Tokyo Sights On Foot and By Subway
Japan has never been cheap. Not then, not now. From Narita, we took the express bus directly to the Crowne Plaza Metropolitan Hotel booked by the tour operator for the group. One of the least expensive methods of transportation and 60-90 minutes. A faster connection is the JR Narita Express train serving Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro Stations. The Narita Express takes only 60 minutes and all seats are reserved.
The Crowne Plaza Metropolitan Hotel is located in the Ikebukuro district close to the very busy Ikebukuro station and Seibu Department Store. Our group wasn't scheduled to arrive until tomorrow but there were places to see...now. Undaunted and armed with maps, we set off to explore Tokyo. ex-Marine and I went into the Ikebukuro Station and were instantly confused. Huge maps, different ticket dispensing machines, maybe this wasn't a good idea. To the rescue, three English speaking people who noticed our dumb-struck expressions and immediately asked where we were going and explained the coin machines along with maps. Very, very easy once it was shown to us. I wish the Internet had the information it does today. Check out Tokyo Metro with its easy-to-get-around suggestions.
In preparation for this trip to Japan, I bought a Japanese Language tape and listened daily while out running. Despite burning out brain cells, my linguistic abilities never got past Arigato (thank you), Konnichiwa (hello), Sayonara (goodbye), Hai (yes), Ohayou gozaimasu (good morning), and my big sentence that took three weeks to learn, Toire wa doko desu ka? (Where is the toilet?) It almost goes without saying that when they answered where the toilet was, I didn't understand one word. Just would politely bow, thank the person, walk in the direction pointed, and ask someone else. That went on until I was finally in front of a toilet! Now ex-Marine had a totally different Japanese vocabulary learned stationed in Okinawa while in the Marine Corps. His considerable vocabulary ran more along the lines of...finding the nearest red light district...ordering drinks...trading cigarettes for sexual favors...etc. None of this was going to be of any use if I had something to say about it.
Off the subway to the most famous sight seeing spot in Tokyo, Sensoji Temple (popularly called the Asakusa Kannon Temple). Sensoji is Tokyo's oldest temple, founded in the 7th century. There are three gates into the temple and Kaminarimon Gate is the main one. (Just follow the signs from Asakusa Subway Station.) The original temple was destroyed in 1945 during air raids. For more details, there is a Tourist Information Center opposite the gate. A pedestrian lane led to the shrine, lined with shops and souvenir stands...
..visited, watched the children feeding pigeons...and headed towards the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace, built on the spot where Edo Castle stood during the Tokugawa shogunate, is the residence of Emperor Akihito, 125th emperor of Japan. You can't actually get a good look at it since most of the grounds are off-limits. Instead, we took photos and walked to Nijubashi Bridge where you could see some of the Palace. The Japanese people come to pay their respects and we just hung out for a while letting the many students practicing their English on us. The Imperial Palace is in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda not far from the Ginza.
Once last "pilgrimage" for ex-Marine. To see the Tokyo Train Station located close to the Imperial Palace grounds. When he visited Tokyo in the late 1950's, the Tokyo Train Station was the tallest building in Tokyo. We're talking a whopping two stories high then.
Feeling like pros, we actually made it back on the subway to the hotel and crashed...
Waiting for the group the next day, we decided to walk over to Seibu, one of the nation's largest department stores. Arriving just as one of its 47 doors opened and bowed in by the staff, we went into culture shock. Seibu has thousands of sales clerks, dozens of restaurants, and 31 elevators. The elevators were run by "real people" instead of buttons and they bowed you in and out of the elevators. We spent half the day in Seibu trying to find something to buy that was reasonable. Out of luck, we setled for browsing, tasting the foodstuffs and gawking at the very realistic, wax food displays. Remember, this was 20 years ago and we'd never seen them before. Finally, bowed out of the store, it was back to the Metropolitan Hotel to await the group...
