From Asakusa’s temples to Odaiba’s game parks

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Our ritual, the 10 min fast walk to the Okachimachi JR station will be discarded today as we will be discovering one of the nearby highlights of Tokyo: Senso-ji temple in Asakusa area. The abundance of tourists proves we are in the right direction.

You can witness the ultimate prototype of Japanese tourists taking pictures (but no need to come to Japan for that). Unexpectedly here, foreign tourists are caught in the game and align to take pictures hastily.  The number of shops on the way is astounding. We stop by a nice ukyo-e shop at the beginning of the street.

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In Senso-ji, we encounter a high number of elderly people with their cameras; some are just enjoying the sunshine. The streets surrounding the temple have nicely painted store facades, depicting various scenes of Japanese lifestyles.

The old district with its rickshaws has very pleasant alleys. We continue our walk along the river in the Sumida park and admire the renowned Japanese trademark: cherry blossoms. We’re at the right season and everyone seems to be enjoying walking under the white trees. Initially, we could not say were very fond of cherry blossoms, or let’s say that it was not high on our list. Now we can only admit how beautiful those are and admire the beauty of nature at its best. We have a quick lunch at a sushi conveyor just by the corner next to the pier before embarking on the next boat to Hinode pier.

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As we cross the different bridges, we discover a crowd of buildings on both sides of the river. Odaiba is quite a new neighbourhood. It holds its name from the word ‘daiba’, famous obstacles that the Japanese constructed at the end of the 19^th century to obstruct the entrance of big foreign ships. Odaiba island is a nearly perfect obstacle to access the Tokyo bay.

On the other side of the Hinode bridge stands a very displaced monument: the statue of liberty… We stop for a memorable photo pose without even bothering with the additional costs and hassles of a trip to New York! Manhattan moves to Odaiba! We wander around in the main attractions and start with La Palette town where we experience the race simulation at the Mega Web, look with lots of curiosity at the new hybrid concept cars and the Toyota formula one car. Toyota has another design centre where you can try tomorrow’s robots and today’s funky chairs. (not to forget the latest car design for handicapped persons)

Our final destination (very much lobbied for…) is Joypolis, the Sega mega game centre. We take a day pass and spend hours playing games one after the other. We start with the virtual reality games (jungle and river rafting trips) that are a lot of fun, then we warm up with car racing where you are actually in the cars; and bobsleigh. We then try the shooting games where we should eliminate the villains. The church horror show in 3D is also a good one but not for the squeamish. We finish second at the heart racing skating game! At last, we try the triathlon game with all the funny warm up tips given by the employees. Very busy with our games, we realize it’s nearly 11 pm and we’re practically the last customers. We’re somehow disappointed not to be able to play Jack Bauer on 24h challenge and Prison break as both plots are in Japanese.

On the way out, the view leaves us speechless. All the buildings and the Hinode bridge are shining in the night and their reflection on the serene waters of the Sumida river is magic. We stand there for some time and have a cigarette, until, lost in translation, we bump into a nice couple who indicates us the way back home before the last train.

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Tip of the day :

Senso-ji area is a very touristy affair. Don’t expect anything exceptional to buy there.

The river cruise from Asakusa to Hinode Pier costs 720¥. More than one boat per hour. Some boats go directly to Odaiba but best to book in advance.

Joy polis costs day pass costs 3500¥ (only 2500¥ from 5 PM). All games are then free of charge. Opens until 11 PM.

Aqua city Odaiba is a great shopping mall. Special attention to a very nice shop called “3 minutes happiness”.

Comments

[albenat]

Hello les amis (konnichiwa plutôt!)
C'est chouette de vous retrouver au Japon cette fois !! Un petit mot comme un petit souvenir qui passe.
Plein de bises à vous 2 et j'espère que tout se passe bien. Toujours au Liban ?
A très bientôt...
Anne-Laure