Ginza, Asakusa, and Tokyo Sky Tree

Ginza, Asakusa, and Tokyo Sky Tree

We started our morning by heading back to the building that our sushi dinner was in to scout out some breakfast. While nothing on the upper floors was open, we were treated to a pretty spectacular aerial view of the fish market and harbor. Lucky for us, there was an onigiri (rice ball) place open on the first floor so we could enjoy a quick snack to get us started for the day. I had the tempura onigiri and it really hit the spot.

After that we headed to Ginza, a high-end shopping district nearby our hotel. While they did have the usual things you would expect from a high-end shopping area (Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, etc.), they also had an amazing high-end Japanese department store called Matsuya where we found the most beautiful wind chime for our patio back at home to remind us of our trip. We also found a really cool stationery store and picked up a few souvenirs there before checking out the flagship UNIQLO store.

At this point we were starting to wonder what we were going to do for lunch (leave it to us to always be thinking about our next meal) and I suggested we look for udon because we hadn’t had any yet. After striking out in Ginza in the udon department we decided to head back to a ramen place we had noticed the evening before. The reason it stuck with us is that they were hand-making noodles as we came out of our sushi dinner late in the evening. Well, it turns out that we didn’t look very closely at the noodles they were making because they were actually udon noodles and I got my wish in the end. Also, this wasn’t just any run of the mill udon joint. It was a happening lunch spot for business people and had really delicious food. Everything about our lunch was just right…the noodles were the perfect texture, the broth was flavorful but delicate, and the tempura toppings were crisp and fried to perfection. I think my face in the photo says it all. Micah and I both thought this restaurant concept would easily translate to the Los Angeles scene. Next business venture?

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to bid farewell to Micah as he embarked on the next part of his trip. As we headed for the subway, Andrew’s phone started making strange noises and speaking to us in Japanese. For a moment, we were really confused and then other people’s phones started doing the same thing. It turned out that there had been a sizeable earthquake and they were using their warning service to make sure everyone was aware. The earthquake delayed the train service for about a half hour while engineers did safety checks, but the whole experience really showcased the levels of organization, preparedness, and order here. Communication was good, people remained clam, procedures were followed, and the trains were back up and safely running in a very short amount of time. We were impressed and the experience definitely made us feel like Tokyo knows what they are doing. California can certainly learn a few things in this area. I suppose in the city of this size, you can’t afford to not have a highly organized emergency response plan.

Since Andrew really didn’t get enough of the electronics store the day before, we returned to Asakusa so he could explore two additional floors (mostly computer-related) of the Yodabashi-Akiba. This time we took more pictures so you can see it. It’s almost impossible to really describe the madness in words. We also checked out a 7-floor arcade and a Pachinko place. Pachinko is one part carnival game, one part slot machine that seems to be very popular with young men here. As soon as the automatic glass doors parted, you were immersed in deafening and smoke-filled madness. At first we thought that something was horribly wrong with their air conditioning because of the noise, but it turns out that’s just Pachinko. If it weren’t so smoky, I would have loved to try it. Maybe we will revisit later in the trip.

For our evening activity, we really wanted to visit the Tokyo Sky Tree, the world’s tallest tower. At 600 meters, it had a 360-degree jaw-dropping view and we were there just in time to watch the beautiful pink sunset. The colors of the sky here are relatively similar to those in Los Angeles…a beautiful range of pink to orange fading to purple as the night sky closes in. The entire tower was an amazing engineering marvel, but I have to give extra props to the people who designed the elevator. In 45 seconds, it whisked you all the way to the top without even a hint of a bump or elevation change (except for a quick ear-pop of course). Andrew said it best when he pointed out that the tower is amazing, but its best feature is that it showcases how amazing Tokyo is as a whole. Stretching all the way to the horizon is a densely packed skyline of high-rises and infrastructure. The sheer magnitude of the size of the city is overwhelming and completely wonderful at the same time. We feel like we saw so much in the few days we were here, but we really only scratched the surface. It was a very fitting last night in Tokyo as tomorrow we leave on a Shinkansen (bullet train) for Kyoto.

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Tsukiji Fish Market from above (the curved buildings are the inner market where the fish are sold)

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Breakfast Onigiri

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High-end shopping in Ginza

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Udon lunch joint

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This is delicious!

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Taito Station…one of the top arcades in the world

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Inside Taito Station

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Plinko!

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Tokyo Sky Tree

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Tokyo Sky Tree

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Going up?

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Magnificent engineering

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Tokyo at sunset as viewed from Tokyo Sky Tree

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Toyko after dark (that red and white tower way in the back is where our hotel is located)

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Stunning lights

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We couldn’t help but get a quick selfie

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Glad to see everyone is enjoying the beautiful view :) I guess the teenagers here have a lot in common with the ones at home

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Don’t look down! (Haha, some of the girls shrieked when Andrew stepped out onto the glass (most people just peer over cautiously)

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One final view

4 Comments

  1. Cool sky tower! My dad was stationed about 40 miles south of Tokyo. The big Buddha must be in Tokyo. Great pictures! Dad❤️❤️

  2. Beautiful photos! Love the one of Chelsie! Enjoy your bullet train! Love you both!

  3. So pretty! Great pics.

  4. Awesome. Now, go find some robatta kobe beef and basashi. Looking forward for the pics.. enjoy tokyo!!

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