A Day in Tokyo

Tokyo city was entirely captivating. I never realized how beautiful it was until I went to visit it. You will be charmed by its lights, sophistication, people, history and its architecture. Too bad, my husband and I couldn't visit all the recommended places in a day, therefore, we opted to visit the ones that were only accessible by foot from the stations. 

If you are planning to visit this city, I advise, you transport by train and not by car. It would be more convenient and cheaper, too. Finding a parking space alone would be time consuming and most of it have fees, more expensive than buying a ticket for a day, unless, you want to stay longer or saunter on a specific area, you can travel by car. Otherwise, prepare your feet, for you will be strutting a lot -- to and fro.

When visiting a place for the first time, it is apparent that the difficult part is where to board and get off. Fortunately, I have my sister to accompany us in the whole metropolitan area, she lives and teaches in Tokyo. The worry about getting on the right track has somewhat diminish. But if ever you get lost, just ask any information desk and they will tell you what to do. I recommend, if you are not confident with your Nihongo or you do not speak Nihongo at all, it is better to have a translator with you. It can be an application on your cellphone or a dictionary. With that at hand, you will surely thrive. 

First, we went to the Tokyo station's information desk and bought tickets for three. Since, we will have a lot of stops in different stations, it would be prudent to buy the 1Day Tokunai Pass. This ticket offers unlimited travel within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area for one day on local and rapid service trains on JR East Lines. Take note, this ticket can only be used on JR East Lines, other than that, you will have to buy a different ticket. Ask also for a train guide map, it would be wiser to have this with you, just in case you get lost in the convoluted subway.

First stop: Tokyo Station

Front of the Tokyo Station. It is the main intercity rail terminal in Tokyo, the busiest station in Japan in terms of number of trains per day (over 3,000), and the fifth-busiest in Eastern Japan in terms of passenger throughput.

Second Stop: Odaiba City

The Rainbow Bridge carries three transportation lines on two decks. The upper deck carries the Shuto Expressway's Daiba Route, while the lower deck carries the Yurikamome rapid transit system in the centre, walkways on the outer side, and Tokyo Prefectural Route 482 in-between. 

Ate lunch at the Aquacity Mall. Aquacity is a shopping mall featuring various stores, boutiques, restaurants, cafes and a 13 screen cinema complex.

Fuji TV Building. The headquarters of Fuji Television, one of Japan's private, nationwide TV stations.

Stage outside the Fujiteribibiru

This 115 meter tall ferris wheel is one of the world's largest and offers nice views of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba.

One Piece at Diver City Tokyo. This new shopping, dining and entertainment complex opened on April 19, 2012.

The unique attraction of the Diver City Tokyo, a life size Gundam Robot. This robot actually moves. Ain't it amazing? 

The Rainbow Bridge connects Odaiba to the rest of Tokyo. The two story bridge is an iconic symbol of the bay and is especially beautiful during its nightly illumination. 

Odaiba's Statue of Liberty

Third stop: Shinjuku Area

The Nishi Shinjuku Metropolitan Area -- skyscrapers of the the city. 

 

The famous love sculpture of the Nishi Shinjuku District. This Love sculpture also exists in Hongkong, Singapore, Taiwan and other metropolitan area in the world. 

 Fourth stop: Shibuya

Shibuya is a center for youth fashion and culture, and its streets are the birthplace to many of Japan's fashion and entertainment trends. It is also one of the busiest district of Tokyo.
In Japan, this is called scramble kousaten. Kousaten means crossing or intersection. Scramble crossing, isn't that interesting? Or rather a weird term? ;)

A statue of a loyal dog named Hachiko. According to a famous story, the dog waited for his master every day in front of Shibuya Station, and continued to do so for years even after his master had passed away. It is one of Tokyo's most popular meeting points.

 Fifth stop: Meiji Jingu Gyoen

At the gate of the Meiji Jingu Gyoen. It was new year when we came here, the place was overcrowded. 

Barrels of sake wrapped in straw.

These are called kokeshi. Kokeshi has one distinct characteristic over the other Japanese dolls, it has no arms and legs. They only have a head and a body.   

Last stop: Tokyo Skytree

The Tokyo Skytree is a new television broadcasting tower and landmark of Tokyo. It is the centerpiece of the Tokyo Skytree Town in the Sumida City Ward, not far away from Asakusa. With a height of 634 meters (634 can be read as "Musashi", a historic name of the Tokyo Region), it is the tallest building in Japan and the second tallest structure in the world at the time of its completion. A large shopping complex with aquarium is located at its base.

Eating ebi ramen at a chinese restaurant located at the ground floor of the Tokyo Skytree Town.

At the fourth floor

 

This is located outside the fourth floor of the building. This is where you can buy tickets  for the observation decks. Too bad when we arrived,  all the tickets were already sold out as early as 2:00pm. Most of the visitors have been waiting for 6 hours. I highly recommend that you purchase tickets in advance.

For more details, visit their official site, TOKYO SKYTREE.