KarenWoo,
Japan has been a very popular tourist destination for a long time and it was closed during the pandemic longer than most other countries. So, when it reopened only last fall 2022, there was a surge of tourism which has, from my impressions, continued at a steady pace.

Sunday in Tokyo would be a busy day at most shrines for families; add to that the busy tourist street we visited and that it was a perfect day weather-wise. We had wonderful weather for most of the trip, only having rain during the day toward the end when we visited Kyoto.

Thanks so much for following - more photos to come, I promise!

Monday, October 23
Tokyo

Today was the day with our volunteer guide, Yoshino, who was connected to us through the Shinegawa SGG Goodwill Guides , a group of volunteers who provide a free guide service. I submitted an application for a guide about 2 months before we left and, soon after, heard from Yoshino, a retiree. He asked for our interests and then created a plan for us. Since Tokyo is new to us, I deferred a lot to his suggestions. We spent a VERY busy day getting a lot of “tastes” of many areas, from new to old and everywhere in between. He is a lovely man who worked very hard to give us a good experience - the only real disappointment was that his English was very limited and we really were unable to converse with him behind the very basics. It was more like having a chaperone than a guide. Still, he prepared packets of material for us (!) so we knew what we were seeing and where we were going. And he kept us on schedule almost to the minute! We lost count of the number of metro trips we took!

We visited:

-Imperial Palace Outer Garden
-Meiji Life Insurance Building
-Walked through Maranouchi Nakadori
-Stopped by Tokyo Station
-Moved in to Nihonbashi, looked at historical buildings
-Stopped into Mitsukoshi Honten (department store) to see elegant shop and food display
-Stopped by Nihonbashi Bridge, once a central point for 5 roads, now undergoing restoration
-Ginza for lunch at a meat grill restaurant, then a brief stop in Muji
-After lunch, we traveled to the lovely Rikugien Garden (fabulous !) and sat and enjoyed matcha (tea) and a sweet
-Traveled to charming Yanaka, stopping in a shrine and cemetery and walking through Yanaka Ginza, the traditional market street
-Finally ending at the Nezu Shrine, one of Tokyo’s oldest shrines, completely lacking in tourist crowds, so a serene way to end the day.

It was a day of contrasts and snippets of places; we were glad to get the tastes though we were sad we couldn’t fully engage with our generous companion. Still, he had a sweet disposition and was completely committed to making our day as fulfilling as possible.


Yoshino at Nezu Shrine
Photo by Michael

I am amazed at the crowds at the tori at Miyajima. We didn’t wait at all to take our photos in April 2019. I am enjoying your trip report which is making me want to return to Japan.Looking forward to reading more! We loved our time there, filled with so many surprises.
We love Asia but we had put off visiting Japan. Once we arrived there we wondered why it had taken us so long.

HappyTrvlr,
I do know what you mean about wondering why it took so long to visit Japan! In many ways, I feel the same way. And it was one surprise after another - by the end of the trip, I was really overwhelmed. And loved it, despite not expecting to feel that way at all.

Walk with Yoshino - 1
From the Imperial Palace…

We started our journey with Yoshino at the Imperial Palace Outer Garden, stopping in front of Nijubashi (Niju Bridge), a popular photo stop. The Imperial Palace is built on the site of the Edo Castle, home to the Shogun before 1868.










Nijubashi


Carefully trimmed and shaped pine tree


Big buildings and little trees

Walk with Yoshino - 2
On to Maranouchi Nakadori to Tokyo Station

Maranouchi Nakadori is a business district which underwent redevelopment and is now a tree-lined street that is closed to traffic between 11am and 3pm (we were a little early for the street closure). Mitsubishi is the anchor on the street.

There’s a lot of art on the street and a “Rugby shrine” set up in 2019 for Rugby World Cup. Guess who’s the sponsor!






Rugby shrine


Juxtapositions


Original Bank of Japan building


Another view of the Bank of Japan


Couple posing in financial district!


Tokyo Station, a historical structure, originally built in 1908, was bombed in 1945 and rebuilding was completed in 2012.

Walk with Yoshino - 3

And then, off to the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Honten main store (department store), a world-class department store with its museum-quality exhibit and elegant food department (called depachika).

We whizzed through, ogling the beautiful displays, and, though tempted to stop and shop, we’re really only here to get a “flavor” of the place.


The statue of Ten-nyo Magokoro (Heavenly Maiden with Sincerity) by Gengen Sato, created in 1960, which is seen as one enters the elegant department store, Mitsukoshi Honten. It’s quite a jaw-dropping sight!






Ground floor food court in Mitsukoshi Honten

Walk with Yoshino - 4
(can you believe how many places we’ve been so far, and we’re only halfway through the day!)

Continuing our journey with Yoshino…we walked over the Nihonbashi bridge, once the center of old Tokyo-Edo. It was originally built in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who started the Tokugawa shogunate.

The current bridge dates back to 1911, with its many handsome statues. Sadly, the city erected a highway which obscured the older and beautifully-detailed work before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to connect the venues with Haneda airport, but they are now working on restoring its original look. An extensive project to remove the highway and build a section of the expressway underground has begun and will take about 10 years to complete.



The highway divides above the bridge


Beautiful details





Painting of early Nihonbashi in train station

Walk with Yoshino -5
After eating lunch at a BBQ restaurant and taking a quick run-through in Ginza, we headed to Rikugien Garden, a beautifully landscaped garden that felt very far away from the downtown world we had been exploring. I began to breathe, at last!

This was one of my favorite stops during the day - it really was peaceful and surprisingly few people were here.












Matcha and sweets




A little autumn color

Walk with Yoshino-6

And, there is still more! Though we are starting to flag, Yoshino takes us to Yanaka, a district in Tokyo that retains an old-world atmosphere. We loved it. We first stopped by a small Buddhist temple and cemetery before heading off to the market street, Yanaka Ginza. The street is known for cats and has 7 statues placed in various spots. We found 3.


Gate to Kyooji temple












Yanaka Ginza

Walk with Yoshino-7
Nezu Shrine

Finally! Our last stop - and truly a wonderful stop. The Nezu shrine is one of the oldest places of worship in Tokyo and is considered an Important Cultural Property. When the Emperor Meiji moved his residence from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1868-69, he sent envoys to the shrine to intercede with the gods on his behalf.

It’s another peaceful venue with a wonderful aura.

And our last stop with Yoshino!

Sorry I didn't post sooner...your photos are really fabulous! Reminding me of being in many of the same places....
I stayed in Yanaka on my first visit to Japan almost 20 years ago. I guess its small town atmosphere stayed with me....and inspired many more trips to Japan!

Thanks so much, Mara! How cool that you stayed in Yanaka! I wish we had a chance to go back and explore more - it really has a small town flavor and a nice atmosphere.

If you like these photos, you’ll probably really enjoy the ones further into my trip! I’ll get there eventually - I still have a few more days in Tokyo, though we’re not quite as busy after today!

Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed your day with the volunteer guide! It's too bad his English is so limited. Not that I'm criticizing him. I don't speak a second language. I'm sure it would have been nice if you could have conversed with him more.

I love all your photos! That's such a nice photo of your and your husband with the wonderful backdrop. And a nice photo of your husband with the guide. In the big building and little trees photo, the trees look like they are dancing and swaying. Many parts of Tokyo look very modern which I wasn't expecting. And that department store is something else! I've never seen such an elegant department store; love that statue in the foyer, so unique.

Thanks for the wonderful photos, progol. I enjoy seeing some of the same places from your perspective and appreciating the things we've missed. So many small surprises.

Thanks, KarenWoo and tripplanner! There's so much to see and, as we've seen, tp, those small surprises add up to something very special.

KarenWoo, Tokyo is huge and much of it was bombed during the war, and much of it is modern, even futuristic! There are downtown business districts with very tall, very modern buildings. You'll see what I mean in an upcoming post. There are pockets of the city that escaped the bombing, like Yanaka, that retain the very old-world feeling. I'm no expert on Tokyo, though, to fully describe Tokyo -- but it is vast!

Despite the language barrier, Yoshino was amazing. He had corresponded with me extensively before we arrived and had printed out information on the places we were visiting! He really was good company and worked so hard to make sure we had a good experience, which we did. Oh -- and they don't accept tips, either! We do pay for meals and transportation/parking, but that's it. I did buy a few token items with NYC on them to give as a thank-you gift.

tp, I'm hoping to see your photos soon, too! I know you visited a lot of places that I'd wanted to see, but never got to, and would especially love to see them.

Will do. May be in another week or two, as I've been busy with work.

No rush. Getting back to work is enough of a task after a busy trip, especially readjusting to the time difference. And I’m sure I’ll be posting for a while - I’m only up to day 4!

Tokyo Tuesday
October 24 - Shinjuku

We went to Shinjuku to see the view from the Metropolitan Government building - an amazing view of Tokyo and a bargain because it’s free! Walking through the skyscraper district to the building was a series of long stretches of blocks filled with massive buildings- it was a bit too much of the concrete jungle but worth it when we got to the observation tower.

We then walked to the other side of the Shinjuku station to get a feel for the infamous nightlife districts - which we saw only in the day. This is Golden Gai, a series of six narrow alleys that are crammed with tiny bars and eateries. During the day, it was pretty quiet, but at night, it’s a popular place to be. I know we missed the craziness of the nighttime activity but at least we got to see where all the partying takes place!

Oh, and did I mention the monsters! We saw the infamous Godzilla head that’s accessible from Hotel Gracery and is a Shinjuku landmark. We discovered a small gorilla in the area, too, though there is a famous one somewhere else in Tokyo (we didn’t see this one, though). Maybe we discovered a gorilla on the loose?

After leaving the Shinjuku station, we began walkingtoward the Metropolitan Government Building


Passing through a commercial district


And into the skyscraper district