I arrived at Russell and Tanith's apartment around 6pm last night (Wednesday), having left San Francisco at midday Tuesday, and was warmly treated to an awesome Tempura dinner cooked up by Russell. This morning I managed to drag my severely jet-lagged ass out of bed and off to explore Tokyo. I started out by heading to Asakusa to check out the beautiful Asakusa Kannon Temple and its surrounds.
The Kaminarimon Gate leading to Asakusa
The five-story pagoda in Asakusa
Burning incense for good fortune outside the Asakusa Kannon Temple
I then walked across to the other side of the Sumida River to the district of Ryoguko. There I explored the National Sumo Stadium and its museum, followed by the Edo-Tokyo Museum to get a feel for the history of the city and its development.
Only in Tokyo, the crazy Asahi Beer Company building on the Sumida River
Ryoguko Sumo Stadium
This afternoon I found myself in the Shinjuku district complete with its massive skyscrapers and 'electric' streets. I took a trip up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to get a 360 degree view of this enormous metropolis and then wandered around the Times Square-like area of Shinjuku and grabbed a Ramen lunch off a tiny alley.
The plastic make-ups of all the available meals at a restaurant
The view from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, the view is like that in all directions!
A street in Shinjuku
Tanith and I have just been to the supermarket to grab some things for dinner. I really wish I'd taken my camera along. All the food items are so intricately prepared and displayed (with a delicate price to match!). I found a single spanspek (thats a melon to my non-SA readers) for 6000yen... Thats nearly US$60 or R450!! But everything just looks so good and interesting, I can just imagine the damage my mum could do to a credit card in there! (only kidding mum...)
Tomorrow morning I'm heading at crack of sparrows to see the famous tuna auction at the massive Tsukiji Fish Market. I can't wait...
No comments:
Post a Comment