We're back where we landed. Tokyo. The capital city. A city of 40 million people, which is basically five times the size of NYC. A place that is so far advanced, it seems to be living in the future. And we were here for the remainder of the trip. It was time to see what the capital city was all about.
The first day's adventure began with a visit to the Railway Museum. Japan is known for its top notch trains, so it makes sense there's a museum devoted to them here. I've been to many museums in my day, but each one you enter has a new world to explore. We didn't begin on the ground level, choosing to start at the top and work our way down. This floor contained numerous hands-on exhibits as well as rooms with historical videos being projected onto walls and platforms. But the real gem of this section was the open air roof. Upon wandering out, you find informative signs at the edge. And on either side of the roof, tracks run by in the near distance. The signs identify the many types of trains (including the bullet trains), and also inform you of their schedules. So you could identify which train should be passing by, hear if from a distance, and watch with excitement as it rushed on by. It's not everyday you get to visit a museum and while doing so, witness the very thing's history you are observing actively flying by you. We stayed up there for a bit train watching and saw numerous types of bullet trains glide on by.
We then headed back inside where we wandered through a maze of the history of the trains. There were many pieces to see, life size train booths, replicating times long ago, and so much more. Near the end was a room that led to a model train set-up where you could sit in theater style seats and watch as the model trains followed their tracks through valleys, cities, and through mountains. There was also a narrator who provided information on what you were seeing in front of you. That was pretty cool. After the model trains, we took a lunch break at the restaurant on site. It was set up to act as if you were in an actual train car and from your table, you could look out the windows and observe the other trains passing by. The food was really good too.
The museum had so much more to offer and after lunch we did explore it all, but the last few highlights I'll leave you with were on the ground floor. It was incredible. Life size train cars and engines from all eras of time. And it wasn't just 2 or 3. There were probably 10-15 in the total. You could go inside, around, and even under some of them. This whole section could've been it's own museum. And if you wandered past all the trains and outside, there was an entire track course where children could drive small motorized train engines to their hearts content. Overall, this was an incredibly well done and worthwhile museum to visit.
Our next stop for the day was the Senso-Ji temple. This is Tokyo's oldest-established temple and by far one of the most popular to visit in Tokyo. Upon arrival, there is a long street that leads to the temple. It has over 70 shops lining the entirety of it. The area was swarming with more people than the temple with the incredible views in Kyoto. You can see the massive gate and it's ginormous lantern inside of it as you wander the sea of people. While that was our destination, we had to enjoy the journey. All the colors, smells, and sounds of the vendors beckoned us to take a peak at what they had. Ryan informed me that there was something I just had to try. We walked further down until we found the booth. They sold numerous sweets, but the one we (and mostly everyone else) in line were there for was the candied strawberries on a stick. Can't say I've ever had them before, but the hard candy shell exploded in my mouth with the first bite, followed by the natural flavor of the juicy strawberry. We walked further down until we found the booth. They sold numerous sweets, but the one we (and mostly everyone else) in line were there for was the candied strawberries on a stick. Can't say I've ever had them before, but the hard candy shell exploded in my mouth with the first bite, followed by the natural flavor of the juicy strawberry. I would definitely recommend getting this if you ever come here for a visit.
Once we had our fill of the strawberries, we once again merged into the sea of people and made our way towards the temple gate. From the last approach, two things were obvious. The massive lantern we could see from the beginning of the walk was truly larger than life when we reached it. The second was that the Tokyo Skytree in the distance was also a giant in its own right. I made sure to get both the temple and the Skytree in the shot. Then we followed the masses around the temple grounds, observing it in all its grandeur. There's only so much I can say, but you truly have to visit for yourself.
The skies still overcast, we wandered to a bridge with a koi pond, that probably has fish that are the most photographed in all of Tokyo as this was a popular photo op spot. Ryan then made the suggestion that we actually go do the Tokyo Skytree. The answer was obviously yes seeing as I have a habit of going to the top of towers in large cities. So he booked tickets for a later time, which means we had time to kill. This made for an opportunity to wander the streets, all the way to our destination.
The walk led us down near the river, where Ryan spotted a coffee shop and decided to get a caffeine recharge. Cup of Joe in hand, we stood on the edge of the wall overlooking the river. We could still see the towering Skytree in the distance, the traffic flowing across the bridge and on the other side of the river, some passing boats, and on the bank of the river, a line of blue tents. It was in this moment of our banter that Ryan pointed the tents out. They belonged to part of the homeless population of Tokyo. Ryan began explaining how that side of life was on this part of the world. Up until this point, I had noticed it occasionally, but not as prevalent until now. And to a certain degree, homelessness here was a little more discreet than it is in the US, but not fully hidden from the public eye. Nevertheless, it's still a sad thing to see anywhere.
We eventually left the river behind and made it to the doors of the mall that housed the Skytree. The line was long, but we had pre-paid tickets and surprisingly, the lines were smooth flowing. There were numerous elevators which loaded people like sheep in a pen. The staff spoke entirely in Japanese and for the first time, I knew what it felt like to be a foreigner visiting a major tourist spot and only be able to observe and not understand a lick of what the guide was saying. I stood in the packed elevator as they rattled off what I presumed was information about the Skytree. Then with a bow from the guide, the elevator doors closed. In a blink of an eye, we were shot up 350m (1,1480ft). We stepped out to yet another sea of people. Once we found an opening, I stood against the glass. There's sprawling before me, was Tokyo.
It was dusk so the city was twinkling with all the lights. I could only stare. For miles I saw only human advancement. No trees, no, nature, just a sea of buildings and cars. And let me tell you, the view made NYC seem incredibly small. You can't really fathom the size of a city that is five times larger than the Big Apple until you've seen it from this view. We slowly made our way around to see more of the view and each angle still blew my mind. But that wasn't all. We got the extended ticket to go up another 100m. One short elevator ride later, we were as high as we were allowed. For each high point I visit, I'm overly grateful that I do not have a fear of heights. And the view up here was even better. If I could've had that floor to myself, I would've been able to stay there for hours.
By the time we were ready to go back to ground level, the sun had completely set. We had to wait in a longish line for the elevators, but once we were on, we found ourselves back on the ground in no time. To close out the day, we went across the street to a rooftop restaurant, because eating dinner at ground level wasn't good enough after our previous excursion. The space was small, but being able to sit in the open air, high above the cars and people that moved below, enjoying Italian pasta made in the far east, and having the Skytree once again towering above us and adorned in a purple glow, was a most satisfying way to end the day in Japan's capital.
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