Sightseeing in Tokyo

My first hotel was in Shinjuku, akin to Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, a crowded, bustling area of Tokyo. I understand that the sleazier area of Shinjuku, with "massage parlors" and criminal activities, are behind the bright lights and the glitter in back streets. But I did not feel any danger even among the narrow lanes that ran at right angles to the main street.

A fascinating display of (plastic) food at a restaurant window. Shinjuku is full of interesting eating places full of partying salarymen.

I took a full-day city tour of Tokyo and the first stop was the Fukagawa Edo Museum which is a reproduction of a riverside district in Edo, as Tokyo was known previously. To quote from the Museum's brochure, "The area on the east bank of the Sumida River, called Fukagawa, prospered from around the mid-19th century with people actively engaged in various business and cultural pursuits". Built almost entirely of wood, the houses and shops were located close to each other.

The quiet streets and lanes around the Museum, typical of a residential neighborhood in Japan. No blaring radios or TVs, no honking cars or buses, mostly pedestrians and cyclists.

This shop sells tombstones

We also visited the Hama-Rikyu Garden which is in an urban setting not far from the sea. It was the residence of a feudal lord during the Edo period and later became a duck hunting ground.

We saw a number of stray cats in the garden, abandoned by their owners. (Just the way some Hong Kong people abandon their pet dogs in the country parks.) There are signs warning visitors not to feed the cats but the cats are obviously being fed because they weren't thin.

We went on a cruise on Tokyo Bay which included lunch. It was not a sunny day and in any case a day time cruise is rarely interesting.

The Imperial Palace had been a familiar sight to me, having seen it for nearly all my life in images of Japan that appear in calendars and other collection. When we visited, the inner courtyard was not open. (Apparently, it opens only twice a year.) The Palace is another tranquil setting in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

Our final stop on the city tour was the Asakusa Temple and the nearby Nakamise shopping arcade.

Reading one's fortune at the Asakusa Temple.

Nakamise is crammed with tiny food and souvenir shops but I found this tranquil restaurant off a side street.

Kimonos!

A tiny eating place off a side street


This shop apparently sold (politically incorrect) whale meat

I returned to Asakusa & Nakamise with Govindan's family and two Sri Lankans. I saw this street scene straight from the last century.

Busking in Nakamise. As you can see, they didn't have a collection hat while they sang. It only came out after the singing and the crowd had drifted away by that time. Not a good strategy!

I had a great time in Asakusa/ Nakamise. I am sure to revisit Tokyo so I could go down to Nakamise.