We loved japan and Our first day in Japan, when we experienced every thing we loved about it for the first time, was especially memorable.
The first day in Tokyo we spent walking around the neighborhood where our hostel was- Asakusa- considered one of the more traditional neighborhoods in Tokyo. We went straight for the famous Shinto temple -one of the most famous in the city- and got our first taste of the rituals we continue to see at all Shinto shrines in Tokyo and Kyoto. Washing of the hands and mouth, lighting Insense, bowing and clapping, picking a fortune, writing a prayer on wooden slats.
We saw tons of girls and boys ( mostly girls) dressed in traditional garb. It a popular thing I that neighborhood and in Kyoto too for girls to go to a special place that dresses you up for a day ... We tried a variety of foods. In Asakusa there was more street food than any other part of the city that we visited... We tried grilled eel liver on a skewer, fried pork and onion patty, traditional asakusa bread(reminded us a lot of a Mexican concha), a bean paste sandwich from a pastry shop that had lines down the block in the mornings and ramen from Ippudo. The bean paste cookie turned out to not be all that good. We are realizing that just because there are a lot of people somewhere in japan or a long line somewhere doesn't mean it's especially good... There just tend to be long lines everywhere here In the biggest city in the world.
Near the asakusa shrine there are lots of pedestrian streets with little shops and food. We walked around soaking it all in.
At one point, We ran into a group of teenage girls all dressed the same. First they asked us where we were from and marked it on a map that they were carrying with them. Then we asked who they were. I figured they were students like those in Mexico that are often at tourist destinations with assignments to practice English with foreigners. But they said they were "idols," that they were singers. We asked for a song and they not only sang but danced in a synchronized routine. I later googled japanese idol and found this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_idol.
We walked to Ueno park filled with several museums and Shinto shrines ... It is one of the best places to see cherry blossoms when tHey are blooming. We were a few weeks too late to see them, so we had to imagine the main path lines with the pink and white sweeping branches above them. We did see one or two cherry blossom trees that still was holdin on to their somewhat wilted blossoms.
After a few hours rest at the hostel, we went to the Shibuya neighborhood. There we discovered a conveyor belt sushi place that is done all electronically ... You sit down in a line with the other patrons in front of a three tiered conveyor belt, using an iPad you choose what sushi you want. A little tray/train brings you your plates, stopping right in front of your chair, you press a button on the screen informing you received the plates and the tray back the way it came. We later found these types of places all over the city.
Shibuya is also famous for this six way crossing and the crowds of people crossing at one time.
I took these videos but you really have to be there to experience it!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hd1LfDMZcJg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-SMrZGgQoO8
We also sought out a mural in the huge Shibuya metro station that our guidebook mentioned, "myth of tomorrow" depicting the atomic bomb at Hiroshima.
The first day in Tokyo we spent walking around the neighborhood where our hostel was- Asakusa- considered one of the more traditional neighborhoods in Tokyo. We went straight for the famous Shinto temple -one of the most famous in the city- and got our first taste of the rituals we continue to see at all Shinto shrines in Tokyo and Kyoto. Washing of the hands and mouth, lighting Insense, bowing and clapping, picking a fortune, writing a prayer on wooden slats.
We saw tons of girls and boys ( mostly girls) dressed in traditional garb. It a popular thing I that neighborhood and in Kyoto too for girls to go to a special place that dresses you up for a day ... We tried a variety of foods. In Asakusa there was more street food than any other part of the city that we visited... We tried grilled eel liver on a skewer, fried pork and onion patty, traditional asakusa bread(reminded us a lot of a Mexican concha), a bean paste sandwich from a pastry shop that had lines down the block in the mornings and ramen from Ippudo. The bean paste cookie turned out to not be all that good. We are realizing that just because there are a lot of people somewhere in japan or a long line somewhere doesn't mean it's especially good... There just tend to be long lines everywhere here In the biggest city in the world.
Near the asakusa shrine there are lots of pedestrian streets with little shops and food. We walked around soaking it all in.
At one point, We ran into a group of teenage girls all dressed the same. First they asked us where we were from and marked it on a map that they were carrying with them. Then we asked who they were. I figured they were students like those in Mexico that are often at tourist destinations with assignments to practice English with foreigners. But they said they were "idols," that they were singers. We asked for a song and they not only sang but danced in a synchronized routine. I later googled japanese idol and found this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_idol.
We walked to Ueno park filled with several museums and Shinto shrines ... It is one of the best places to see cherry blossoms when tHey are blooming. We were a few weeks too late to see them, so we had to imagine the main path lines with the pink and white sweeping branches above them. We did see one or two cherry blossom trees that still was holdin on to their somewhat wilted blossoms.
After a few hours rest at the hostel, we went to the Shibuya neighborhood. There we discovered a conveyor belt sushi place that is done all electronically ... You sit down in a line with the other patrons in front of a three tiered conveyor belt, using an iPad you choose what sushi you want. A little tray/train brings you your plates, stopping right in front of your chair, you press a button on the screen informing you received the plates and the tray back the way it came. We later found these types of places all over the city.
Shibuya is also famous for this six way crossing and the crowds of people crossing at one time.
I took these videos but you really have to be there to experience it!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hd1LfDMZcJg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-SMrZGgQoO8
We also sought out a mural in the huge Shibuya metro station that our guidebook mentioned, "myth of tomorrow" depicting the atomic bomb at Hiroshima.
We finished off the evening with some Green Matcha Tea desserts from 7-11, starting an obsession with everything MATCHA (more about this later).
We were in Tokyo on a 12-hour layover 5 years ago and went to Ueno Park. Glad you got there too. That sushi ordering sounds fabulous!
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