BLOG POST 17
Coming back from Lake Ashi , we entered Tokyo the city of dreams. We had been hearing of the 1966 movie, “Love in Tokyo “enacted by Joy Mukherji and Asha Parekh since our childhood ,so I was mighty thrilled to be in Tokyo finally
For a change, our hotel in Tokyo was very good , lobby was spacious, reception was prompt and we had a good sleep .
We had a sumptuous breakfast in the restaurant set in the background of an artificial water cascade and sat in the lobby waiting for our guide
I happened to meet a gracious Japanese lady there who was waiting for her daughter and granddaughter, we got talking about our children I felt basically women are same everywhere, family oriented and warm
Just before starting for our trip our guide cautioned us to use the wash room because our day was going to start with a kimono experience,we would be hiring and wearing a kimono and it would be impossible to use the toilet while wearing the kimono
We approached Asakusa and the van was parked in a side lane where we saw ninja figures arranged on the walls of the houses and shops , we found it quaint
There were lots of shops selling and renting out kimonos all along the streets.
As the kimono experience was included in our tour package, our guide took us to the designated shop which had very good ambience
The rooms were separate for men and women and the men got busy selecting their robes
Colouful kimonos were displayed in racks and we were free to choose our pattern and color
Kimono are straight T-shape robes that fall to the ankles along with attached collars and long, wide sleeves.
They are customarily wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right (except when dressing the dead for burial) and are secured by a sash called as an obi, which is tied at the back.
To finish it off, it is worn with traditional footwear (zōri or geta) and split-toe socks (tabi).
We all had separate cubicles and were helped with our kimonos and a sash called obi was tied at the back, by time we were dressed in our kimonos ,we were all quite breathless due to the tightly tied kimono
Putting on all these layers and knots is an art in itself because it’s important to not only keep the kimono’s shape, but to also ensure that all the robes won’t fall apart nor open once we start walking around
We were given a choice of traditional foot ware worn on split toe socks, together with the tightly arranged kimono and tight shoes which were too short for us, it was quite uncomfortable but it was an experience to go through definitely. Our package didn’t include hair styling but we could choose a tote bag to carry
So out we came, self consciously looking at the one another,I thought a Japanese woman would also look self conscious in a sari .It took us a while to get used to walking in the zori foot ware
We walked to the nearby Senso-ji temple which is an ancient Buddhist temple
The Sensoji Kannon temple is dedicated to Kannon Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of compassion and is the most widely visited spiritual site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually.
The temple has a titanium tiled roof that maintains the historic image but is stronger and lighter.
The temple is dedicated to the Bodhisatva Kannon . According to history a golden statue of the Kannon, was found in the Sumida river in 628 B.C. by two fishermen who were brothers .
The chief of their village recognized the sanctity of the statue and enshrined it by re modeling his own house into a small temple in Asakusa so that the villagers could worship Kannon.
The first temple was founded in 645 AD, making it the oldest temple in Tokyo
Dominating the entrance to the temple was the Kaminorimon or "Thunder Gate". It featured three large lanterns.
The largest and most prominent lantern was a red chochin that hung under the center of the gate's opening. With a height of 3.75 m, a diameter of 2.7 m and a weight of 400 kg, the lantern displayed the name of the town Kobunachō and was very impressive to look at
On either side of the chōchin there were two 2.75 metre-tall copper toro , weighing approximately 1000 kg each. All three lanterns are completely removed during festivals such as Sanja Matsuri.
On the Hōzōmon's north face were the waraji, two 4.5 m long, 1.5 m wide straw sandals that weigh 400 kg each,they were supposed to give good walking skills to those who touch them
The current lantern, the fifth iteration, was built by Takahashi Chōchin K.K in 2013 and has the same metallic base on the bottom as the previous lantern.
Also in the gate standing left and right are the statues of Shinto Gods Fujin (wind) and Raijin (thunder).
Right next to Kaminarimon Gate and Sensoji Temple is the Asakusa Shrine which was constructed for the worship of the two brothers and their land lord, it is a Shinto shrine and the 5 storey pagoda
Beyond the Kaminarimon is Nakamise-dori a street with shops which started in the early 18th century.
However, in May 1885 the government of Tokyo ordered all shop owners to leave. In December of that same year the area was reconstructed in Western-style brick.
During the 1923 Great Kanto earth quake, many of the shops were destroyed, then rebuilt in 1925 using concrete, only to be destroyed again during the bombings of World War II.
The length of the street is approximately 250 meters and contains around 89 shops
These shops sell souvenirs ranging from fans, ukiyo -e (wood block prints), kimono and other robes, Buddhist scrolls, traditional sweets, fish pancake, strawberry, cold green tea, and ice cream ,Godzilla toys, T-shirts and mobile phone straps.
We returned our kimonos and went to the Tokyo Sky tree which had been beckoning us from the morning ,it is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida.
It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010 and reached its full height of 634.0 meters in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower and the second tallest free standing structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa
Sky tree opened to the public on 22 May 2012. It resembles a 5-story pagoda from historical Japan. The base of the tower has a structure similar to a tripod , from a height of about 350 m and above, the tower's structure is cylindrical to offer panoramic views of the river and the city.
When we reached it we couldn’t look at its tip,it was so tall ,we took elevators up to the observatories
There are observatories at 350 m with a capacity of up to 2,000 people and 450 m with a capacity of 900 people.
The upper observatory featured a spiral, glass-covered sky walk in which we went the last 5 meters to the highest point at the upper platform. A section of glass flooring gave us a direct downward view of the streets below, in the process making us giddy too
The tower has seismic proofing with oil dampers, which act as cushions during an earthquake and according to the designers, the dampers can absorb 50 percent of the energy from an earthquake
When we came out we could see tiny tots enjoying in the water fountains , they looked so cute ,I always feel that small children are divine due to their innocence
We next went to Tokyo Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the main palace, some residences of the Imperial family, an archive, museums and administrative offices.
It is built on the site of the old Edo castle. The total area including the gardens is 1.15 square km
We had to stop the van at quite a long distance away and walked in the hot sun till the palace, to our disappointment we could see it from only from far
After that we went to Ginza one of the city’s top shopping districts, as it was a weekend, street was closed to vehicular traffic so we could stroll through the streets.
Ginza is Tokyo’s most exclusive and affluent neighborhood and a shopper’s paradise packed with upmarket boutiques and ritzy cocktail and sushi bars.
Fine jewelry is sold in the 1930 s Wako Honkan department store, while ultramodern Ginza Place specializes in high-tech electronics. Suddenly we saw what we thought two lions on the road ,on close look they were dogs with funny collars
We had lunch in an Indian restaurant ,every Indian restaurant had Ganesha displayed
We were then taken to a popular shopping center
One section had the parents giving foot prints of their tiny tots
Our next visit was to Mega Web a car theme park operated by Toyota in Odaiba's Palette Town.
The Showcase had initiatives to realize mobile society of the future through fun-filled exhibits and hands-on experiences of next-generation technology
It had a 1.3-km driving course for test driving. Ride studio offered mini car driving and the Waku-Doki had simulated race track driving.
In the Technology zone one could explore Toyota's initiatives for mobility and future technologies.
In GR zone some of the activities of Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota's motor sports team, and its “GR” sports car brand could be seen
Line up zone had many of Toyota's latest cars on show
Just across the Megaweb was the Venus Fort in waterside Odaiba district
Venus Fort is Tokyo's probable answer to the European Renaissance. Exterior décor of this three-floor shopping, dining and entertainment complex displayed a vast, airy, elaborately ornate interior, with Italian décor and architecture, painting, and scenery. Shopping was duty free.
The most stunning visual was its lofty "sky" above, a constantly morphing play of ethereal blues and sunset pinks on a domed ceiling.
The display of clouds and various flavors of light takes place over a repeating one-hour cycle and was beautiful to watch
Shops included Tokyo's biggest Lego store, jewelry stores, restaurants and a lot of fashion stores.
Our evening in Tokyo and tour in Japan ended with a dinner in an Indian restaurant at the Tokyo bay We sat looking at the Rainbow bridge with the millions of lights flickering brightly
We could see the famous Odaiba’s replica of the Statue of Liberty. Though it's positioning in front of the Rainbow Bridge gave the impression that it is a huge statue, it’s about 1/7th of the size of the New York original.
It was originally erected in 1998 as a temporary tribute to Japan’s relationship with France, but the statue was so popular it was made a permanent feature in 2000.
Odaiba Statue of Liberty is not the only one in Japan, she also has sisters in Shimoda and Osaka.
Next day we had a packed breakfast given to us by the hotel and started for our journey back home, our guide personally came and bid us a teary farewell at the security check .We also told her a loving Sayonara.
The Japanese are very warm people, very gentle and refined ,what we saw of Japan was just the tip of the ice berg ,there were lot more places to see and things to savor
