Tokyo, Lisa Burke Simon

When planning our adventure, we decided to book a day trip to Nikko via Klook. The tour was scheduled for 8:00 am. Having experience with the subway system for the previous day’s excursions, we were fully prepared to arrive at Tokyo Station at 7:45 am, easily in time for our tour.

A few minutes after 7:00 am, I received a WhatsApp message asking where we were. What??? We were at our hotel, about to begin breakfast. To our amazement, the tour company changed the time of the tour to 7:00 am without notifying us! Time for our first pivot!

We researched how to get to Nikko on our own…using subways, trains, and buses, we re-created the tour! By doing so, we enjoyed Kegon Waterfalls (trying hard to avoid the groups of school children), Lake Chuzenji, Shinkyo Bridge, and the absolutely magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Toshogu Shrine.

The day was long, including a delay caused by our first train (our of three) on our return hitting an animal…yet the sights were spectacular!

Kegon Waterfall

Fall foliage arrives!

Rocky path up to Toshogu Shrine

A stone lantern and fall colors on the way to Toshogu Shrine

Toshogu Shrine’s Nakajinko (Middle Storehouse)

Stone lanterns sporting autumn colors

Yomeimon Gate

Karamon Gate

Rinnoji Temple, part of the Toshogu complex

Shinkyo Bridge

After a long yet smooth flight, I finally arrived at about 7:00 pm in Tokyo! Well, I landed in Narita and took the Limousine Bus to our hotel where Kayla met at the entrance, ready to start our four week Japan adventure. First, though, was dinner at a nearby sushi restaurant where our server had fun teaching us a few words, including Sumimasen (excuse me) and, of course, the all-important Arigato (thank you). The four young men sitting next to us had fun demonstrating how to use Sumimasen to get the server’s attention when they needed another plate of food or another round of drinks.

Back at our hotel, we tasted wine from a wine vending machine! The Cabernet Sauvignon was…drinkable… 😊

The next morning, we launched into our one day Tokyo exploration.

To begin, we hopped onto the subway for Asakusa, where we saw the Senso-ji and Nakamise. Feeling mesmerized by my first temple (Senso-ji) and pagoda, my camera and I went into overdrive!

After wandering the streets of Asakusa, we headed over to magnificent Meiji Jingu and its imperial gardens. Beautiful!

From there, we walked to Yoyogi Park for the comedy highlight of the day. Workers needed to move two cones. They did so on a forklift, necessitating a driver and FOUR guards making sure the driver was safe! We laughed, as did the guards and driver.

Next, we meandered over to Harajuki and Cat Street, a bit disappointing as it’s mainly a big shopping district similar to what one would find in New York City or London. On Cat Street, though, we saw a line of young women, dressed somewhat similarly, having their photos taken and being interviewed by an older woman. It ends up that they are all models for some show.

Finally, we headed to Shibuya Crossing, where up to 500,000 people cross each day! It’s a wild scene, with people crossing all four directions and criss-cross! For the city view, we enjoyed our reserved couch seats at Shibuya Sky’s rooftop bar, complete with a couple of drinks and a light snack.

It was a full day – a very full day! – and a great introduction to Japan.