Our first day in Japan - Asakusa, Ueno and Shinjuk

Saturday, March 30, 2024
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
We were excited to wake up, fully rested, in Tokyo. 
Tokyo is the capital of Japan and one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over 14 million residents. The Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes Tokyo and nearby prefectures, is the world's most-populous metropolitan area with 40.8 million residents. It is also the second-largest metropolitan economy in the world after New York.
We chose to stay in Shinjuku, noting Shinjuku train station is the worlds busiest railway station (according to the Guinness Book of Records) with about 3.6 million passengers per day! The entire above/underground complex has well over 200 exits. 
After waking, we had a lovely breakfast here  in our hotel with lots of options. We then walked 10 minutes or so to Joan and Bernie’s hotel (we could not get them a room at our hotel for the 1st night as it was booked out, so brought them back to our hotel for their bags to be stored for checking in later today for the rest of our Tokyo stay).
Our first task of the day was to navigate the massive Shinjuku station. For full disclosure, we had to ask for assistance as to where to buy a Pasmo Passport (weird little office deep in the bowels of the Metro for the M line) and put credit on it (at a ticket machine with a huge line - the machine was a bit temperamental and needed a little sleep each time we used it - annoying as we were getting 4 cards). Originally we had planned to buy a Suica card  ( although the sale of Suica cards have been suspended) but Pasmo passports are the same thing really. We also had to ask directions on where to go, in this massive station, to head to our first destination. The local people are very helpful! Pasmo cards (and Suica previously) are like a Sydney Opal Card, and hence save the bother of buying individual tickets, but can also be used at convenience stores and vending machines! So, annoying to find, purchase and load them with credit in the first place, but then really convenient!
Our first destination was to Sensoji Temple. 
Sensō-ji is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant. It is the most widely visited religious site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually. Adjacent to the temple is a five-story pagoda, the Asakusa Shinto shrine, and many shops with traditional goods in the Nakamise-dōri. 
There certainly were a lot of people there today, both international and Japanese tourists. It was a lovely temple to see, and we enjoyed some Japanese street food in the area for lunch - including some matcha (green tea) ice cream.  
Our next stop was Ueno Park. Ueno Park is one of Japan's five oldest public parks. It's best known for Ueno Zoo, many museums, and spectacular cherry blossoms in the spring. The park opened to the public in 1873. Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms have only just started to sprout due to an unseasonal cold snap recently, but due to the spectacular warm weather today, the hanami (outdoor party) still took place with huge crowds gathering in the park with plenty of food and beer and wine. Even without the pink blooms, it was lovely to see. We didn’t worry about the zoo, as generally reviews have been a bit underwhelming. 
As we were in the area, we then headed to Ameyoko Street - Seconds away from Ueno Station, this lively discount shopping street has remained mostly unchanged since first opening as a black market selling American goods after World War II. It was also very busy here and would have been a great place for lunch and a few drinks. 
We then returned to Shinjuku (and inadvertently found ourselves in the middle of a large and emotional  “Free Palestine” demonstration)and then onwards to a bar near our hotel where we enjoyed some Coronas (Tim also had a massage nearby). 
With Joan and Bernie wanting to stay close to the hotel tonight, Tim and I went to sample some Shinjuku nightlife. 
One place i had read about was Golden Gai, so that’s where Timmy and I went for the night. It is a district within Shinjuku composed of a network of six narrow alleys, connected by even narrower passageways which are about wide enough for a single person to pass through. Over 200 tiny shanty-style bars, clubs and eateries are squeezed into this area. It was so cool! We searched to find a place that could fit us in as each place can only fit 6-8 people. Loved it here, such a different little unique place in the world. We had many drinks here (too many!) and some snacks in lieu of dinner, and talked to quite a few fellow travellers. Definitely a place to come when in Tokyo! 
After 20,000 steps and way too many beers, it was time for bed!

Comments

2025-02-15

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank