Japan 2018: Tokyo Tower & Tokyo Skytree
Day 2
Day 2 of my solo Japan trip: I went to see Tokyo Tower and Skytree. It was so bright and beautiful outside and the weather was just amazing!
I started off my day heading off to see Tokyo Tower and passed by Zojoji Temple, which is very close to Tokyo Tower. I left at a decent time of 8:00AM, so the temple/streets weren’t too busy but after a few minutes, more and more people started to come through. You get a beautiful view of the temple with Tokyo Tower in the back from this temple.
There is a little water station near the front (and typical of any temple) where you cleanse yourself. The correct way to cleanse yourself: scoop a ladle of the water with your right hand, wash your left hand, then your right hand and pour some more whilst making a sort of scoop with your hand, rinse your mouth (don’t drink the water), wash that hand again, and finally tilt the ladle upright to rinse off the handle. If you don’t know how to do it, just watch other people do it! Just remember don’t drink the water and try not to wash your hands or spit the water you used to rinse your mouth where people actually scoop up the water.
You are able to pray at the temple if you wish - you just throw in a coin (typically a 50¥ coin). You can also have your fortune told! If you get a bad fortune, remember to tie it up so it doesn’t come true.
After passing through Zojoji Temple, I headed to Tokyo Tower. To be honest, I didn’t really want to head up just to see the view. I would probably just be looking at a bunch of buildings and maybe some water (not to say the Tokyo skyline isn’t beautiful). I wanted to save my funds for something a little more exciting - in my opinion. However, I did get an amazing view from up close!!
After Tokyo Tower, I did a quick lunch stop at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo Station. Food in Japan really isn’t that expensive. If you aren’t buying Kobe beef for all your meals, everything really is affordable. Or if you are really looking to eat on a budget, buying food at convenient stores like 7-11 or Lawson, has some great options. Sushi in Japan is extremely fresh, even the ones sold at convenient/department stores. It isn’t like the sushi I would find in supermarkets here in Toronto - I wouldn’t trust those…
My set meal was about $12-15. I can’t quite remember exactly how much it costs. The set came with 12 pieces of nigiri sushi, some miso soup and chawanmushi (I had to Google “Japanese hot savory egg dish” because I couldn’t remember for the life of me what it was called - haha) which is a steamed egg custard that is sometimes filled with things like shrimp or shiitake mushrooms.
Next, off to Tokyo Skytree! I didn’t go up so there really isn’t much to say there. But, there are tons of shops and all different sorts of food in the area and connected to Tokyo Skytree. You can literally spend half a day here. The tower lights up at night, so it was pretty.
On my way home, I decided to stop by a famous and the oldest temple in Asakusa, Tokyo - Sensō-ji Temple. By the time I got there, everything was closed but with all the temple lights on, it was so beautiful! You can get a view of the temple and Tokyo Skytree from here.
Though, when I get the chance to go back to Japan, I will definitely come here in the morning to try all the street food here. Asakusa is definitely famous for that at Nakamise dori.
After a long day of walking and extremely tired legs and feet, it was time to head back to the hotel. Tokyo Tower and Skytree were definitely first-time must sees but I probably wouldn’t spend the money to go up - though, maybe at night to see the night skyline? Well, until next time…
Cheers!
Thomas