Venturing into Tokyo

Day 3: 19th June

Waking up ridiculously early and with backpacks and water to hand, we were ready to start our adventure in Japan.  In order to experience the most of this incredible city, we decided to be proper tourists and go on more than a few tours in the designated cities.  Our first tour gave us a broad sense of what we could expect from Tokyo, from venturing through the concrete trees of the city to exploring beautiful forests with hidden shrines.  

The Tokyo Tower was our very first stop, and with a structure that reflected the Eiffel Tower in Paris, this steel piece of architecture allowed us to have amazing views of the whole city.  

Upon approaching the Tokyo Tower, I was surprised at how you almost stumbled across it. One minute you were driving past skyscrapers, and the next you were pulling underneath this structure.  But once you were at the top it felt like everything else surrounding the area was miles away, as we were almost 1,000 feet in the air.  Now although other countries have since surpassed the height of this tower, it did not disappoint as in a strange way you felt like you were a part of the city instead of viewing it from thousands of feet in the air.  

From here, we went to what felt like the outskirts of Tokyo to a beautiful park which was home to the Meiji Shrine.  Walking into the forest felt like you were being hit by a wall of air-conditioning, as the trees in the area provided the perfect shade against the hot humidity.  Whilst we were walking towards the shrine I noticed a man raking the leaves from the path, and it was this little touch that made me instantly fall in love with Japan.  It showed the pure respect the people there had for their surroundings and the environment, making me forget that there was millions of people living there.  The shrine was naturally beautiful with gates which you had to walk through to get to the main square.  It was here where people would pray and write on pieces of wood their prayers and wishes for the future.  There was such a beautiful sense of tranquility and peacefulness here that made me wish we had longer so that we could explore more.  

 Whilst on the bus journey we passed the National Diet Building and the Asakasa Guest House, but unfortunately could not stop as these were drive-by stops.  Although in all honesty, I was glad to sit on the bus for a bit and enjoy the sights going past the window as I was so tired from traveling the day before! We were supposed to go into the Imperial Palace East Gardens, but unfortunately for us, the day we went they were closed. Just our luck! But instead we walked around the plaza area of the Imperial Palace and saw the famous double bridge just outside.  Looking at it was like a painting.  The golds and greens of the area was a major contrast the to the city and roads surrounding the immediate area. It showed how you never knew what to expect whilst in Japan. 

Day 4: 20th June

We were told that there was a famous fish market in Tokyo where if you get there around 5am you could go into where all of the fish are brought in from the sea and see them being transported to the different markets.  However, you had to be among the first 50 people to get in.  Safe to say, we didn't make it in early enough to see the fish being brought to the market, however around 1pm, we ventured over to see what all of the fuss was about.  Experiencing the Tokyo Fish Market was one of my favourite moments of the whole trip.  In fact, the whole day was amazing!

My cousin had recommended this amazing sushi restaurant right in the centre of the market called Sushizanmai.  When you walked in, everyone would shout and welcome you to the restaurant (in Japanese, of course).  As soon as we were greeted like this I had high hopes of this place.  The sushi was so fresh that the fish was still warm, but there was also the option of eating it alive. Yep, you read right! Whilst we were eating we noticed two guys next to us had ordered food but it seemed to be moving.  They were eating a fish that had been skewered in a way that the muscles keeping it alive were intact, but everything else was removed.  Talk about fresh, right? Safe to say I was happy with my sushi!

On this day, it was actually our free day to do whatever we pleased.  I had done a bit of research and had found this park nearby called Ueno Park.  It was similar to Central Park in New York where there was a park in the middle of the city.  It was nice to have a chilled out day and have a wander rather than rushing around on a tour, and making the most of where we were.  We stayed here for the majority of the day as there was also a museum in the park which gave more information about the history of Japan.  On the way back, we decided to have a wander around Tokyo at night to see all of the lights that Tokyo is famous for.  However, we did not have any luck as wherever we went it was just lit up with normal street lights.  Cool, but not quite what we were looking for! We did walk into this tunnel, but on the other side we saw something breathtaking.

The picture above shows the view that we were greeted with when exiting this tunnel.  Tall skyscrapers? Check.  Anime billboards? Check. Bright lights? Yep! We had found the perfect area to witness Tokyo at night! This was why this was one of my favourite days because we had managed to have an incredible day on our own, and we felt like we had truly experienced Tokyo.  In my previous post, I mentioned how you felt completely safe in the dodgier areas of Tokyo.  Well, this is a perfect example.  As we were wandering down the side streets (all similar to the ones above), we noticed that there were a few clubs and bars advertised.  But between these there were staircases leading downwards.  Eventually we realised that they were stripclubs! But regardless, there were so many families wandering around, showing us how safe Tokyo was at night (well, to our knowledge!).

Day 5: 21st June

The day had arrived.  The one we were all waiting for and the soon to be highlight of the ENTIRE holiday.  On this day, we were going to go to Mount Fuji.  Amazing right? It's worth noting at this point that we had gone to Tokyo during their rainy season, so naturally had brought loads of clothes with us such as jeans, jackets etc to ensure that we were fully prepared for the rain.  However we were really lucky in that for the whole trip there, it was really sunny and hot.  Lovely, right? Well one day it wasn't.  Yeah, the day we were due to go to Mount Fuji, it was literally tipping it down.  I don't just mean rain, I mean hurricane force winds, fog - the lot.  Regardless, we thought 'hey, it  must be brightening up at some point today right?!'. No.  We had managed to get to the 5th station via the tour bus but you couldn't see anything.  We made the most of it, to say the least.  Whilst everyone else was rushing into the gift shop to get shelter we stayed outside in the rain and made the most of it! After all, how many times will we have this opportunity again?

We had a picture with a painting of Mount Fuji instead!

Not only were we due to go to Mount Fuji, we were also scheduled to go in a cable car and go on a boat with spectacular views of the mountain.  We arrived at the cable car station 10 minutes after they were closed and thank goodness for that.  I would not have wanted to go into the cars as they were swaying viciously from side to side! The boat was also cancelled due to the weather, but we did have a picture with it from the comfort of an art gallery nearby.

Despite the weather it was still an incredible day and we definitely made the most of it! It was from this point that we went to the train station to get a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto...

 Beckora x