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May 19, 2012

Japan day 2: Asakusa, Hamarikyu, Ginza, Shinjuku & Ueno

We started the day in Asakusa, a  district with a traditional Japanese atmosphere.

We walked through the Kaminarimon (Kaminari Gate)...



and along the Nakamise shopping street...



on the way to the Sensoji Temple.










The Sanja Matsuri festival was taking place that week-end, so the place was unusually busy at 9a.m.




Tried this bird-shaped cookie with red-bean filling.  The seller was confused while a customer had a good laugh at my photo shoot.


Tokyo cruise down the Sumida river to Hamarikyu, with a view over the newly constructed Tokyo Sky Tree.





 


Hamarikyu gardens, like an oasis in the middle of Ginza's skyscrapers.










We then walked to our sushi restaurant for lunch, observing the Nagakin Capsule Tower and an eyeglasses cleaning 'station' along the way.





After an unforgettable sushi feast, some shopping in Ginza, and someone was more than happy to raid Uniqlo's flagship store with 12 floors.


 



 
 
Next destination: Shinjuku. After visiting the Isetan department store, some strolling and taking in this vibrant and colorful district.








Movie buffs would have selected the Park Hyatt's top-floor New York Bar for a helicopter view of Tokyo. We opted instead for the nearby Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, which has an observation deck on the 45th floor.





Final destination of the day: Ueno, where we tried some soba noodles at this joint close to Ueno Station.

 
Don't speak Japanese? No need to worry. It's all very simple. Just select one of the model dishes displayed (above right). This is the plastic model of our choice:


Then walk into the restaurant and go to the ordering machine:


Insert your money and select the number of your dish. 

 

You get a ticket that you hand over to the cook. He asked me what noodle I wanted "Soba ? Udon?". Opted for soba and he instantly started preparing my dish.


And here's the final product. Resembles the plastic model, doesn't it ?


Finally, something sweet to finish off the day. Interesting Japanese flavors and shapes at Mister Donut.




 

1 comment:

  1. This entry really is helping my friend and I where to go in our planning! I'll be flying to Tokyo in 22 days, and wanted to let you know that I have used two of your photographs in my blog!

    http://stylishtravelersdiary.wordpress.com/

    I have linked your blog and credited your blog. The post is here!

    ReplyDelete