Up early the next morning we’re hitting the road to visit the humongous Tsukiji wholesale fish and vegetable market. It’s the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The world famous fish auctions in the inner market opens at 3am.Continue reading “Tsukiji fish market”
Category Archives: Japan
Omoide Yokocho – Memory Lane
Heading on from the dizzying heights of the Government Buildings we head back into the heart of Shinjuku – the neon heartland of Tokyo. The throbbing, heaving neon pulse of Shinjuku offers a multitude of entertainments including bowling and the quintessential Japanese cultural essential – karaoke. In the Shinjuku district there’s a particular place that’sContinue reading “Omoide Yokocho – Memory Lane”
Birds eye view of Tokyo
In order to get a view of the vast expanse of Tokyo we head to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings. The 243 meter tall building has two towers, and each houses an observatory at a height of 202 meters. You can see all of Tokyo from the 202-meter high observation decks, located on the 45thContinue reading “Birds eye view of Tokyo”
Night time neon
We spend so long pottering around Akihabara that night time descends upon us – but this is by far the best time to see the area. As darkness falls, the sterotypical image of Tokyo splutters into life and the evening is blazed bright with neon billboards and advertising. The lights add yet another dimension toContinue reading “Night time neon”
Awesome Akihabara
After sating my desire for all things kitchen related we head onto get our first glimpse of one of the ubiquitous sights in Tokyo – the neon jungle of Akihabara, AKA Electric town. Akihabara is named after the fire-controlling god of a shrine built after the area was destroyed by a fire in 1869. Akihabara gained theContinue reading “Awesome Akihabara”
Kitchenware town
On we trot to the next of my key sightseeing spots – Kappabashi Street AKA Kitchenware town! Easily identified by the humongous chef looming above the entrance to the south entrance, Kappabashi Street is where the restaurant trade does its shopping. The street is lined with stores selling all the hardware needed by restaurants and other foodContinue reading “Kitchenware town”
Raccoon dogs and tiny peeps
Heading on from Senso-ji we briefly admire this impressive copper statue of the 9th Danjuro Ichikawa the famous kabuki actor. He is shown in the role depicting “Shibaraku”. Then it’s onwards for more exploring of the winding streets of Asakusa, complete with colourful wall hangings and delightfully garish posters. Now we find ourselves exploring the curiousContinue reading “Raccoon dogs and tiny peeps”
Purification and Ema
Heading back in the Senso-ji temple grounds for one final snoot around we find more delightful details. A Tori gate leads the way to Asakusa Shrine also known as Sanja-sama “Shrine of the Three gods”. The shrine honours the three men who founded the Sensō-ji. Another of my favourite new photo subjects are the multitudeContinue reading “Purification and Ema”
Faux food and fascinations
Finally back on the blog to carry on charting the epic trip to Japan that we took last year. Still in Tokyo’s Asakusa district we carry on exploring the fascinating back streets full of incredible sights. The man starts off his holiday task of being “stick your head in that” man and poses for aContinue reading “Faux food and fascinations”
Senso-ji Shrine
Asakusa is a wealth of details from the spiritual to the hyper modern. Patterns, colours and nature abound. In a city where there are very few buildings older than 50 years because of the wartime bombing, Asakusa has a greater concentration of buildings from the 1950s and 1960s than most other areas in Tokyo do.Continue reading “Senso-ji Shrine”