Saturday 14 December 2013

A day in Tokyo


Today we experiienced what it is like to be in a really big city, and for some, it was overwhelming. Our first stop was Asakusa and the famous Sensoji temple. We arrived and took a detour to look at Tokyo Sky Tree, which is the tallest tower in Japan

Then we ventured down the souvenir strret on the approach to Sensoji. Though there are hundreds of shops, some of which have been there for generations, Most of the "shoppers" in our group seemed to think they all sold the same thing. This didn't stop money being spent.


The street was very crowded if you have been brought up in Christchurch, but was relatively quiet as it was early in the day.
Then we took trains to the other side of Tokyo, to look at Shibuya crossing and the statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog.

There was some free time after lunch in order to experience bigger crowds and Japanese shopping. 
Forever 21, Loft and Tokyu Hands seemed to be the pick of the stores, and despite the seething mass of humanity which crosses the Shibuya intersection every change of lights, no one got lost and all made it back to the meeting point on time.

Following that we took the train again to Harajuku, the centre for young people in Tokyo. And this was really crowded!

One feature of today was using public rail to get around Tokyo. Sometimes we had seats and space and other times we were packed in and strap-hanging.




By the end of the day we were all glad to get back to the YH and be far from the madd(en)ing crowd. 
It is no wonder Mr Kuze suggested we stay only a short time in Tokyo.
More crowds but perhaps more interest is in store tomorrow as we head off to play at Tokyo Disneyland, the happiest kingdom of them all.