Our first morning in Tokyo began at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁舎) in Shinjuku. From the 45 floor we enjoyed a panoramic view of this incredible city. The building was opened in 1991 and stands 243 meters (799 feet) tall.
Tips:
*The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁, Tōkyō Tochō) in Shinjuku has free observation decks with amazing panoramic views of Tokyo
*Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is the busiest train station in the world
*Senso-ji is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa and is Tokyo’s oldest temple
*Nakamise is the most famous shopping street in Asakusa and leads from the outer gate to the temple’s second gate
*The giant red paper lantern at the main gate of Senso-ji Temple is an Asakusa landmark
*Try a traditional omikuji, a fortune written on a strip of paper, at Senso-ji Temple for ¥100
*Take the Sumida River Cruise for a unique view of Tokyo from the water
*Cross Rainbow Bridge and see the beautiful lights and colors at sunset
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We briskly navigated our way through Shinjuku station. It is used by an average of 3.64 million people per day and is the busiest train station in the world.
Buddhist beggar and Tokyo businessman:
After a ramen lunch in Asakusa, we stopped by Senso-ji (金龍山浅草寺). The temple is dedicated to Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. According to legend, two fishermen found a gold statue of Kannon in the nearby Sumida River. The temple was founded in 645 for villagers to worship Kannon, making it the oldest temple in Tokyo. A massive paper lantern hangs at Kaminarimon or “Thunder Gate”. Nakamise-dori is a street running from Thunder Gate to the actual temple. It is lined with shops selling all kinds of souvenirs, candies, and snacks.
The pagoda and Hozomon or “Treasure House Gate” at Senso-ji.
Past the gate were several omikuji (おみくじ) stands. You shake the box until a stick falls out then find the correlating drawer to receive your fortune written on a strip of paper.
If the fortune is bad, you can tie the strip of paper onto the wires along with the other bad fortunes.
Incense sticks burning in front of the temple.
A view of the Tokyo Sky Tree, scheduled to open Spring 2012. When completed, the tower will be 634 m (2,080 ft) high.
We took the Sumida River Cruise for a unique view of Tokyo from the water.
We crossed Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge.
We spent the evening wandering around Odaiba, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay.
We checked out the Toyota showroom.
By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. To say the least, it was a day well spent!
