I went to Tokyo for 3 days and surprisingly actually got to see some of Tokyo and I can't wait to go back!
Tokyo is beautiful.
It is like no other place in the world that I have seen (in pictures or in person).
It is colorful, clean, busy, crazy and serene all at the same time.
The following is a really long post with
!)Remember, you can click on the photos to make them larger.
Enjoy!
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| From the plane, approaching Vancouver. |
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| Rice Fields right as we entered Japan Kaori, the girl sitting next to me on the plane was very nice to tell me what those were. |
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| More rice fields - pretty much the biggest staple they grow in Japan. On my first day, I asked Lisa, ben's sister(Ben's my friend...Hi Ben!) about shrines. She recomended I go to Harajuku, and Alex (my interpreter) was kind enough to offer to join me. |
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| Gateway to Harajuku Shrine. Biggest shrine in Tokyo. The park surrounding it is the backyard / Garden of the Royal Family. |
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| This is where the Royal Family goes for strolls. Therefore, the garden was closed. |
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| Barrels of Saki. It's used for ceremonies in the shrine. |
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| Entrance. The ladies in Orange are the virgins of the shrine, They are polishing the wood (get your head out of the gutter). I asked Alex (my poor interpreter), he was not sure if 'Virgins' is a formal title, or a physical fact. And so it remains a mystery. |
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| These are Ema tablets. For ¥500 you can buy one, write a wish and hang it on the tree. |
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| I was quite excited to find one in Hebrew. |
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| This is me "Pissing off the gods" (As Alex gently put it) Apparently no one is allowed to sit anywhere in the shrine. Alex did not realize I planned to sit down right when he took the photo. Day 1 in Tokyo: Piss off gods....CHECK! |
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| Not sure why, but I really liked this tree. So here it is. |
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| Read Japanese from up to down. To read English (while driving) tilt head to right. |
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| Alex (my interpreter). We stopped for lunch, and I was with camera features. In real life, Alex has color. |
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| This is Kaori (mentioned before). She was very kind to take me out to dinner with her husband. I had a wonderful time, and so much fun trying new food, and laughing. One of the many reasons I had such a wonderful impression of Tokyo :) On my last day in Tokyo, Lisa was great to agree to Tokyo's famous Fish Market: Tsukiji at 7am. |
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| Tsukiji Fish Market |
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| Knives |
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| Those drivers were CRAZY, and they got priority, Lisa must have saved my life from being run over about 100 times. |
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| Look....HUGE Fish!! |
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| Squids |
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| Some sort of a shell |
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| I am not sure of the name of these guys. I do know I ate one (that was brutally grilled to death) he was very yummy... RIP little dude. |
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| More shells |
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| Tiger fish (I think) |
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| These were the size of my head |
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| Vewy Vewy Big Octopus... |
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| The market |
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| Lisa said these are Lobster's cousin. |
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| Yup..you guessed right.. These are skewered fish guts...yummy... |
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| Yellow Tail I am pretty sure I got to eat this a few minutes later. Reminder, we went to this market at 7am!!! |
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| Line-up to have sushi |
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| They were VERY small restaurants, but SOOOO worth it! |
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| This at my hotel made me think of my mom who always gets zapped by static electricity. They think of EVERYTHING in Japan!! |
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| Biggest Lantern in Japan in Sensoji shrine in Asakusa |
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| It was raining that day..... |
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| Under the lantern is this wood carving of a dragon. It is said to be protecting the light of the lantern. |
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| The shrine |
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| This kid was so cute! This is a very common pose in Japan for photos I like it! |
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| More lanterns |
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| And the beautifully carved bottom. |
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| In Tokyo, every block has a vending machine (or 3). They have anything from cold pop, water, juice, to hot canned coffee. |
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| Many restaurants around the city have the food they serve in wax models outside so you know what you can get inside. I had the bottom right one. |
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| Asakusa Subway station. Those gates open up once the train arrives. |
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| Yes, I had Pocari sweat. Kaori and I laughed about this drink for a while. It did not taste like sweat. |
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| On my way back to the airport, interesting building. |
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| I love this building. It's the Fuji Fuji TV station building. |
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| Approaching Narita Airport. |
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| Goodbye Tokyo, see you soon. |
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| I Love flying :) |
Thank you again Koby, Lisa, Alex, and Kaori for making my very short trip so great.
related, but this one just made me smile.
