest crossing at Shibuya were among the highlights of the day. 

An Akita dog named Hachiko was the pet of a professor at the Tokyo Imperial University.  Every day starting in1925, he would go to the Shibuya train station to meet his owner when he came home from work. One day, his owner died at work from a brain hemorrhage, and Hachiko continued to go back to the train station every day for the next 10 years in hopes of his owners return. Hachiko is held up in Japanese culture as the perfect example of fidelity and loyalty.

Shibuya Crossing

This is the busiest crossing in the world with approximately 2.4 million people crossing per day. It is a must see place in Tokyo where action begins…

Met the missionaries at Shibuya crossing!

Tsukiji Fish Market

This market has virtually every kind of fresh seafood imaginable. We had an interesting morning shopping through the market, and then stopped for sashimi. Everyone ordered something different and then we all shared. Very tasty treat!

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple

Tsukiji Hongan-ji is a Jodo-Shinshu Buddhist temple founded by the monk Shinran. Its unique architecture is different from the traditional Japanese temples with a blend of Indian and European elements. It is located near Tsukiji Market.

Kaminarimon

Take the Maranouchi line to Akasaka-Mitsuke, transfer to the Ginza line to go all the way to Asakusa.  Walk for about 10 mins to Kaminarimon and Sensoji is at the end of entrance.

Kaminarimon 雷門 in Asakusa is at the south end of the entrance to Sensoji Temple, home to Kanon 观音, Bodhisittva of Compassion. At the front of the entrance hangs a huge lantern or chochin 堤灯 which is a source of light traditionally. The official name of Kaminarimon is actually Furaijinmon 风雷神門, which is engraved at the back of the entrance .

Kaminarimon is an awesome area to visit, it has a really neat gate at the entrance and then you walk down the street before you get to the temple complex. The street leading to Sensoji is known as Nakamise Shopping Street. It is lined with shops and restaurants on both sides selling souvenirs and traditional Japanese snacks and food. The north end of Sensoji is Hozomon entrance.

This complex was first built in 941 A.D. by.Tairano Kinmasa, a military commander, and was reconstructed in its current location in 1635, which is when the Gods of Wind and Thunder were first placed on the gate, which is what the name Kaminarimon signifies.  The gate and certain other buildings have been destroyed many times over the years, mostly by fire, each time having been rebuilt until finally they were rebuilt in 1960 by the founder of Panasonic with his own money and contributions from others.   

Sensoji

Gonpachi Nishiazabu
We went to Gonpachi in Roponggi, Tokyo, which is famous for filming a fight scene in the movie “Kill Bill”. There are many stalls at this place and we sampled different dishes at different stands. This place definitely gives a unique dining experience and the food was delicious!

Nothing can make Tina happier than vending machine ice cream in Japan.

We met the Siegfried family at the airport in Seoul, just like us, they had vacationed in Seoul for a week. Then they coincidentally showed up sitting right next to us on the flight to Japan! They gave us some good advice on Tokyo logistics and we said goodbye when we landed in Tokyo. And then we bumped into them again when we were trying to find the express train from Narita to Tokyo and they helped us out. A few days later we were at the Tokyo subway station and who did we bump into in the most populated city in the world? Our friends the Siegfrieds!! It really is a small world!

Shibuya Scramble Square

This is a shopping mall with a wide range of stores, from famous brand names to cute Japanese souvenirs, household items, bookstores, and many restaurants including Din Tai Fung. Shibuya Sky is also located in the building. This is a huge department store with about 14 floors of stores and restaurants, subway, down below, and a great observatory on the top of the building from which you have a panoramic view of all of Tokyo all the way out to Tokyo Bay and surrounding countryside. It was a little crowded, but not too bad and an interesting way to, get a great vantage point of all of Tokyo.

Shibuya Sky

We reserved tickets to the observatory way in advance as same day Tickets purchase are usually unavailable. But when we got there it looked like people were buying same day tickets so don’t let that stop you if you didn’t pre order 

From Asakusa station, we took the Ginza line all the way to Shibuya for 260 yen each.

Can you spot Shibuya Crossings and Meiji Shrine from the pic below?

This is the closest we got to Tokyo Tower this trip!

On a clear day, Mount Fuji can be visible from the roof. It’s a bit cloudy today but I think I spotted the snowy peak of the mountain in the distance, can you?

At the Roof of Shibuya Sky

After exiting the observatory, we passed by a hall full of giant artificial flower arrangements…

Din Tai Fung at Shibuya Scramble Square

After visiting Shibuya Sky, we went to Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐, just a level down from the entrance to the observatory, for lunch.  I was amazed at the option of a set lunch for about US $25 and that’s what we had.  It was a great lunch!

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