Yesterday was a blur of connecting flights, train travel, anxiety attacks. I was sick the entire flight. Broke fever on the last hours. I finally got better when we touched down on Narita. From the Narita Airport we were able to plot out a train route that took us straight to our hotel to Asakusa-bashi, no transfers. Thank God because it wouldn't have been fun lugging our baggage. It only cost us 1,250 yen each which for both of us roughly $25 compared to hailing a cab and shelling out $220 like some unfortunate people on japantripadvisor.com. Narita is waaay the frick out of Tokyo proper. Nothing but rice paddies and small neighborhoods. So if you want to fly closer to Tokyo, pick Haneda Aiport.
Today was officially our first day in Tokyo. We did a sightseeing tour which required us to meet the tour guide and bus at a bus top in Hamamasutcho. We had no clue how to get there. People who have been to Japan have assured us that the whole train travel business is a cinch. I am thankful for them telling me that because if I had known how hard it was to figure out, I probably would've been stressed the entire time I was planning this trip. So yeah, it was NOT EASY. Everything is in Japanese. You can hardly ask for directions because not everyone has a good grasp of English. But I had a perfect GPS, the Glindmeyer Positioning System. Thad is awesome at finding where we need to be, even though he doesn't read a lick of Japanese. He got us where we needed to be. So we met up with our tour group, in the nick of time. We were the last ones to board. Quick selfies as we settled into our seats. Ikimashou!
First stop was the famous Tokyo Tower.
View from the "LOOK DOWN" glass floor.
View from the top. All these used to be underwater, part of the Tokyo Bay Area.
On the viewing floor, there's this display of the Mystery Ball that was found in the tower antenna inside the pillar, 305 meters up. The rubber ball had been there since the tower's opening in 1958. Since it had been sealed, Tokyo Tower officials are searching for the construction worker with a sense of humor who is probably be in his 70s by now as he was in his 20s when the tower was built.
We don't know what this thing does, maybe spews out information but when we got closer,
all it did was smile for the camera.
This is some of what remains of the Edo Castle that used to house the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Shown here is the tatsumi-yagura (巽櫓)
a two-story high keep, the only one still remaining.
Thad with an imaginary katana.
Xio-gun. Get it?
Believe it or not, these trees are bonsai.
Sensoji Temple in Asakusa houses a very small gold statue (measuring about 2 inches) of the goddess of mercy, Kannon which according to legend was found by 2 brothers in the Sumida River in the year 602. Every time they tried to put the statue back to the river, it always returned to them. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.
The Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) is the outer gate of the temple...I'm already on the inside though.
My first takoyaki (fried octopus balls)... wasn't too thrilled with it. I thought it was just going to be octopus flavored but lo and behold, it had real tentacles. Grosssss...Thad finished it all.
This monkey was on the temple grounds. He was very well-behaved. Sat like this the entire time, hands on his lap. Nonchalant.
Then to Akihabara! Anime/Manga/Otaku Heaven!
(more on this soon)
Tour bus stopped at the Marunouchi Tokyo Station. This area used to a part of the Edo Castle grounds. The station also has a hotel in it, along with 3 major banks.
This is the view of the entrance hall ceiling.
We found this little park with a shrine to Confucious called Yushima Seidōc (Sacred Hall in Yushima)
in Bunkyo while walking back to Akihabara.
Finally had my first Japanese food from this ramen-ya in Akihabara. I had tempura soba though. Oishi!!! it was delicious. Scarfed it down.
The Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) is the outer gate of the temple...I'm already on the inside though.
My first takoyaki (fried octopus balls)... wasn't too thrilled with it. I thought it was just going to be octopus flavored but lo and behold, it had real tentacles. Grosssss...Thad finished it all.
Went through the rest of the day with nothing in my belly except pink choco-banana.
This monkey was on the temple grounds. He was very well-behaved. Sat like this the entire time, hands on his lap. Nonchalant.
Then to Akihabara! Anime/Manga/Otaku Heaven!
Tour bus stopped at the Marunouchi Tokyo Station. This area used to a part of the Edo Castle grounds. The station also has a hotel in it, along with 3 major banks.
This is the view of the entrance hall ceiling.
We found this little park with a shrine to Confucious called Yushima Seidōc (Sacred Hall in Yushima)
in Bunkyo while walking back to Akihabara.
Finally had my first Japanese food from this ramen-ya in Akihabara. I had tempura soba though. Oishi!!! it was delicious. Scarfed it down.
We found the Gundam Cafe
Hamming it up.
Took a picture of Thad trying to win me that gigantic neko plushie from the catcher. Then this girl dressed in neko-maid (cat-maid) outfit told me I couldn't take photos. Gomen neko-chan!
No win T__T on the plushie
No win T__T on the plushie
I want it so bad. Luckily Akiba is only about an 8 minute walk from where we're staying, so I'll make Thad try again till we lose all our change!
Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by the combini (convenient store) to stock up on some bento and instant ramen, in case of midnight munchies.
That's it for today. We're beat! Another long day tomorrow! We will be going to Shibuya, Harajuku, Junie Moon (the Blythe doll store) and who knows where else! My friend Lisa is taking us there.
Yay, Lisa! Till then, oyasumi minna-san!
