progol

It didn’t take long to get upstairs to the viewing area. And it was surprisingly easy to manage - there were other tourists, but as you can see, not really crowded. We spent some time soaking in the views and we were awed by the size of the city.

The views everywhere!


Tokyo is huuuge!


Views in all directions


Taking in the view


And many skyscrapers


More skyscrapers


Looking down - yikes!


Central sitting area

progol

It took us a while to orient ourselves after leaving the Metropolitan Government building. We walked a ways through the concrete landscape and stumbled into a long underground tunnel which led to the train station. We eventually managed to find our way out and came to the Other Side of the Station and a different world!




The infamous Godzilla!


Golden Gai (during the day it’s quiet but I can just feel how its electric at night!)


Golden Gai


A not-famous Gorilla

tripplanner001

Too funny as I took a photo of the unidentified gorilla too. We really crisscrossed each other's paths in Tokyo. Now I'm curious about the other cities.

yestravel

So happy to discover this TR with your fabulous photos. I always love reading about Japan. I am gobsmacked at the crowds in some of the places.

mjs

I am still catching up with work. Surprised to see no photos of Shinjuku at night where it really shines. If into food highly recommend the Isetan Depachika. The east side of Shinjuku station is another world from the west side. The west side is mostly government buildings, some hotels and of course the toilet museum. The station itself is quite confusing but I see the signs have improved this year. I have been through this station over 100 times over the years but still get disoriented. I used to sometimes end up on the west side instead of the east. Luckily they have a new tunnel which makes it more easy to get from one side to the other. Otherwise you can use your Suica card to get from one side to the other at the charge of a platform fee. I find it fascinating that Godzilla catches the eye of tourists.

progol

<<Too funny as I took a photo of the unidentified gorilla too. We really crisscrossed each other's paths in Tokyo. Now I'm curious about the other cities.>>

tp, it really is funny - I'm only sorry we didn't manage to meet up somewhere. It would've been fun!

<<So happy to discover this TR with your fabulous photos. I always love reading about Japan. I am gobsmacked at the crowds in some of the places.>>

Thank you, yestravel! Fortunately, we managed to miss most of the worst of the crowds but it was truly something how crowded that one street was on Sunday! And thank you for your comments - I'm loving your TR, too!

<<Surprised to see no photos of Shinjuku at night where it really shines. If into food highly recommend the Isetan Depachika. The east side of Shinjuku station is another world from the west side. The west side is mostly government buildings, some hotels and of course the toilet museum. The station itself is quite confusing but I see the signs have improved this year. I have been through this station over 100 times over the years but still get disoriented. I used to sometimes end up on the west side instead of the east. Luckily they have a new tunnel which makes it more easy to get from one side to the other. Otherwise you can use your Suica card to get from one side to the other at the charge of a platform fee. I find it fascinating that Godzilla catches the eye of tourists.>>

mjs, I may've mentioned this further up on the post, but sadly, our energy level flags by the end of the day and traveling through the city to see the bright neon lights just wasn't gonna happen. We are big fans of "Midnight Diner" and wanted to see Golden Gai, where the series was based (though interiors were filmed in a studio, I believe). We do what we can these days. So a day visit to Shinjuku was what we could do. Thanks for the additional info on the Shinjuku station and the depachika - I'm sure other newbies to Tokyo and Japan will appreciate the information, though we are back at home now.

More to come soon!

mrwunrfl

>> It took us a while to orient ourselves after leaving the Metropolitan Government building.
Congrats on finding your way out of Nishishinjuku. It is easy to get lost in that area when trying to find your way between the station and the Hilton or Hyatt Regency which are very close to that building. It feels like it is straightforward but people who have stayed at those hotels multiple times get lost. Had a taxi driver get us lost in that area on the way back from Kabukicho.

Just below Godzilla/Gojira's head in that photo is a poster for a new movie about him. I tried to buy a ticket but could not figure out the ticket machine and left. Got charged for it, disputed with Amex and got an instant credit.

depachika - new word for me, clear on the meaning tho, given that I knew that Isetan is a depaato.

That Gojira breathes fire and smoke and roars. Fun to see at night. Good restaurants on that street.

I just noticed that vertical sign on the left side of the photo saying Godzilla Road. I have used "Kabukicho, Gojira" as my destination for a taxi driver and got dropped off at that spot.

progol

Tokyo, October 25
Hamarikyu Gardens, Tsukiji Fish Market

On our last day of Tokyo, we looked for a gentle experience, and found it in the Hamarikyu Gardens. It’s beautifully laid out and we enjoyed, once again, the matcha and sweet while sitting over the water.

It was originally built as a feudal lord's Tokyo residence and duck hunting grounds during the Edo Period (1603-1867), but later served as a strolling garden and as an imperial detached palace before eventually being opened to the public in its current form.

After visiting the Hamarikyu Gardens, we walked to the nearby Tsukiji Fish market, a district adjacent to the site of the former Tsukiji Wholesale Market. It consists of a few blocks of wholesale and retail shops, as well as restaurants, all set within a series of narrow lanes. Since we were there in the afternoon, many of the shops were closed, but we lucked out at a fabulous place for lunch. I almost didn’t go since I’d heard it was too crowded, but we thoroughly enjoyed our meal - and the experience!

KarenWoo

Wow! I am so shocked at how large Tokyo is. I've always heard it's a very big city but it's gigantic! Much larger than I expected. And I love the Godzilla photo and the gorilla photos. So funny!

Do you think 6 nights is enough for Tokyo?

yestravel

Hi Karen- “Do you think 6 nights is enough for Tokyo?” I’ll give you my opinion. We’ve been to Tokyo twice , once in 2019 and this fall and spent 7 days and 8 days and still haven’t seen all that one could see. We tried to acclimate to the time change both trips. It’s HUGE, but great transportation so very easy to get around. I love Tokyo.

mrwunrfl

Tokyo is the largest city in the world. Over 34 million people. About 3 to 3.4 million passengers go through Shinjuku Station every day.

progol

KarenWoo,
Tokyo has so many quirky sights and landmarks! We only scratched the surface!

To answer your question whether 6 nights is enough for a first (or only) visit really depends upon how important it is to get a flavor of the city vs seeing other places and how long you’re going to be in Japan. I’d say 6 nights was just right for us. Many people stay 5-6 nights but do day trips from the city as well. And there’s so much to see elsewhere in Japan, that for MOST people, I’d say that 6 nights would be more than enough. We liked Tokyo, I can’t say we fell in love with the city, but I’m glad we gave it the time we did. It is hard to get a feel for it right away - it’s huge, and it really takes time to make sense of it. And of course, there’s still so much to the city that we didn’t get to see - and we didn’t do any day trips!

Wow, mrwunrfl! 3-4 million people go through Shinjuku station every day! That is unbelievable!

progol

Back to October 25….

Hamarikyu Gardens, a respite in the middle of a very urban environment

A place of calm


Lovely plantings


Beautiful vistas (though hints of the urban landscape are there in the reflections)


Teahouse


Traditional building


more beautiful flowers






Yet another wonderful setting for matcha and sweet!

progol

A walk to Tsukiji Fish market from Hamarikyu Gardens…

We were close enough to the fish market that it seemed a shame to pass it up, even though we’d been told it was very touristy and not as interesting since the wholesale component moved to Toyosu where the major shopping and auctions take place. Perhaps not nearly as interesting as it once was, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

After a 15-20 minute walk along a large street with some construction and other industrial buildings, we came to the fish market. Many of the shops were closed, but we got a good taste of it (and quite literally, too!).


Along the street and on the way to Tsukiji Fish Market


Vendors preparing


We lucked out with a great restaurant!




Food comes round on a conveyor belt and you just grab!




The fish market, where else?

progol

October 25/26 - A final evening then departure from Tokyo

By now, we felt very at home in Asakusa, and have really enjoyed our time here. It's without a doubt a very busy area but it has such a wonderful character. We also found that the hotel, Richmond Hotel Premier Asakusa, was a great location and we found the staff here to be very helpful. I recommend it. Oh, and the views from our room!
https://richmondhotel.jp/en/asakusa-international/


Early Morning


Hopper visits Tokyo?


Late afternoon
————-

Final dinner was in a small sushi restaurant, Asakusa Sushi Ken, which offers a variety of fresh and delicious sushi:
https://www.asakusa-sushiken.com/menu.html#



———

There are lots of coffee places around the area and we had breakfast one morning at Hoshino (thanks, @yestravel !), with its wonderful coffee and tasty french toast.



———-

And the small restaurants. And everything else!

Posing


Small restaurants abound in this area!


Uniqlo - the base of our hotel

progol

October 25/26
Leaving Asakusa and onward...

Now you may think we spent all our time in Tokyo, but, after 6 days, it’s time to leave this overwhelming but remarkable city. Although Tokyo has been a great place to adjust to the culture and the time change, I was really looking forward to getting the feel and flavor of the smaller locales.

But before we leave Tokyo, a PSA for the Luggage Forwarding service:We used the brilliant luggage forwarding service to send our suitcases to our next hotel. It really is easy to use the service. The only downside is that it needs to be done the day prior to departure, so it requires a bit of preparation to make sure you don’t pack something you might need that day or the next!

The day before leaving the hotel, we brought our suitcases to the front desk, gave them the information of the next hotel we're staying in and then paid a nominal fee for the 2 suitcases. That was it. And the next day, the suitcases were sitting in our room at the next hotel, just waiting for us when we arrived!

It also made connecting through Shinjuku station easy since we weren't wheeling our suitcases up and down going from one train to the next.

tripplanner001

The views from your room in Asakusa are fantastic. Hama Rikyu is like an oasis; we missed it this time but made up for it at Shinjuku Gyoen. Looking forward to more.

KarenWoo

Yestravel and progol, I agree with the both of you that it's nice to spend more time in a place to get a better sense of it, especially a city as large as Tokyo. That's what we would do if we make it to Japan some day. And I would want to spend at least 3 weeks in Japan, if not more.

I am really interested in the luggage forwarding service. One drawback to traveling by train is having to handle our own luggage, especially as we get older. Progol, did you use this service for the entire trip? Were their any glitches? Such as luggage not showing up? That would be my main concern. Do you know if this service is offered in Europe?

progol

If we ever do go back, I’ll have to check out Shinjuku Gyoen now! I really loved Rikugien especially - and it has beautiful night illuminations, though we weren’t fortunate to see them. A friend took photos and they’re stunning.

KarenWoo, the luggage forwarding works extremely well. We only used it twice but it’s well-organized and a great way of managing luggage. The only downside for us is having to figure out what we’ll need for the time without access to our luggage until we get to our next hotel. This became a minor issue and so we stopped using it. We have carry on luggage only so, for the most part, it’s not a big bother to take it with us. I was just glad not to be schlepping it through Shinjuku station.

Generally, it’s dropped off by the early afternoon the day before and is there when you arrive at the next hotel. It’s very rare that the luggage doesn’t arrive. This is a well-oiled system that is used a lot. Hotels and even smaller places are used to it.

I’ve never heard of it in Europe - that would be nice!

yestravel

Its all a balancing act isn't it? As Paule points out there is so much to see in Japan, so how to allocate time is challenging. We used the luggage forwarding service in Japan several times in 2019 and it worked well.