All Around Tokyo

Konnichiwa! That's hello in Japanese, so hello again, and here is the continuation of my Japan trip. 

Here there will be two days worth of going around Tokyo. Again I only had my iPad and old iPhone 4S to take pictures with at that time, so please be forgiving about the quality of the pictures that I share. We stayed in a place called Ikebukuro, and the nearest train station is a couple of blocks away.

On our third day we went to Odaiba. Odaiba is a popular shopping and entertainment district on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay. It originated as a set of small man-made fort islands. In fact, daiba means fort, literally. This fort was built to protect Tokyo from possible attacks from the sea.

Right outside the subway station

Proximity wise, this was the farthest we visited when we were there. We had to transfer trains several times- three, if I remember correctly. Again, when you're travelling with a baby you have to deal with a baby stroller, and all other things related to baby care, so it is not very easy to move around. The good thing about the trains is that there are small elevators that go from ground level to the platform, at least most of them, so we didn't have to carry the stroller up and down the stairs.

There are quite a lot of attractions in Odaiba so it is worth the time and travel.  One of these attractions is this 115 meter tall ferris wheel that you see when you get out of the station. It is one of the world's largest and offers nice views of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba below.

not sure what this is

The area, aside from the numerous famous buildings, have a very extensive outdoor space where there is grass, where people can walk and relax in and even have picnics, and my grand nephew enjoyed running around so much, chasing the fallen leaves that were falling. He has just learned to walk at that time, so he was enjoying his new found freedom, being able to run around in large grassy spaces, unlike here.

Fuji TV Building Headquarters

This building is Fuji TV headquarters, which is one of Japan's private, nationwide stations. It's a shame that I did not get to take a picture of it from the other side so that we can see the futuristic looking observatory shaped like a sphere.

Lifesize Gundam in DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

The primary reason we went to Odaiba is to see the lifesize Gundam at the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. My niece's husband is a fan of anime, and he wanted to see it personally. At set times during the day, this thing moves and spews smoke that really make it life-like. The complex features attractions related to the Gundam anime series. Cool, eh?

open space for picnics, etc 

My grand nephew enjoyed running around on the spacious grass covered area. The leaves on the trees were just starting to change colors.

having fun with maple leaves

Here is the baby having fun with the maple leaves. He loved being showered with the leaves and run around in the grassy area, and it was okay even he fell down at one time or two because it was grassy. He had a great time, although I'm sure he can't remember any of it.

Rainbow Bridge 

The Rainbow Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects Tokyo with the man-made island of Odaiba. It is much like the Brooklyn Bridge in New York that I visited last year. If you notice in the picture, there is a Statue of Liberty on the right. Like the Brooklyn Bridge, you can walk across the entire bridge and it usually takes 20-30 minutes. Of course we did not do so, since we had a baby with us. We just contented ourselves by looking at it and taking pictures. The view at night is splendid, and the lights are changed by season.

Hippies performers

Here is another group of performers, and it was so much fun watching them get ready, from fixing their hair, by checking their costumes, all leather of course, checking their sound system, and then, ultimately, dancing to Elvis Presley! :-)

The towers supporting the bridge are white in color, designed to harmonize with the skyline of central Tokyo seen from Odaiba. There are lamps placed on the wires supporting the bridge, which are illuminated into three different colors, red, white and green every night using solar energy obtained during the day.

sunset in Odaiba

We left Odaiba just as the sun was setting. Pity we did not get to see the Rainbow bridge with its night lights. Will have to see it next time I go, I guess. We then made a stop in Shibuya, to take a look at the famous Shibuya crossing.

This is the famous Shibuya crossing. Rumored to be the busiest intersection in the world, and it is definitely the busiest in Japan. In the picture we see the people waiting to cross. It's an amazing sight indeed how many people cross the intersection at nay given time. You just see them come from all directions and manage not to bump into each other.

people crossing 

When the light turns green, people start to move in all directions. Here you see the sheer number of people crossing- and it is over in a few minutes. The sprawling scramble intersection just outside Shibuya Station is an embodiment of Tokyo itself: action in all directions. Three huge television screens mounted on the buildings facing the intersection flash all day, while the rest of the area is covered with lights, advertisements, and more lights. And that's just when you're looking up. Look down, and you'll see the most remarkable feature of the area: the people. People are constantly pouring across the street from all directions going to even other directions. They all meet in the middle in a frantic mess, bumping, side stepping and swerving around each other as they try to cross.

That's me posing on the side of one of the intersections as the people started to come and wait for the lights to change. And when the lights change, you see locals trying to cross, and the tourists standing in the middle trying to take pictures. :-)

taken from the subway station

I took this picture as we were getting out of the subway station to get in the thick of it. Here you see the volume of people who walk through the very busy intersection. No wonder it has become one of the must sees in Tokyo whenever you are there.

Hachiko Statue   

And of course, no visit to Shibuya is complete without the customary picture with the famous statue of Hachiko. The statue of Hachicko celebrates the life of Japan's most famous dog, and his legendary loyalty to his owner. If you have not heard about the story of Hachiko, he was a dog who would arrive at the Shibuya station every afternoon at a set time to wait for the arrival of his owner. Even after his owner died, Hachiko kept going to the station until he died. A movie was made based on Hachiko and Richard Gere was starring in it. 

It was so hard to take a picture without anybody posing beside it so I just took this picture when I got impatient. I also have a picture but it was taken in my niece's camera and I haven't asked her for it until now, ha ha.

sushi 

After taking pictures, we headed to one of the numerous sushi bars in Shibuya. I am not a fan of raw food- hence this was the only thing I could eat, poor me. The sushi comes in a conveyor belt, and you just pick what you want. The plates are color coded, so that when they take the plates stacked in front of you, they'll know how much you have to pay. I ate some other thing, but after a while took the baby outside for a walk when he got restless, and then on the way home we just bought some other food to alleviate my hunger.

Tsukiji

The next day we went to Tsukiji market, which is a large wholesale market for fish, fruits and vegetables in central Tokyo. Tsukiji market is best known as one of the world's  largest fish markets, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day.

market entrance  

If you want to see the chaos of fish auctioning, you must be at the market in the wee hours of the morning like 3 AM or something. Again, we had the baby with us, so we just went in a decent hour in the morning. We did not get to see the humongous tunas being auctioned.

various marine products

We saw this instead. Various kinds of fish parts and slices, fish roe, and the like, having various prices. You see the freshness by the color of the fish.

dried snacks

Here we found several kinds of snacks as well. And they were quite cheap, so we bought different kinds of snacks to give to friends and relatives back home. I remember one of my nephews commenting on the crab snacks that I gave them. He said, 'poor crabs, they didn't even have a full life.' He ate them though!

King crabs abounded as well. King crabs is also quite famous in Japan but I have yet to try it. Maybe a couple or three of the legs will make me full already. Next time. Ha ha.

Here we have more dried snacks, and I bought almonds here and sunflower seeds to mix with my yogurt. Yum!

wasabi in its raw form

Yes, if you are a fan of sushi and you use wasabi as a dip and you ever wonder how it looks like, this is it folks. Nothing fancy, it is a root, and it is grated. I don't like the smell of wasabi but I took a picture of it so that I can share it. So there.

I did not even try to ask how much. Although prices are displayed, I could not understand the characters with the numbers, so it could be per pack or something like that. :-)

Here's more seafood for you. When we got tired walking around the market, and it was very crowded, it was very hard to walk with a baby stroller and an elderly lady getting tired, we went to look for a restaurant and we had lunch there. Luckily it was not a sushi bar again, it was a Japanese restaurant and I had some ramen and some gyozas, the Japanese dumplings, which I don't have a picture of.

Roasted eel

Eel is a very good source of strength, apparently. But I am not an eel eater. Yes, I know, there are a lot of things I don't eat, but that's another story. Roasted eel is quite special but I'll pass, thank you.

After lunch, we again boarded the train and headed for Hamarikyu Gardens. Hamarikyu is a public park located on the mouth of the Sumida River and it can be accessed by train or water bus. The nearest train station is Shiodome station on the Oedo subway line and the Yurikamome elevated train.

Sumida River

This is what you see as you approach the entrance of the garden. Admission is 300 yen and is open every day of the year except for the last 2 days of December and the first 3 days of January.

contrast between greenery and concrete buildings

Hamarikyu is not as famous as the other gardens surrounding Tokyo, but it does have plenty of maple, ginkgo and other trees that change color during autumn. The trees in ths picture above have not changed yet when we were there, sadly.

with the cute bebe 

This tree was near the entrance, and it was the only tree that has fully changed colors when we were there. Perhaps that's why my memories in Seoul were still stuck in my mind and I was expecting the same thing.

It was nice walking around to see the greenery though, as it was a quite refreshing scene compared to the buildings and people that filled the streets of Tokyo.

having fun with the grass

This is the place where he honed his walking skills. We got tired chasing him around though so we had to take turns following him. The only time he ever stopped was when he was in the stroller or sleeping. :-)

As you can see not a lot of trees have already changed colors. I guess autumn and winter in Japan is later than that of Korea.

The park features a pond, but it was under renovation when we were there, so we just walked around and took pictures.

This area gives you the natural feels, as the pavement is dirt, and the trees are somewhat tall on the right side.

train platform

Here is one train platform, we can see it's clean, and of course, the difference we see is the lack of people, I mean, not as crowded as the train platforms here in the Philippines.

elevated walkway in Odaiba

Here we see how clean Japan is. This is an elevated walkway, and we see it is pristine! They are also very serious in their recycling- in the apartment, we were supposed to segregate the garbage, even the caps from plastic bottles had to be separated! And then, on the list of instructions, it said, if you are not sure how to segregate properly, you can just leave it to us. We were more than happy to oblige as we did not want to complicate the process by messing it all up.

When eating in food courts, and their meals are also delicious, you are expected to return the tray, the plates and everything else you used at the shop where you bought your food. You are not to just leave your tray at the table after eating.

As for shopping, I'm afraid I did not do any shopping in Japan except for chocolates at the airport- the Royce brand, particularly the Nama kind. That chocolate is delicious, and I say that as a person who is not fond of chocolates at all! Yes, chocolates, snacks to give away and some souvenirs, that's it. 

All in all, my time in Japan was fun, but if I do go back there, I would definitely explore more and experience the culture more. I will try to go outside of Tokyo as well, because the country of Japan is just massive! 

Sayonara for now, and stay tuned for more adventures!

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