This month, I had the opportunity to visit Tokyo as a tourist for one day and then travel to the Western prefecture of Tottori for another three days, all made real by the Tokyo and Tottori prefectures tourism boards.
The trip started with a short visit to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building that houses an observation deck about 200 meters from the ground. The entry is free and you can look around the city and see other landmarks as well as buy some souvenirs from the gift shop located on the same floor.
After viewing Tokyo from above we went to lunch at a local and traditional restaurant which offered such staples as sashimi and rice, as well as new delicacies such as escargot. The restaurant was quite cozy and we had a private room. The servers were all dressed very traditionally in Japanese kimono-type clothes and were incredibly attentive to our needs. The three-course meal finished with a plate of watermelon, along with a specialty fork and spoon designed specifically for eating watermelon.
After eating lunch we were in the Shinjuku area, so we briefly visited the Toho cinema building, home of the resident Godzilla bust statue on the roof. We were able to get up close and even touch the monster and also enjoyed looking at the various posters of the Godzilla movies throughout the years displayed in the lobby of the cinema.
Next, we took a short train trip to Ryogoku station, from where we could walk to the sumo arena that houses a small museum of sumo memorabilia and is also home to new up and coming wrestlers. We were lucky enough to see one of the new breed of athletes walking out of the building and he was kind enough to stop and take a photo with us. North of the sumo stadium are the Kyo Yasuda Teien gardens and we also walked around there to get some clean air away from the city area. It is a traditional garden including a fish pond and several bridges painted in the traditional red color.
We felt refreshed so it was time for us to walk over to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which is in the same district so not very far away from the gardens. It is quite a vast museum which houses many different exhibits and history of Tokyo from the Edo Period to modern times, including several full size buildings and figures. They also have many dioramas of the streets of Edo during that period which were full of figurines of people, animals and anything else that would've been alive during that time. The interesting part is seeing how much was actually served at the food carts, such as huge examples of sushi and also how the people were used to carrying food on their shoulders. You will swear that you are alive during that period if only for a short time. There are also real treasures, such as a life-size palanquin used to carry the royalty of those times in which you can sit and see if you fit.
After getting our fill of the Edo life, we took the train to Tsukishima street famous for its monja restaurants. Monjayaki is a type of pancake whose ingredients you can choose, usually some combination of cabbage, other vegetables and some meat. You can get to cook it to your taste on the hot plate and then eat it with a small spatula. Along with monja, you can also eat okonomiyaki, which is a similar but slightly bigger type of meat and vegetable pancake. The restaurant was small and cozy and we sat at a modern table and enjoyed some beer along with our food.
Once dinner was finished, we took the train again to the Shiodome station and then walked a couple of minutes to the nearby Royal Park Hotel the Shiodome, where I spent the night. The hotel is very upper class and has great views of the center of Tokyo skyline as well as Tokyo tower.
The room is set up for business and you have all the usual amenities expected from such a hotel including one of the sharpest razors I have ever used to shave with. The breakfast offered in the morning is the usual buffet style from which you can choose what you would like to eat and you can self-serve, the hotel staff were very nice and polite and helped with everything.
They also kept the wi-fi rental device which was provided for me to be able to access the internet on my travels and which I found in my room once I returned from my trip around Tokyo. Stay tuned for my next article which will describe my three days stay in Tottori prefecture as well as my adventures there.
