This Saturday found us partaking in a newly added ITT trip, The Tokyo Cultural Tour. We were very excited to sign up for the tour since it brought us to a few of Tokyo's iconic places such as Asakusa Kannon, The Meiji Shrine and the Tsukiji Fish Market. However, the weather was not to be kind to us. The day was very cold and wet which put a damper on our tour.
Our first stop was the Meiji Shrine. Once again, I will quote from the tour pamphlet:
"Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine. Shinto is called Japan's ancient original religion, and it is deeply rooted in the way of Japanese life. Shinto has no founder, no holy book, and not even the concept of religious conversion, but Shinto values harmony with nature and virtues such as "Magokoro", a sincere heart...
The shrine is dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. However, their actual tombs are in Kyoto. After the Emperor and Empress died, people wished to commemorate their virtues and to venerate them forever. So they donated 100,000 trees from all over Japan and from overseas, and they worked voluntarily to create the forest around the shrine. Thus, thanks to the sincere heart of the people, this shrine was established on November, 1, 1920."
We started walking to the main shrine area through the very large Torii or Shrine Gates.
Even though the rain put a damper on our day, the walk through the forest leading up to the shrine was beautiful and peaceful. It was very quiet considering the shrine is right in the middle of Tokyo.
Walking up to the shrine you will also come upon a display of sake barrels or nihonshu which were donated to the shrine. It is very interesting to see the different art work found on each barrel.
The left photo is the entrance into the main shrine complex. Because the day was so wet and cold, the complex was fairly empty (right photo).
Like most Japanese shrines and temples, the Meiji Shrine offers wooden prayer blocks that visitors can purchase and leave at the temple. The close up of the wooden blocks shows the beautiful artwork found on them.
From the main complex we then took a very wet walk to the Treasure Museum, thank goodness we were prepared for the rain (left). However, it didn't look like anyone else was willing to take the 10 minute walk in the constant drizzle (right).
There is also a picture gallery of past emperors, I think. I don't remember because I am a bad tourist. But here is a photo of what was in there. Forgive me, I was wet and cold.
_______________________________________________________
After the Meiji Shrine, we headed to the Tsukiji Fish Market to grab something to eat for lunch and to look around. The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, or Tuskiji Fish Market as it is more commonly known, is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. Here is a brief introduction to Tsukiji:
"In 1657, Edo (Old Tokyo) was devastated by the Great Fire of Meireki, and the Tokugawa shogunate decided to fill in the coastal area of Edo. Using advanced civil engineering, the land was reclaimed from the Tokyo Bay and named Tsuki-ji which literally means 'constructed land.' The place used to be quiet with only shrines and homes for Samurai. Then in 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed much of central Tokyo, including the Nihombashi Fish Market. The fish market was then relocated to the Tsukiji District and began its operations in 1935. As Japan enjoyed a major economical growth in the 1980s, people all over the world became interested in Japanese cuisine. The Tuskiji Outer Market has been attracting visitors from all around the globe."
Tsukiji Market is separated into two main areas: the Inner Market (Jonai Shijo) and the Outer Market (Jogai Shijo). The Outer Market is Japan's "Food Town" and you can experience all different types of Japanese cuisine here. It also holds many different wholesale and retail shops selling everything from Japanese chef knives to Japanese cooking ingredients.
Our bus parked across the street from the Outer Market, so we were able to walk around and view the different stalls and stores. Even with the rain, there was still a good number of people out shopping.
"A" enjoyed seeing the different foods being sold.
The Outer Market was about a block's length of restaurants and stores. It took us about 5-10 minutes to walk through it to get to the Inner Market of Tsukiji. Here is the entrance to the Inner Market. When walking around the Inner Market you must be aware of your surroundings. It is very busy and there are dozens of forklifts zipping around and the workers are busy packing up.
The Inner Market of Tsukiji is the wholesale market for food professionals and contains over 1500 stalls that sell over 450 different types of sea produce. It is also where the food auction takes place. Millions of dollars worth of tuna are auctioned here daily. (Update: on January 5, 2013 a bluefin tuna was sold for $1.76 million at Tsukiji.)
Growing up with uncles that were fisherman, I truly loved the fish market. It brought back memories of them bringing home yellowfin tuna, mahimahi, and marlin. I wished we could have purchased some of the seafood here but a)We were on a tour and I had no way of keeping it fresh & cold; and b) Even at it's wholesale price, this quality seafood can still get pricey.
If you are not a fan of seafood I suggest you try some from here. You cannot get seafood any fresher than what is found in Tsukiji. Fresh seafood doesn't smell fishy, but salty like the ocean. Once it becomes fishy smelling it is old. At Tsukiji, you can find fresh mollusks and clams, crabs, and squid and octopi.
The vendors also have some serious knife skills. Look at the way they deboned this tuna! There is no waste at all.
Not only do they possess serious knife skills, they possess serious knives! Don't believe me? Well, I stumbled upon a forklift that had, literally, an arsenal of knives just laying out in the open. Japanese people are so honest and trusting. I needed to get a closer look at the awesome display and, of course, to take a picture.
Well, I didn't realize that the vendor who owned the knives was watching and he was kind enough to invite us to watch him as he sharpened his knives. Knives?!?!?! That's a darn sword! What the heck was he planning on cutting? I'm glad they are so friendly, because that "knife" was very big and VERY sharp!
After the knife show, we browsed around a little more, took a customary photo inside the Inner Market and said goodbye to all that glorious seafood. Ahhh Tsujiki, until we meet again.
We then headed back out to the Outer Market and the multitude of eateries. One of the great things about Japan is that you don't need a fancy 5 star restaurant to get good food. There are tons of little (I'm talking the size of a walk-in closet) restaurants around Tsukiji catering to both visitors but more especially, the workers.
"A" was so cold that she asked if we could get hot ramen. Me being the kind mother, I decided against going for sushi/sashimi in the world's greatest sushi/sashimi area. *sob* Instead, we looked around to see where the locals were heading. There seemed to be a line by this little ramen shop that consisted of two gentlemen, a pot and a large wok. Didn't matter, they made a great bowl of tonkotsu (pork) ramen. We even lucked out and found two seats at the counter, the establishment only boasted 3 seats by the way. The delicious and hot ramen hit the spot and re-energized us to continue on with our tour.
_________________________________________________
After Tsukiji we headed a few blocks down to Hama-rikyū Onshi Teien or the Hama-rikyu Gardens. The Hama-rikyu Gardens can be found right along side the Sumida River. It's 64 acre garden was originally built in 1654 as a retreat for the shogun's family. However, in 1945 it was opened to the public.
It would have been nice to take our time to walk around the gardens, however, the rain had us rushing to our next destination. Hopefully, we can return to stroll around the gardens, visit the tea house and see the duck hunting sites.
Walking through the Hama Detached Palace Gardens finally brought us to the Waterbus landing. From there, we boarded onto a waterbus to enjoy a quick ride up the Sumida River. We decided to sit in the lower area where you can have drinks and snacks.
With the constant rainfall, it was nice to sit and relax and enjoy the sites of downtown Tokyo while staying warm & dry, if even for a small moment. The Waterbus took us up the river towards Asakusa and we got off across the river from the Asahi Beer Headquarters (the building with the golden sperm on top). The golden sperm or golden turd was originally meant to be upright and represent a golden flame. For reasons unknown to me it was left on its side. I think it is more memorable this way. To the left of the gold building you will see a gray tower. That is the Tokyo Sky Tree which is set to open in Summer 2012. It is the tallest free-standing broad-casting tower in the world, standing at 634 meters.
After getting off the waterbus, we walked a few blocks to the Senso-ji Temple or as it is more commonly known, Asakusa Kannon. Asakusa Kannon is Tokyo's oldest and most sacred temple and is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon, whose golden statue was fished out of the Sumida River by two fisherman in the year 628 AD.
We entered the Temple through the Kaminarimon Gate or "Thunder Gate". It was difficult to get a good photo showing the guardian statues on either side since I was trying to avoid all the umbrellas. The good thing about the rain was that Asakusa was less crowded. Yes, this is less crowded.
After entering, you then walk down Nakamise-dori which is a long street filled with tiny shops containing souvenirs and snacks. There are also side streets that branch out from Nakamise-dori that offer different restaurants and shops to visitors.
After walking down Nakamise-dori you come upon the Hozo-mon Gate, Treasure House Gate, which leads you towards the main Hall.
Here is the backside of the Hozo-mon Gate.
It is here at the main hall that the gold statue of Kannon is housed. Worshipers come to pay their respects by throwing coins and lighting candles.
To the left of the Main Hall is a beautiful, five story pagoda dedicated to Kannon Bosatsu.
And to the right of the Main Hall is Asakusa Jinja, a shrine dedicated to the men who found the Kannon statue.
With all the rain and cold, it was easy to forget that it was the middle of April and essentially spring. However, the cherry blossom trees were kind enough to remind us of the season.
We ended our tour at Asakusa and boarded our bus to return back to base. It was a wet and busy day, but still enjoyable. It was great to see so many of Tokyo's famous attractions. I hope to return to them at another time, and pray that it is warmer and dryer. Until our next adventure.
