A G: Japan Day 4 - Tokyo by Gordon, Senso-ji 浅草寺, Ueno Park 上野公园, Tokyo Tower 东京

Tokyo

- Gordon

Japan day 4: Osaka, Tokyo

Japan day 4: Tokyo
Senso-ji, Ueno Park, Tokyo Tower, Haneda airport

Tokyo Tower in daytime

Tokyo Tower at night

Shinkansen, Osaka-Tokyo

In the high speed train

of Japan

We took Shinkansen 新干线, high speed train from Osaka to Tokyo. After about 2.5 hours, we arrived at Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Tokyo is an awesome place. There are many things to see and to do. People who like popular places, love there. Why not visit.

Hozomon Gate of Senso-ji 浅草寺宝藏门

Hozomon Gate and Five Storied Pagoda of Senso-ji

浅草寺宝藏门和正在修复的五重塔

The front and back of

the main building of Senso-ji 浅草寺观音堂

People wait in line to pray at the main building of Senso-ji 浅草寺观音堂

A shrine of Senso-ji

A shrine of Senso-ji
一言不动尊

5 fingers on

the tree trunk

五指神树

Spread the smoke

to heal 熏香

Our first stop in Tokyo was Senso-ji Temple 浅草寺. Even it was 5 o'clock late in the afternoon, the temple was crowded with people. The temple used to be an entertainment. You can tell how popular this oldest temple of Tokyo is! The temple was completed in 645. They had a tradition to Spread the smoke on their face 熏香. IT is said to bring people good luck and heal their disease. We threw in a little money and prayed.

Back face of Kaminarimon Gate

雷门背面

Front face of Kaminarimon Gate 雷门正面

Pictures with the lantern of Kaminarimon Gate 雷门灯笼

The main entrance of

Senso-ji 浅草寺

O-waraji

touch to be

a good walker

Senso-ji Temple 浅草寺 is very famous for its protective gate, called Kaminarimon Gate 雷门. The original gate was built in 942. The gate was burned down in a massive fire in 1865 during the civil war. Like the Main Tower of Osaka Castle 大阪城天守阁, it was restore 95 years later. The giant lantern， in the middle of the gate, surprises everyone. The 2 wooden statues sit beside the gate representing the god of wind and thunder. They looks very scary.

Busy street of Senso-ji 浅草寺的繁华街道

A shrine of Ueno Park 上野公园不忍池天堂

A shrine of Ueno Park
上野公园大黑天堂

A shrine of Ueno Park 上野公园

Lotus at the pond of the Ueno Park 上野公园不忍池

A turtle in the pond of the

Ueno Park 上野公园不忍池

2 turtles climbing up,

the pond of the

Ueno Park 上野公园不忍池

A park in the city
Ueno Park 上野公园不忍池

Ueno Park 上野公园 is very big. Its pond 不忍池 is beautiful and provides a home to lots of wild animals. We saw turtles and koi in the lotus pond. They made a little noise in the quiet night. It is the best to visit in the spring because of the pink cherry blossom have bloomed. This park has a lot of trees that are all native to Japan. Someone counted up to 8,800 Trees and there was still more! It also includes a zoo, and a museum. Sadly, they are all closed when we arrived. When we come next time, we will reserve at least one day for this park. Located in the busy Tokyo city center, Ueno Park is precious, like the Central Park to New York.

Beautiful Tokyo Tower at night

Pictures with Tokyo Tower

Beautiful Tokyo Tower at night

Tokyo Tower is a tower in Tokyo made for observatory and also a TV station antenna. I spot it far from our Shinkansen train. It looks like the Eifel Tower. To tell you the truth, the construction team of the Eiffel tower inspired the workers here. Even the paint is also similar. Tokyo Tower's height stretches up to 333 meter. Located in the center of Tokyo, Tokyo Tower is 13 meters higher than its twin sister Eifel Tower. All buildings aren't very high in Japan. This makes Tokyo Tower a symbol of Tokyo.

Fun time at Tokyo Tower

Lookdown windows in the floor

at the Main observatory of Tokyo Tower (150 meters)

Fun time at Tokyo Tower

We took the elevator to its main observatory at 150 meters. If you like exercises, you can also take the 600-step staircase. The view from the tower is beautiful, especially at night. There are also some lookdown windows in the floor. Dare to lookdown? Try it! At the main observatory, the music is comfortable, the lights are in the attractive blue color. To our surprise, there are always shooting stars! We had a wonderful time and didn't want to leave. We played until 11 p.m. when the tower was closed.

Tokyo Tower behind the Chief Temple of the Todo Buddhist sect. Zojoji

净土宗大本山增上寺

Took the 2nd last

monorail train

from Tokyo Tower

to Haneda airport

The sunrise at Haneda airport

Saying farewell to Japan

Tokyo is great at every point you see it. I think it is a great capital! We walked from Tokyo Tower to catch the second last monorail to Haneda airport. That was the time around 11:40 p.m. Our flight back to Beijing was around 6 a.m. next morning. Seeing the beautiful sunrise at Tokyo airport, saying bye to Japan, I wish I could come here again.