Old city, actually called the low-city, awaited us. We took the train and subway to Asakusa, a district by the Sumida river. Our first impression was that it looked a lot like Kyoto. More of a traditional style architecture, lower buildings and many shops selling traditional Japanese goods and crafts.
We walked along the Nakamise shopping street. A lot of sweets and souvenirs on offer, and a lot of tourists. The street ends up by the Sensō-ji shrine, a beautiful place that send us back many centuries. It is a lovely contrast to the skyscraper skyline behind.
We wanted a snack by the food vendors but there were only sweets on sale. So we walked over to the other side of Sumida river, heading for the Tokyo Sky Tree. The neighborhood was charming with a couple of modern touches such as the Asahi beer tower with its weird golden turd looking statue on top.
Before heading up to the tower, we had our first bowl of Ramen. We went for a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet and this pork bone based noodle soup was delicious.
The Tokyo sky tree is the worlds second highest tower at 634 meters. It has two observation decks at 350 and 450 meters. The tower is situated in the middle of a huge mall, with an amazing amount and variety of shops. Among the weirdest and in our opinion the most ridiculous was the PPAP café. Some guy sings "I have a pen apple pineapple pen" and suddenly there are cafes and department stores filled with merchandise. During our trip we had seen this on TV, on billboards and met people who just loved this, and we still don't get it.
The view from the tower was breathtaking. We waited until after dark so the city was lit up and just went on endlessly into the horizon. We really wished we had our tripod with us.
After a couple of hours at the top, we stocked up on fresh fruits, bread and cheese for a relaxed evening at our appartment.
We walked along the Nakamise shopping street. A lot of sweets and souvenirs on offer, and a lot of tourists. The street ends up by the Sensō-ji shrine, a beautiful place that send us back many centuries. It is a lovely contrast to the skyscraper skyline behind.
We wanted a snack by the food vendors but there were only sweets on sale. So we walked over to the other side of Sumida river, heading for the Tokyo Sky Tree. The neighborhood was charming with a couple of modern touches such as the Asahi beer tower with its weird golden turd looking statue on top.
Before heading up to the tower, we had our first bowl of Ramen. We went for a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet and this pork bone based noodle soup was delicious.
The Tokyo sky tree is the worlds second highest tower at 634 meters. It has two observation decks at 350 and 450 meters. The tower is situated in the middle of a huge mall, with an amazing amount and variety of shops. Among the weirdest and in our opinion the most ridiculous was the PPAP café. Some guy sings "I have a pen apple pineapple pen" and suddenly there are cafes and department stores filled with merchandise. During our trip we had seen this on TV, on billboards and met people who just loved this, and we still don't get it.
The view from the tower was breathtaking. We waited until after dark so the city was lit up and just went on endlessly into the horizon. We really wished we had our tripod with us.
After a couple of hours at the top, we stocked up on fresh fruits, bread and cheese for a relaxed evening at our appartment.
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