Exploring Tokyo

Tokyo is such an outrageously fun place to visit.  Even though it wasn't my first visit, I was reveling in all this place had to offer.  After only a day and night, I had already embraced the activities and had my fill of wonderful food.  There was still lots to explore.

Veronica was surprised that on my lone trip to Tokyo many years ago, I hadn't been to visit Sensoji.  Looking at pictures and watching videos of the area, I was a bit surprised myself.  I had been more of a novice back then and clearly failed to do the proper research on where to go.  After the late night out in Shinjuku, we woke up late with the goal of going to Sensoji.  Since we were staying in Akasaka, we first went to visit the Harry Potter "station" that was nearby.  I have no interest in Harry Potter, but for Veronica it was probably one of the highlights of her trip.  From there, we took the metro across town to Sensoji and its famous streets.

I had somehow missed visiting Sensoji during my first visit to Tokyo.  I had been staying on the other side of the city, but it was still a shock that I hadn't come to see this incredible part of the city.  It was touristy, but understandably.  The street and the temple itself were both full of visitors, but it seemed to add to the energy of the place.  We walked down the main street slowly, stopping at random stores to look at the offerings and to try the various snacks on offer.  The coal roasted mochi was delicious.  It seemed to have none of the bland and premade taste that some Japanese food sometimes has.  Veronica was enamoured with the rice crackers toasted over flames and wrapped in nori.  After eating one, she left me to run back to the old man selling them to buy another.

The temple itself was an enormous building itself.  A combination of tourists and locals alike stood in awe, some gazing at its beauty, others partaking in the ritual of offering prayers and offerings.  I walked around and tried to take it all in as much as possible.  I found it quite comforting seeing so many people.  I had been traveling more over the last few months, but the restrictions of the last several years still had an impact on me so being around so many people and knowing that this was the case as well back home seemed to offer a strangely cathartic release.

We walked through the whole complex.  Ron decided to pay her respects up close while I just observed.  We walked back through the complex, down one of the side streets that ran parallel to the famous central street.  On this street there seemed to be even more variety of restaurants and small shops selling beautifully crafted ornaments along with the usual knickknack garbage.  We tried to find a restaurant, but sadly all recommendations we had received seemed to be closed that day.  It was a strange as there wasn't any particular event on and it seemed that we just managed to find those which had been closed.  We walked back towards the metro station and saw big signs for a shabu shabu restaurant.  It wasn't in our plans, but we both felt the draw of the warm and comforting meat cooked in the hot metal bowl.  We went up the elevator to a friendly restaurant that pressed an English placard into our hands, insisting we read it before proceeding.  We looked down and read through the contents.  Turns out this was a horse meat restaurant.  Given how particular some people might be when it comes to this type of meat, it was probably a good idea by the restaurant to flag this to people first.  Undeterred we nodded in agreement and walked in.  We sat with a nice view over the river and ate our fill of the food that was cooked for us. 

We spent the rest of the day walking around central Tokyo.  The shops around Ginza were all open and the streets were all closed off to let people walk around uninterrupted.  It was nice, but seemed a bit underutilised at the same time. The footpaths in Tokyo are so wide that adding the extra space of the empty streets didn't seem quite necessary.  We went into the enormous department stores and filled our bags with presents for friends and family back in Hong Kong.  As the evening approached, we hopped back on the metro towards Shibuya.  We had booked tickets to go to the top of Shibuya Sky to see the view.  

The new skyscraper Shibuya Scramble had opened up in the last few years and the observation deck had become one of the "must do" activities for people visiting Tokyo.  We joined the line and made our way up the elevators and escalators to the top.  This slow journey up was alone quite an experience as we were able to see views across Tokyo and down towards the famous Shibuya crossing.  Once we reached the top, we were given wide sweeping and unobstructed views.  It was a great location and a nice place to lay back and look up into the sky.

After the lovely views of Shibuya Sky, we made our way back to the metro to head back across to the other side of Tokyo.  For our last night in Tokyo, I had booked an omakase for us.  It didn't feel like a true Tokyo trip without such an experience.  We arrived in the small restaurant down a small side street.  The entrance was in the simple, yet elegant style you would expect for such a traditional style of eatery.  Inside the chef was waiting for us and directed us to our seats.  In a strange counterpoint to what I would normally expect in such restaurants, it was the younger man who was the chef and the older man was the sous chef assisting.

For next few hours we sat and chatted.  The chefs went about their business with rapid and deliberate actions.  Each course was prepared with a focus and attention that always impressed and amazed me.  I savoured everything that was presented before me.  I tried to give respect to not only the quality of ingredients, but also to the training and care that each piece represented.  To talk about dining as an experience often seems pretentious, and in many cases it is, but there are definitely situations where I feel such a description is the most apt.

Tokyo is an incredible place for visitors.  I'm not sure how good it would be as a place to visit, but from my tourist lens, it seemed to offer an incredible combination of sights and experiences.  There was a seemingly never ending number of things to do and to visit.  It had been many years since I had visited, and I hoped that I would be back soon.