My first impression of Tokyo was wow! its busy, chaotic, crowded, kind of surreal. Its vibrant, fun and full of contrasts. You'll see traditional japanese buildings surrounded by modern skyscrapers, congested blocks of tall buildings but neatly lined with trees everywhere, absolutely clean streets but yet not a single trash can anywhere , toilets that requires an user manual. You can find everything from temples and parks, vending machines that sells everything imaginable, futuristic skyscrapers, fantastic restaurants, designer shops. There is something for everybody.
I spent the first day around Shinjuku & Shibuya. There is nothing touristy in Shinjuku but its very convenient location wise with Shinjuku train station, where you can take a train to anywhere in Tokyo and with all the major American hotels around it.
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| Shinjuku Buildings |
The district of Shibuya is one of Tokyo's more famous regions, with the popular Meiji Shrine nearby as well as neon signs in just about every place imaginable. Shibuya was full of energy, bright neons, people and lots and lots of tiny restaurants and shops! You can spend an entire day walking around the area eating and shopping. And, there is the world famous Shibuya Crossing! My, that must be the biggest and most interesting pedestrian crossing . With one of the busiest subway lines in Japan, the mass entrance and exit of people produces the biggest crossing I have ever, and probably will ever see. Crossing it was pretty exciting, too! With people all around you, it was easy to lose track of which section of the crossing you were planning to go to.
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| Shibuya Crossing before the light turned green |
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| After |
A 10 minute walk from Shibuya you will find Meiji Shrine, as it is called in Japanese. Meiji shrine is in the middle of a huge park which very much feels like walking through a dense forest. It is a Shinto shrine. You could easily recognise that it is a shinto shrine by the torii gates that are found at the entrance and along the walkway leading to the shrine.
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| Torii gate at the entrance |
There were also sake and wine barrels displayed along the way that were offered to the shrine. And an interesting thing was this huge tree which was surrounded by various boards with wooden tables right outside the shrine which was full of wishes and prayers of people from all around the world (judging by different languages)
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| Wooden prayer cards |
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Empty donated Sake Barrels
The next day I visited the Imperial Palace and Roppangi area of Tokyo.
Roppongi is a nice district in Tokyo, home to most of the upscale hotels and various embassy/consulates including the American Consulate. Roppongi an interesting place for sure, but there's just a different feel to it than everywhere else I went in Tokyo. It's far more convenient than Shinjuku to most business, has a far wider food selection nearby and center to nightlife in Tokyo. I will definitely stay here if I happen to visit Tokyo again.
I guess that's finally all of my trip to Tokyo. Tokyo has been absolutely amazing.
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