Tokyo Bay, Japan
An early start! Now that we have worked out the train system here, we headed off to TeamLab planets for our 9am booking.
teamLab Planets is a museum where you walk through water, and a garden where you become one with the flowers. It comprises 4 large-scale artwork spaces and 2 gardens created by art collective teamLab.
People go barefoot and immerse their entire bodies in the vast artworks together with others. The artworks change under the presence of people, blurring the perception of boundaries between the self and the works. Other people also create change in the artworks, blurring the boundaries between themselves and the works, and creating a continuity between the self, the art, and others.
It was really cool!
We then went to Tsukiji Outer Fish Markets. Tsukiji Outer Market is Japan’s “Food Town,” where one can encounter all kinds of traditional Japanese foods. A mixture of wholesale and retail shops, along with numerous restaurants, line the streets, and new culinary trends are born here. It was buzzing with lots of visitors and Tim had some sushi. Before 2018, it was the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.The market opened on 11 February 1935 as a replacement for an older market that was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. It was closed on 6 October 2018, with wholesale operations moving to the new Toyosu Market. The outer markets remain as a foodie experience however.
And then we headed to Ginza. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses located in its vicinity.
It is considered to be one of the most expensive, elegant, and luxurious city districts in the world. As soon as we ascended from the station, it was obvious how upscale this area is, with shops from Tiffany to Cartier. On weekends, it becomes a pedestrian zone, and it was like Pitt Street Sydney (but times by 20).
Tim and I had a hankering for some Ramen. We found a tiny local Japanese place underground (potentially with some questionable cleanliness standards) and we had our first Japanese ramen after ordering from a little vending machine. It was absolutely delicious.
We then joined Bernie and Joan at their choice of locale which was a more western style place and we enjoyed sitting down for a bit. It was then time to part ways - Bernie and Joan headed back to Shinjuku and Tim and I visited the Ginza Uniqlo flagship store - all 12 stories of it - till pick up a couple of things.
Tim and I then headed to the Tokyo Bay Area for our booked Go-Karting experience. We had to ensure we had international drivers licences for this activity and on arrival we chose our costumes - Cookie Monster and Elmo.
We were briefed on how to operate the karts, some road rules, and the signals our guide would use.
And then we set off for 90 minutes of driving go karts on Tokyo public roads with taxis, cars and buses. It was crazy! We saw lots of Tokyo including the Tokyo tower, and had to wave constantly at pedestrians who found the sight of us very entertaining! It was fun and a way to see more of Tokyo - the first 10 minutes or so took a bit of getting used to, as the karts had their quirks with braking etc. At traffic lights we would have to group together tightly and that is where the leader would take photos of us. We had a great time on the tour, and there is no way this type of activity could ever happen in Australia!
Tim and I headed back to Shinjuku after that. We were totally exhausted and found a restaurant in Shinjuku for dinner on the way back. This was a local place - they did not speak English and there were no tourists. Some of the choices on the menu were not appealing at all eg chicken necks, chicken knee cartilage or cow intestine. Nevertheless we managed ok - Tim had sashimi and I basically went with vegetarian choices. What we had was all very good and the beer cold - all for about $65!
We then returned to our hotel after another 20,000 steps, ready for an earlier night!
So far, we really like Tokyo!
- it’s so clean
- It’s so organized
- It feels really safe
- The train system might appear overwhelming at first, but it does not take long to work it out - and despite the networks mammoth size, it’s actually very easy to use. The trains are also clean, and on time, and many have heated seats.
- The heated toilet seats everywhere (even public toilets) are a winner.
- The Japanese people that we have encountered are very helpful.
- There is also no tipping, which after Egypt is very enjoyable.
2025-02-15