Tokyo Trip Part I

Mt. Fuji seen from the Shinkansen on the way to Tokyo

Day 1

Himeji is about 370 miles from Tokyo. The trip by car would have been 7 hours, but instead it was 3 hours and 22 minutes since we took the Shinkansen, the bullet train. There are different Shinkansen trains that vary in their maximum speed. The one we took was the fastest one available, Nozomi, which reaches speeds up to 185 mph. Since Tokyo is far from Himeji, we decided to to spend eight days exploring it.

Akihabara (秋葉原)

Given our long train ride, we took it easy on our first day there. We just checked into our hostel and walked to Akihabara. Akihabara is a famous shopping district for electronics, anime and manga items. Walking around you see lots of arcades, cosplayers, and advertisements for maid cafes; it's easy to see why it's said to be a popular area for otaku. Otaku (おたく/オタク) is a Japanese term for people who are obsessed with anime and manga. It can be used as a derogatory term, but it is becoming less negative as the popularity of anime and manga is increasing worldwide.

Day 2

We visited Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine is meant to commemorate those who died in wars, particularly those from the last two centuries. Although many in Japan see the shrine as a way to honor deceased ancestors and loved ones, the shrine is also controversial. Some of those commemorated at the shrine were deemed Class A war criminals by international courts. When prominent Japanese politicians have visited the shrine, it has sparked friction between Japan and its neighbors. Regardless of the controversy surrounding it, Yasukuni Shrine remains one of the most famous and frequently-visited religious sites in the city.

Yasukuni Shrine

From the shrine we walked to Tokyo Imperial Palace East Garden (皇居東御苑, Kōkyo Higashi Gyoen). It's free to enter, but everyone gets a number that must be returned when leaving. This is probably done to limit the number of people that are visiting at the same time and prevents overcrowding when you visit. It also adds an element of security to the area, which is adjacent to the Imperial Palace where the emperor and other members of Japan's royal family live. It's a beautiful area to stroll around and occupies the land where Edo Castle used to be located. Part of the garden was closed of for construction when we visited, but we still got to walk around the other areas.

Tokyo Imperial Palace East Garden

Of course, no trip is complete without visiting a a Pokémon Center. Tokyo has the biggest Pokémon Center in Japan. There is even a cafe you can dine in, but you have to make reservations weeks in advanced as spots fill up quickly. By the time we had decided on having a trip to Tokyo, there were no reservations available to make for the Pokémon Cafe. Even so, we were able to spend quite a bit of time exploring the shop and its displays.

Tokyo Pokémon Center DX

Day 3

Valentine's Day was going to be during our trip in Tokyo. We had the option of choosing between Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, so we decided to celebrate by going to Tokyo DisneySea! Tokyo DisneySea is divided into seven areas, each with a different nautical theme. They are the Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, and Mysterious Island. We went on a Thursday hoping to avoid major crowds and bought our tickets the day of instead of in advance. Luckily we had no problems acquiring tickets and getting in, but there were still a lot of people at the park. It was lightly raining in the morning but the sun came out for the rest of the day. The detail in each of the areas of DisneySea was amazing and we can see why this might be some people's favorite Disney park.

  

Day 4

Asakusa is a district in Tokyo most famous for Senso-ji Temple. Senso-ji is dedicated to the bodhisattva of compassion. When researching Tokyo, one of the landmarks that comes up constantly is the entrance to the temple complex. The entrance is known as Kaminarimon (雷門) or "Thunder Gate" and is famous for its giant paper lantern.

We spent the second half of the day in the Ginza district. It is a fancy, high-end shopping area where we did some window shopping. One of the floors in the shopping complex was a giant bookstore that was our favorite shop there. We wrapped up the day by eating dinner at Taco Bell. Yes, Taco Bell. We had not eaten there in Japan before and saw there was one near our hostel, so we decided to try an American chain for dinner. It was pretty similar to what you'd get back home, but it's not a place we see ourselves returning to multiple times. The fact that it's quite a bit more expensive than in the U.S. doesn't help. There are so many places to visit in Tokyo, being halfway done with our trip seemed surreal.

Ginza Six

To be continued in Tokyo Trip Part II...