Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007...5:42 pm
Covered lots of ground
Wednesday was a pretty full day. We started out a little later in the day, knowing that we were going be out into the evening. We began by visiting the Hamarikyu Garden near our hotel. It’s a large garden with walking paths, ponds and a 300 year-old pine tree. It’s a nice break from the urban sprawl that is Tokyo.
From the garden we boarded a boat tour up the Sumido river towards the Asakusa district of Tokyo. The boat ride was a relaxing way to make the trip versus taking the subway. Once at Asakusa, we headed for the Sensoji Temple. Before actually arriving at the temple itself, travelers are greeted with dozens of street vendors and stalls selling all manner of trinkets, souvenirs, religious bobbles and more.
The temple was pretty much what we expected it to be. Within the main shrine, there were pilgrims making offerings, tourists snapping pictures, and school-children talking and giggling. The structure itself was impressive and the paintings were very pretty.
After leaving the temple, we took the subway to the Shinjuku district. As much as any other area in Tokyo, this is the one that Westerners think of when they picture lots of big neon signs, throngs of pedestrians on busy streets, and tons of shopping and restaurants. The hustle and bustle was fun to watch for a while, but at some point, sensory overload set in and we decided to head for the more sedate Ginza for dinner.
Ginza at night is a more refined version of Shinjuku. While there are still lots of big, bold billboards and plenty of neon signs, the streets weren’t nearly as packed. This could be because of the larger percentage of high-end, exclusive stores versus more shops geared towards a younger clientèle in Shinjuku. In any event, it was a nice respite. We had a nice dinner, stopped at a convenience store on the way back for some drinks and snacks for the morning, and called it a night.
Pictures from the third day here in Tokyo are at the following gallery.
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