Tokyo 1

We awoke early and after a very large breakfast looking out over the Tokyo skyscrapers we headed to the Buddhist temple Senso-Ji. It is the oldest temple in Tokyo and it attracts many millions of visitors a year so it pays to get there early. There are many buildings to see including the great hall and the 5 storey pagoda as well as the many large gates at the various entrances to the temple.

We also headed to the Asakusa Tourist Culture Information Center where you can get a free viewpoint from the top floor looking back to the Temple, which as you can see is surrounded by city buildings and an avenue of stalls.

We then went for a walk around the Asakusa district which is a bustling area that has the mix of old traditional buildings and modern office and housing blocks.

We then headed to the river vis the Asakusa Underground Shopping Street which comprises corridors lined with small businesses all selling anything from stamps and antiques to dvds and food. It was a bit like the streets of Hanoi moved underground. The corridors are all exposed pipes and wiring and looking like a set for Blade Runner.

We then walked along the river to our delightful vegan lunch destination of the Farm Café which was superb. We then decided to take a boat trip along the river with its views of the Sky Tree and the Asahi Beer Hall

After that we headed to check the busy Shibuya crossing which was a site to see and we walked around the area looking for a small art gallery that I found on google which we found but was only a handful of pictures up a winding staircase.

As we approached the hotel through Tokyo Station we noticed a gallery in the station with a photographic exhibition. We went in and it was an amazing display of photographs by Nakaji Yasui from the inter war years. It was such an unexpected find and we spent quite a while going through the galleries and marvelling at the brilliant photographs.

As this was our last evening in Japan we treated ourselves to some cocktails in the hotel bar looking out over the illuminated skyscrapers (some still with workers) in Tokyo city centre.