Day 174 May 2nd, 2007, The Old and the New - Tokyo

Being Golden Week it seems that everyone has left Tokyo for the surrounding areas as it was almost impossible to book a hotel any where near Mt Fuji, so we stayed in Tokyo for an extra day with our visit to Mt Fuji or Fuji San tomorrow.

There is a fair amount to see in Tokyo and we headed off to the bay area, jumped on the Yurikamone train for a tour of the area where many of Japans large electronic companies such as Toshiba have their offices. The architecture of some is pretty interesting such as the Fuji Television building below.

Travelling to the Asakusa area of Tokyo after lunch we came across the Asahi building, the tower on the left is designed to resemble a glass of beer.

Close to the giant beer building was our first taste of ancient Japan. We were able to visit one of the many Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines. The entrance below (1st Picture) is Kaminarimon the temple gate, behind it is a street lined with small shops (2nd Picture) many of which sell some sort of food or sweets. We quite happily ate our way along the street until we came to the Senso-ji Buddhist temple, the oldest in Tokyo


The actual temple is behind this second impressive gate in the picture below. Close by is a Shinto Shrine. In Japan many people follow both Buddhism and Shintoism and the principles of both are entangled in everyday Japanese life

If you thought that the British were a nation of dog lovers think again, there are little dogs everywhere in Tokyo and most of them are carried or pushed around by their owners, only too happy to pose for a picture.

Aside from the traditional sushi on offer you can also try out Fugu also know as blowfish or pufferfish, we came across the restaurant below while wandering the streets near the temple. You can just about see the pufferfish swimming about in the tank.

Pufferfish contain high amounts of poison in the skin and organs and only specially licensed chefs are allowed to prepare Fugu. The poison gives quite a kick and a little is added to the dish, go too far though and your a gonna, every year people underestimate the effect of the poison and you can read the rest by following the Fugu link above.

We passed on swiftly by and came to some more pleasant fish, Japanese Koi in one of the many gardens in the city

Remember the film lost in Translation, most of it was filmed at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo. We visited the bar on the 52nd floor for some rather expensive but well made G&Ts, the view was a little cloudy but at least if I ever watch that slow boring film again I can say "been there"


Where would a city be without a Statue of Liberty, this one is in the bay area with the rainbow bridge and Tokyo tower in the background.

Highlights: Modern architecture mixed with temples and shrines