Our final destination of the trip was Tokyo. What an interesting country – so much weirdness and cool at the same time. I have never visited a country so clean, well organized, and easy to navigate. We knew about three words of Japanese and few people spoke English, but it was fairly easy to get around.

Because of our limited time, we only hit the main sights. Tokyo is basically a modern city as the old Edo architecture was destroyed during WWII.  There were some shopping alleys that retained that ‘old Japan’ feel and it was fun to wander down them near the Asakusa gate area, where we stayed, visiting shops that still sell traditional Japanese craft products. Many Japanese people shop at these stores selling yukata, kimono, incense, ritual worship items, fans, stationery, etc.

If you like Japanese food, the dining experience was also incredible as there are more eating establishments than anything else in Tokyo. I don’t think anyone cooks there. Each restaurant specializes in a particular food, i.e. ramen or pork cutlets, grilled eel, etc.

There were 8-story buildings where each floor was a separate restaurant, or an internet café (a building full of cafes). I stopped in on the da Vinci art store in the neighborhood of Shinjuku– a mega store with 8 floors devoted to art supplies. Just incredible.

Unlike Thailand and Cambodia, Japan wasn’t very hot, perhaps upper 70s at the most during the day. But it was rainy and very humid. It felt more muggy than Thailand or Cambodia which had more tropical type breezes. Above, the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in Tokyo. It was mostly in the clouds during our stay.

One of the absolute highlights of the trip was the visit to the Studio Ghibli museum. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside the museum and guards are posted everywhere. The exhibits were well organized with loads of stuff on display, covering the walls of every room – artwork and storyboards, sketchbooks, color palettes – as well as replicas of work desks where artists painted and drew the artwork for the films.  The yellow bus above is the special museum bus that picks up passengers from the train station.

 

The Asakusa shrine,  one of the most important Buddhist shrines in Tokyo.

Inside the shrine. The bottom picture is a station where you get your fortune told for a 100 yen donation. Pretty sketchy, but then I would say that as I got a fortune that told me I will get diseases and be abandoned by people. No, that is not an exaggeration. Harsh!

Examples of traditional stores in the alleyways around the Asakusa shrine area.

There are a few Japanese gardens in Tokyo, we went to visit one of the better ones – Koishikawa Korakuen. An absolutely delightful place smack dab in the heart of Tokyo (click on the photos to enlarge).

 

Meiji shrine – very peaceful and austere, with huge gates set inside a mature forest

We witnessed a traditional wedding procession. In the photo below, the bride is dressed in a white kimono, with a white cloth draped over her head.

 

This picture is titled ‘Japanese bench’ as it’s the closest thing to a public bench that exists in Tokyo.  Japanese people must be very tired.

 

Shibuya – the most crowded part of Tokyo. The square has giant screens playing commercials at full volume. A million and a half people cross the road when the lights change.  I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Although we did eat at an excellent Japanese grill restaurant. You just have to walk past a bunch of deafening pachinko parlors to get to it.

 

The next day we visited the Akihabara neighborhood – a manga and anime lover’s paradise. Also a gamer’s paradise. Building and buildings devoted to the (apparently) insatiable desire for manga and anime books, films, figures, games, etc.

Also, a place where you can find all kinds of strange cafes to have a bite to eat. Such as the maid cafes where young-ish girls dressed up as maids serve you and decorate your food with nauseatingly cute designs.

The ‘maids’! No, we did not go to one of these cafes. We almost stepped inside and then chickened out. These photos are from the internet.

 

One of the many gimmicky dessert cafes in Tokyo – a café that specializes in a half loaf of bread topped with ice cream.

And last, but not least, Karaoke!  We had a blast, only wish we could have gone one more time.  The drinks were disgusting, but you had to order one.

We all felt that each country deserves a second trip. Less than a week in each place was definitely too short. Ah well, next time perhaps.