Tokyo Metropolis

April 24-27, 2019

The world’s largest metropolis

Technically, Tokyo is not actually a city, and therefore not the largest city in Japan. That distinction falls to Yokohama. Tokyo, on the other hand, described as a metropolis, is made up of 23 wards, 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages. All together they cover more than three prefectures. Over time, these entities expanded to the point where they merged into one giant interconnected collection of approximately 37 million people. The largest contiguous metropolis on earth. It’s fully 1.5 times bigger than the next largest metropolis of Seoul, South Korea. Greater Tokyo is home to 25% of Japan’s total population.

Choosing a Hotel In the big city

When visiting a city as large as Tokyo, it’s always best to situate oneself at a central location close to all manner of transportation. Since “downtown” Tokyo is the Shinjuku district, we chose the Hyatt Regency Tokyo. It’s only a few blocks from the main train station, and across the street from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It’s the centre of all bureaucracy for the metropolis, and has two 44+ storey towers with observation decks on the top that provide a 360º view of the city.

Hyatt Regency Amenities

Selecting the Hyatt Regency was certainly the right choice. Aside from its proximity to local infrastructure, as a five star hotel it provided everything we needed for our stay right inside the hotel.

Morning breakfast was included in the price, and the breakfast was very comprehensive. The hotel provided every possible combination of western breakfast foods in their restaurant buffet, or if one preferred, one could have a full Japanese style breakfast at another restaurant within the hotel. Very importantly, the morning coffee was exceptionally good.

Although the hotel had a number of different restaurants, and there were other restaurants within a few blocks of the hotel, we ended up eating exclusively at the restaurant where we had our morning meals. The reason for this was convenience. After a long day of traveling around Tokyo on the subway/train, and trying to recover from the jet lag, simply taking the elevator down to the lobby to get dinner was perfect for us.

Exploring Tokyo

We arrived in Tokyo three days ahead of boarding the ship so we could explore Tokyo a little on our own beforehand. We hired a local guide for half a day to show us a couple of the highlights and to instruct us on how to use the Tokyo Metro System. A decision that proved to be a smart choice.

From Shinjuku Train Station we could access just about anywhere in the country, if we so desired. This station, as well as the main metro system, was a fifteen minute walk down the street. Our route passed by some impressive architecture. One example was the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, a 50-story educational facility that was completed in October of 2008. The building is the home of the Tokyo Mode Gakuen (fashion vocational school), the HAL Tokyo (special technology and design college), and the Shuto Ikō (medical college).

Despite being able to board one of the Metro lines right under the hotel, our guide led us down the street and over to the Shinjuku Station where multiple Metro lines all came together underground. The Tokyo Metro System is made up of twelve or thirteen different lines. Often when going from one location to another in Tokyo you have to change from one line to another. But you only buy one ticket at the first station.

It’s easy to determine the fare by looking at the metro map. Just before each station shown on the map where you would exit the system, the number of Yen it will cost to get there from where you are currently standing is clearly shown. At that point you just push the “English” button on the machine and the screen switches to English language and you just follow the prompts. And if you’re still confused, there is always an attendant there that can help you muddle through it. Sometimes they can’t speak English, but simple hand gestures of where you want to go and they jump into action to help. Indeed, it’s all very well done.

Meiji Jingu Shrine

A short ride on the Metro took us south to a large forested park that surrounded the Meiji Jingu Shrine. It was the first stop on our short guided tour of parts of Tokyo.

The Meiji Jingu Shrine is one of the tens of thousands of Shintō shrines that dot the entire landscape of Japan. And those are just the officially registered shrines. If all of the private and unregistered group shrines were added in, the quantity would be in the hundreds of thousands.

Dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken, the Shrine was completed in 1920. Eight years after the passing of the Emperor. Destroyed in World War II, the Shrine was rebuilt shortly thereafter. It shares its location with adjacent Yoyogi Park, and the area provides a large forested sanctuary with numerous walking paths where one can get away from the busy metropolis for a peaceful respite.

Meiji Shrine is one of the most popular shrines in Japan, and as such is one of the most visited shrines in the country. The busiest time of year for the shrine is during the few days after the new year when upwards of three million visitors attend for the year’s first prayers. It’s the most visited shrine in the country during this period.

Our visit to Meiji Jingu was the end of April, just before the start of Golden Week, the annual country wide holiday. So we were spared the crush of local tourists we encountered later when we were visiting other areas of Japan.

Shibuya Crossing

One can’t go to Tokyo without visiting the world famous Shibuya Crossing, an intersection within Shibuya City where pedestrians cross every direction of the intersection at the same time.

But here’s the thing. You have to go there after 5pm because that’s the only time when the pedestrian traffic is sufficient enough to really make an impact on the viewer. Unfortunately our itinerary in Tokyo put us at the crossing before lunch time, and the traffic was disappointingly light. Sadly, making it worse was the fact that it was also raining.

Senso-Ji Temple

Senso-ji, located in Asakusa, is a Buddhist temple that was built back in the year 645. As the legend goes, in the year 628, two brothers who were fishing in the nearby Sumida River pulled out a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. Despite the brothers returning the statue to the river, each time they went fishing, the statue would find its way back into their boat.

As a consequence of this momentous event, the Senso-ji Temple was constructed nearby in honour of the goddess of Kannon. It’s the oldest temple in Tokyo, and one of its most colourful and popular ones.

When arriving to visit the temple, the first structure you pass through is the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). It’s the outer gate of the Senso-ji Temple and is a symbol of Asakusa and Tokyo.

After passing through the Kaminarimon you enter the Nakamise. It’s a 200+ metre long tourist shopping area that stretches to the temples second gate, named the Hozomon. This shopping area is several centuries old and offers everything from folding fans to yummy food items, greatly appreciated by those needing something to fortify themselves against the crowds.

Beyond the Hozomon Gate is the temple’s main hall along with a five story pagoda to its left.

As with the Meiji Jingu Shrine, the original structures were destroyed in the war and the buildings we saw during our visit were recent reconstructions.

Included in this immediate area, and built in 1649, is the Asakusa Shrine. It stands only about 50 metres to the left of the main temple building. As with all in Japan, the Shinto shrines and the Buddhist temples co-exist in complete harmony with each other.