Tokyo wa sukoshi tooku desu

The week hiatus from the Good Doctor gave me a chance to check out Tokyo.

This 5 story pagoda was part of the Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo.

I made the mistake of eating before I got to Vancouver International Airport. So when I got to the ANA airline lounge, all I could do was marvel in the comfort.

In the end I did have a glass of wine while I awaited boarding.

….and there's my ride.

I've heard very good things about this airline, but this was quite a perk. They actually had live NFL football on the flight, bonus!

Yes, the meal was quite yummy.

It seemed we were in a continuous sunset set heading towards Japan. (compass direction WNW)

….and look who was waiting for me after a 9 1/2 hour flight, Ritsue! (She made the Shinkansen (bullet train ) trip from Hiroshima, which took her about 4 hours.)

Outside of our guest condo at her sister's apartment building, I never did figure out what these people were waiting for in that little fenced off area.

The view from the 24th floor looking towards downtown Tokyo.

We went on so many trains and subway trains, I honestly lost count.

The picture does not describe how crowded these trains were 24/7

Heading for the Asakusabashi district, I was so glad that Ritsue was there to lead the way.

Once we reached Asakusa, it was time to head to the temple, but first, the Kaminarimon (thunder) gate.

Very many shops and narrow streets in Asakusa, actually in many areas of Tokyo.

Wow, so many people! (and this was a week-day)

Many, many interesting smaller shrines as well. Apparently, this is a female Buddha.

A couple of blocks from the shrine and the crowds thinned out.

My first taste of Tokyo! The kakiage-don (tempura) was totemo oishii desu!

So much to see.....

Ritsue showed me the proper way to place incense to cleanse our body before we enter the shrine.

It is regarded as the oldest temple in Tokyo, the original building dates back to 645 AD. The shrine was destroyed in 1945 by U.S. bomb attacks on the city. It was rebuilt after the war.

Spectacular!

One of many Buddha statues in the area.

Besides parks, it seemed like every square inch of land in Tokyo had some sort of a building on it. When I saw this bare patch of grass, I just had to take a pic.

It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle, I do not remember where this was, though.

The Tokyo sky-tree tower was visible from many areas of the city.

Being a transport guy, this parking system fascinated me.

Well, we were close to this giant Christmas tree, (Although they do not celebrate the Christmas holiday, the certainly embrace the season, many Christmas decorations and trees, much North American Christmas music playing in a lot of the department stores) we decided to go up the giant tower beside it.

The Tokyo sky-tree tower is said to be the tallest in the world, at 634 meters.

The size and scope of Tokyo was apparent from the observation deck of the tower. 

Wow! It did not matter which way you looked, the sprawl was everywhere.

The sun is setting on the downtown core.

You get the picture.....

I spy water in the distance.

I also spied a giant ferris wheel close to Tokyo Bay. 

Later in the week we would get closer to it when we took a tour boat cruise to the Odaiba, a popular shopping and entertainment district built on a man-made island.

It was mesmerizing .

I like this one.

You could stand over this window and unnerve yourself.

Ritsue is ready to battle!

The high point of the observation deck is an incredible 451.2 meters high. (1480 feet).

Time to go...…

…..okay, maybe stick around for one night shot.

I learned quickly that Tokyo loves all things Christmas, and love Kentucky Fried Chicken even more!

To me the best part was all of the narrow streets that had so many, many little restaurants hidden away. Tonight we opened a door and went up these steep stairs...….

….. to find one of the many special little hideaway food joints. There were only 6 chairs in here, and the owner made us feel really comfortable.

The beer was oishii as well.

We tried a couple of fish dishes, it was amazing. This is Japanese flounder.

Two nights were spent at the Royal Rihga Hotel in the Shinjuku district.

You are not getting fried squid and seaweed snacks at any 7-11 in Vancouver!

I had a day to myself. (Ritsue had to go back to Hiroshima for business.) I explored around the area close to the hotel. I quickly realized that no one walks around with a coffee in their hand as we do in Canada. I also noticed there was next to no garbage containers on the streets, but I also noticed there was no garbage on the streets at all, hmnnnnn.

(I found this shrine, but it was closed for renovations)

Outside the hotel, this is what I mean by every piece of land is occupied by one type of building or another.

Close by was this ornate building, very unique to the neighbourhood. 

I found a little oasis at the Higo-Hosokawa Garden.

Hey look, in the canal, turtles!

A view of the Mode Gakuen Coccoon Educational tower.

I made it to city hall. They are full on getting ready for the summer Olympics in 2020.

The observation tower at city hall was good, but not as impressive as the Sky-tree tower.

...which you can hazily see in the distance.

They had a display inside, only 611 days to go.( ha!, now it's 586 days.)

I thought Tokyo city hall did not suit the whole Japanese experience.

Walking around the Shinjuku area.....

…..so colorful

Looking over one of the many rail yards...…

Waseda-dori Ave. , don't you know.

I am not the most comfortable out and about in a foreign city by myself, but I was thirsty so I found another little restaurant close to the takadanobaba station, that is hopefully close to the bus stop that will take me back to the hotel.

No English, besides the numbers, here. I had to order by picture, lol.

It turned out okay, I was served these little squids in hot sauce, all in all, very good.

I saw these sour cream and onion potato chips in the store and thought that would be a great snack. Turns out the specks were not onion, they were seaweed. Took a bit to get used to the taste.

back to the Takadanobaba station, this time to wait for Ritsue's arrival from Hiroshima.

Waiting for a train, mind if we squeeze in?

Back to Shibuya

Outside of the train station, the busiest (except not today, haha) pedestrian crosswalk in the world.

The shopping district was interesting

Ha! Last time we went up the stairs, this time, let's go down the stairs!

It doesn't matter which way you go, the food in Tokyo is so good. The dumplings on the right were so good.

Outside Shibuya station, the very famous statue of Hachiko, read the story here.

We headed off to the Meiji Shrine, but by the time we got there, it was closing for the day!

Just enough time for a quick peek around....

…...next time?

Back to Shinjuku...….

Ritsue and I met up with her friend, Saho, and hit the Golden Gai neighbourhood.

As cool as it all was, we were about an hour too early for the opening of most of the bars and restaurants. (5 p.m)

It was still cool walking around.

We finally found a place, and once again, after all that walking, we were pretty thirsty.

This flag was hanging in Ritsue's sister's neighbourhood in Musashikosugi Kawasaki.

On another day we went to the neighbourhood of Kagurazaka and met up with her childhood friend, Shoko

We went to a traditional restaurant, with our own room.

Once again I was treated to some very good dishes, and the company was very good as well!

After lunch, we walked off the meal.....

We randomly came across a festival, and Ritsue and Shoko got a pic with these performers.

Then it was time for Ritsue and I to hit the streets again...…

We went back down, (by a crowded train, lol, as usual), to the Asakusa area of Tokyo. This building is the famous Kamiya Bar, originally built in 1880. We went in, but alas, there was not a seat to be had.

We headed into the shopping district, but once again.....

…..we got mighty thirsty from all are travels, so we ducked into a little restaurant close by. This was our appetizer.

Followed by this little snack. (Once you got over the visual, and you closed your eyes, it was actually quite tasty, albeit crunchy, buy tasty.

There is the Sky-tree tower again. This time it was a view from the Sumida River, on a boat cruise we took from Asakusa to Odaiba.

The trip was over 45 minutes, and the size and scope of Tokyo never ended.

I recommend the day trip, this is what it looked like inside the boat, which of course made seeing outside less than perfect.

Still, it was worth the trip.

There's our psychedelic ride. I did not know that it was a one-way trip. Sounds like another train to me, lol.

Looking back one on massive city.

What?????? Well this Statue of Liberty stands at only 40 feet, about 1/7 the size of the one in New York.

The next day was some shopping close to our guest suite at Ritsue's sister's place.

We certainly do not have this kind of selection at my local Save-On grocery store.

Nor have I seen this for sale.

Meanwhile, back at the 7-11, a rice and seaweed snack. They have very clever packaging,  Just pull at all three corners and voila!

Some of the trains stations have many levels, and yes, they are all very busy.

Out the gate! And we are off to the races!

We took a day trip to Kamakura. It was a national holiday, so many Japanese people from all over made the trip.

Apparently, this is a really big deal, the hato sabure (butter cookies) sold at Toshimaya. 

Oh no, she bit the head off1

On this day , there was a pilgrimage to the Tsurugaoka Hatchimanguu shrine, the main symbol of the city.

The origins of the shrine date back to 1063.

Another cleansing (of the soul) station. I would not do justice trying to explain this very important ritual. (Thank-you Ritsue for showing me how)

The weather gods were with us today, almost 17 Celsius, very comfortable for November.

Not sure what these symbolized, but a very cool sight to me.

Wading our way through to explore some of the many shops in Kamakura. (I was so tempted to start "mooing", it was like a cattle drive)

This police vehicle is so different than the ones back home.

My last day in Tokyo, and I feel like we have just scratched the surface of places to go. Today we took a train..... (what else??)

….and soon we were at Ueno Park, established in 1873

Beautiful now, and even more beautiful in the spring, the lotus plants.

….there were a few vendors in the park, this one caught my eye. Who doesn't want ocellated octopus on a stick?

Ritsue was kind enough to model in front of this cherry tree. The cherry blossoms are famous in springtime in Japan, but to find them in November, so cool.

It is a large park, over 133 acres (for us old timers). Even in this beauty, it is hard to escape the sheer size of Tokyo.

Ritsue is ringing the bell, ding-dong, is anyone home? (Actually ringing the bell is one of the traditions before entering a shrine)

The Bentendo temple left me speechless...

It was time to leave Ueno Park to the locals.

…..and like fools we headed into another famous shopping district called Ameyoko.
Ameyoko (アメ横) is a busy market street along the Yamanote Line tracks between Okachimachi and Ueno Stations. The name "Ameyoko" is a short form for "Ameya Yokocho" (candy store alley), as candies were traditionally sold there. 
…...final answer? busy, busy, busy

The marketplace is so diverse, these fishes looked very tempting, but I'm not sure the other passengers on the plane would appreciate the smell.

…….and their it was, the holy grail of the trip, a train with empty seats! Finally, I can rest my keister!

…..we had enough time to squeeze in one last trip to the famous Tokyo Station.

Not enough breeze today, I had to wait several minutes to catch the Japan flag flying, lol.

So many train schedules, and I feel like I was on most of them, ha!

We were both more than eager to support the 2020 Olympics with a couple of Asahi beers, Kanpai!

…...and just like that it was over.... Ritsue waves good-bye until our next meeting. (that is one brave smile, just sayin Ritsue. (insert smiley face here)

Hahaha, I think she is more upset because we realized there was a bus to and from Haneda airport, that had no crowds at all! I shared it with 2 other people. (I doubt she is upset because I am on my way back to Vancouver. (insert wink-wink here))

At the Haneda airport, I found the ANA lounge, and this time I took full advantage of it. 

Was it worth the extra price, this and the extra leg room, I would say yes!

The bonus? This electronic alert that I took to my table reminded me when it was time for my private shower! After a long day, what a way to get on a 10 hour flight!

…..and many, many, many thanks to Ritsue of course, and her family for their generous hospitality. (I was worried about the language difference, but their English was a whole lot better than my Japanese!

(left to right: Moi, Ritsue, her nephews Souya and Shuya, her sister Chiyoko and her brother-in-law Yutaka.