Tokyo - the Second

After a glorious, much needed rest from yesterday’s air travels and immediate jaunt through central Tokyo, walking a solid 12 km through Shinjuku and Shibuya, it was time to start my second day in Japan.

This time I had a plan, to hit up Asakusa and Sensō-ji temple, make my way to Akihabara (the famous anime, electronic, videogame, and all round subculture district of Tokyo), then finish up the day at the Imperial palace.

Like most of my mornings in Japan, this one started with a nice, ice cold coffee from a vending machine. Vending machines are everywhere in Japan (another stereotype that proves true). Even as I was desperately lost in the back alleys of residential Tokyo, I was never more than a block away from the friendly glow of the vending machine. It was a brilliant convenience that I wish more countries would adopt!

Arriving in Asakusa, a district in Taitō, I’m immediately met with a swarm of tourists, a sight I wasn’t yet familiar with. It didn’t spoil the atmosphere (it was a Monday, so it wasn’t that busy), but Tokyo had been so vacant yesterday it was a surprising sight. The Kaminarimon, a beautifully ornate ‘Thunder Gate’ protected by Raijin and Fujin, was built in 941 CE as the entrance to Sensō-ji. 

Wandering around the massive red lantern, you are immediately greeted by even more tourists in, surprisingly, a long alley known as Nakamise-dori full of Japanese novelty wares and souvenirs. Wandering past all the plastic waving ninja, geisha, and dragon toys you emerge upon the absolutely stunning Sensō-ji temple complex. 

As Tokyo’s oldest temple, founded in 645 CE, you can’t help but stare in awe at the Buddhist marvels. Unfortunately the majority of what stands has been rebuilt, as fires destroyed the complex numerous times.

After doing the touristy thing and making a temple wish (I was lucky and received a good/regular one… some are truly awful!), I moved on to the Dragon fountain to purify before entering the temple.

Unfortunately, as I was travelling on my own, I naively watched what I thought was a woman take a big swig of the fountain water, to… I don’t know, inner purify. Little did I know the ritual was to cleanse the lips or if you drink you drink a small amount and/or spit it out. This I did not do, I took a big ol’ gulp and let’s just say I was certainly inner purified.

Moving along. Before you enter the temple there is another chance to cleanse and pray, with a large cauldron-like structure burning incense. The temple’s inside was as ornate as the outer edifice, with gold glinting from every angle. The rituals in temples is to toss a few coins, bow, clap twice, pray, and bow again. By the end of my 3 months I was a temple pro, bow clap bowing like a champ. Not sure my wishes have come true yet, but I imagine it’s a slow process.

After hopping on the metro toward Akihabara, I noticed the unusual low hanging advertisements for the first, and not the last, time. I wouldn’t say things were really small in Japan but for a roughly 6 ft man, I did have to duck a few times. 

Stepping out into Akihabara you have to wander a little before you get into the mess of things. Then suddenly, BAM, all the buildings are covered in videogame characters, idols, and scantily clad cartoons, it was brilliant! I had no idea what was going on and I was loving it. Loud noises, traffic, explosions from the shops, and women in French maid costumes trying to get you in to restaurants (more on that later)… Akihabara is what the West thinks Japan looks like. Of course, this is one small district that in no way represents Japan as a whole, but man am I glad it exists… Don’t ever lose your quirk Japan!

I stop at a little lunch-joint in Akihabara where you put your money into a vending machine, you place your order by choosing a button, receive a ticket, you then give that ticket to the chef (sometimes a waitress), and within a few minutes you have hot and fresh food in front of you. This pork combination was £4... and it was delicious. Fried pork, steamed rice (of course!), miso soup, salad, mayonnaise, pickle… Oh my… I want it again. I was very surprised to see mayonnaise, but the Japanese surprisingly use loads of mayonnaise!

After that lunch, it was time to walk to the Imperial Palace. Long story short… I didn’t see it this day. I did however, have a lovely wander through the Imperial Gardens which had some beautiful Japanese flowers I’d never seen before.

After walking through the Imperial Chiyoda district, back through Shibuya and Shinjuku, it was time for the evening meal before retiring for the night. Tokyo tsukemen was available in a little noodle-joint just around the corner, so why not… when in Rome! This time with added semi-soft boiled eggs and pork slices, tonight’s was a real winner.

After over 21 km of walking this day, it was time for relaxing in the hotel with a Japanese beer or two, like this Grand Kirin. Hope you’ve enjoyed today’s sights. See you again for more Nippon adventures!