While traveling, I love to wake up early and wander around the surrounding before actually execute my itinerary, just so I could accidentaly found some interesting place that wasn't planned to be visited before. So on my second last day in Tokyo, I woke up at 5 and then wander around and around. My hotel was at Chiyoda-ku area, and I heard that Tokyo Imperial Palace is around the area. So I walk along the neighborhood until I found Tokyo Imperial Palace, and luckily, I stumble into Kitanomaru National Garden. A vast and beautiful garden in the heart of Tokyo, people say that this garden is at its best while Sakura is blooming, poor me even though I travel in spring, but the The Sakura was already fall in Tokyo. Here is some pictures I capture along my morning wander.
Kudanshita Station, The Nearest Station from My Hotel, Grand Palace Tokyo
In Front of Spring Water Gate, Kitanomaru National Garden
Area of Tokyo Imperial Palace
Imperial palace, where the imperial family reside, is surrounded by stone walls and moats, and inside the stone walls it is again surrounded by a vast garden. The imperial palace is originally located at Kyoto, but then moved to Tokyo at 1868. The palace is not open for public, but its East Garden is, and in the above picture I posed in front of East Garden entrance. East Garden consist of memorial, garden, and Museum of The Imperial Collection which I really want to visit, but when I arrived it had not opened yet and I had itineraries coming up so it was impossible to visit the museum, well next visit, I hope!
Gosh as I write this, you can not imagine how much I miss the feeling to be wandering around and feel Japan's spring air, the cold wind and breeze, while absorbing the divine architecture and strong tradition of Japan. And the next thing on my itinerary is Asakusa Temple. So here we go...
Dress (tailor made), Sweater (Marks & Spencer),
Shoes (Yongki Komaladi), Bag (Charles & Keith)
Asakusa Kannon Temple located in Asakusa, it is a Buddhist temple. Asakusa Kannon Temple itself is Tokyo's oldest temple. I entered the temple from Kaminarimon, the outer gate of the temple and symbol of Tokyo. After the gate, inside I can see the temple main hall and a five storied pagoda. When I arrived there, a lot of people was praying in the main hall. Just outside the main hall, I found a lot of fortune kiosk which I really want to try, but the fortune that was written at a piece of paper is in Japanese and too bad I do not know how to read it. Fuh.
Anyway, if you ever heard about melon pan, which is a soft bread that tastes like melon, here in Asakusa, just before Nakamise - dori, you would find the best melon pan. Just find kiosk with the longest queue and you will not be mistaken that it must be that oh so famous melon pan!
Shops and Crowds along Nakamise - dori
Nakamise - dori is a street that we have to walk along before the main entrance of Asakusa Kannon Temple and it hosts a lot of souvenir and traditional Japanese food and cookies shops. I can not get enough with every little shop there! Just make sure to try every snacks and foods you want while feeling the atmosphere of Tokyo. I found a lot of ningyoyaki shop which is a cake with read bean paste filling and I am happy just to look at the process of the making of ningyoyaki while eating it fresh and hot from the oven.
Sanja Matsuri Festival
There are three biggest festivals in Tokyo, Kanda Matsuri, Sanno Matsuri and Sanja Matsuri. I am that one lucky traveler who do not know that I travel in the appropriate time where Sanja Matsuri was being held at Asakusa.
The Sanja Matsuri is an annual festival in the Asakusa district that takes place over the third full weekend in May. It is held in celebration of the three founders of Sensoji Temple. The Sanja Matsuri features about one hundred mikoshi, portable shrines, in which Shinto gods (kami) are symbolically placed into and paraded about the streets to bring good fortune to the local businesses and residents.
A Glance of Odaiba
Hello Disney Sea!
I do not have much time in Japan, so I have to choose between Disney Land or Disney Sea, and truly it actually is breaking my heart… And with this is mind I finally choose Disney Sea: there is only one Disney Sea in the whole world, and it was there, in Tokyo. Disney Land? I could visit it later when I have the chance to travel to Paris, maybe?
And, by the way, I heard that Disney Sea offers a lot more variety of foods and restaurants than Tokyo Disney Land. And, I loveee foods! The architecture of course is divine and dreamy like you would imagine. This theme park consists of seven area: American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Arabian Coast, Mermaid Lagoon, Mysterious Island, and Mediterranean Harbor. But what makes me really happy is its vast area; I love getting lost inside, enjoying every corner, every restaurant and the different smell that come from inside the restaurant, looking at every piece of the souvenir they provide, sitting at a table and sip a cup of coffee while observing my surrounding, taking pictures, well lots of them. Well, you could say I'm not a fan of attraction, and those things above is what I do at theme park.
As I enjoyed the park, I realize that crowds of people were starting to sit around the lake in Mediterranean Harbor area, oh it must be that famous parade that they're waiting for. You could see at my last picture above, how dreamy and spectacular the show was. It was a beautiful closing to my second last day in Japan. And now I hope that I could go back there, soon… Who would not?
