A rainy morning at Asakusa Sensoji temple

After having our breakfast from the Toyoko inn, we started our Sunday at Tokyo aiming the Asakusa Sensoji temple. It was slightly raining from the morning itself. It was not much disturbing since the rain is showering slightly. Taking a one day pass for JR from the station, we reached Ueno station with the hope that rain will stop. But the rain still continued with more force so that we turned towards Asakusa and reached the Sensoji temple. It was heavily raining. 

ASAKUSA temple

The reddish temple building and the five storeyed pagoda of Asakusa were awesome for making us enough snaps even in the rain. We could see the sky tower from there, but the rain clouds sometimes seems to cover the tower head masking its beauty.

The five storeyed pagoda of Asakusa

There were three or more small and large temple buildings with in Asakusa. Infront of one of them, there was a pond with blue colored water and colorful fishes inside it. Buddha statues were situated on both sides of the main temple building.

There are a lot of shops for souvaneirs near the Asakusa temple. Even though it was heavily raining, it is rush at every shops.Since it is the Japanese tradition to buy  Omiyage from the places they visit, it seems crowdy at the shopping area.

A view of skytower from Asakusa

Another trip to Tokyo`s Odaiba

              This is my second trip to Tokyo, Japan's  largest city, after exactly 2 years. This time with my parents-in-laws and hubby. We reserved bus for Shinjuku station and upon reaching there at  1:30 pm, it was highly crowded. After spending 15 minutes over there, we decided to go to Odaiba and hence reached the Yurikamome line to reach Shimbashi, from where we took a one day open pass worth 820 yen/person. And this pass is sufficient for us to make our train journeys all around Odaiba for the entire day. By the Yurikamome`s rubber-tyred train, we reached Daiba station of Odaiba.

Shimbashi station

Odaiba

              Once we reached Odaiba, we had our lunch over there. And then we walked through the shore where we could see some programs being conducted for children and there were people enjoying surfing in the waves. I am seeing surfing for the first time in my life in real. It seems so interesting to me. Then we walked towards the replica of The Statue of Liberty where we clicked enough snaps. 

The replica of Statue of Liberty

             From there we could see the Fuji TV building also. Odaiba as a whole had so many changes in two years. The gardens adorned with Tulips when we visited last time here had some other small flowering plants creeping all over the ground still with artistic elegance. 

              The Diver City which was under construction during our last visit had now being completed and the Gundan statue over there is now heading up with more pride infront of it. There was a circus group over there opposite to the Diver City building which was a temporary arrangement beautifully constructed. 

The Gundan statue infront of the Divercity building.

Circus tent

Cycle parking area

          After spending some time in the park around there, we walked towards the Venus fort, inside which there was a display of cars of ancient Japan , which sounds very interesting and it reflected the great status of Japan before some 50 years back. The arrangement of buildings and shops recreated there also reflected the social setup of ancient Nippon which all tells the story of an advanced society before ages.

A car displayed in the Venus fort

Replia of a fruit stall of ancient Japan

           
                   One of the very interesting things we could found there was the marble statues at the middle of the building and the roof made like sky and clouds that exactly made us to feel like we are standing just beneath the clear sky and it felt to me like it was inside the planetarium.The entire view inside the fort exactly resembles the so-called heaven in our fairy tales as it is seen from my snap below. So amazing.

Marble statues inside the Venus fort.

View inside Venus fort.

Play area at the center of the Venus fort.

         

               Then, we walked towards the Ferris wheel and entered it, from where we could see the entire Odaiba island's beauty. After that we just made a round through Odaiba by train since my in-laws found it difficult to walk any more. Within the train we could see the entire Odaiba when all the lights lit, on the rainbow bridge and the Ferris wheel along with the parks and the buildings.

Rail of Yurikamome line

Ferris wheel

Rainbow bridge

          When we said Sayonara to Odaiba once again, I feels like there will come another chance to visit here.

Tokyo sky tree, Akihabara and the tokyo tower...

The Tokyo sky tree was not at all opened while we visited Tokyo in April. It will be opening next month only. We saw the tower many times as we traveled via Tokyo metro. After visiting the Imperial palace gardens, we went to Kinshichō Station and walked towards the tower. But even after walking for 10 minute, we couldn't reach near it. We were confused and hence asked a traffic police there. He told us that if you are trying to access by foot, then walk forward some more minutes looking at the top of the tower so that you can understand when you are near to it. We felt fun in his reply, and it highlighted the fact that we have to walk a lot to reach there. We have already started walking and are half the way from the station, so we decided to continue. At last , as the man told us, we walked another 20 minutes to reach the foot of the skytree. 

Tokyo skytree from the foot

It was really amazing to see the tower from its foot. As its name depicts it extends upto the sky, the jet planes passing above it seems like touching its head.

A jet plane passing over the skytree.

 It has a height of 634 meters. It is actually a new television broadcasting tower of Tokyo and is now the tallest building in Japan and the second tallest structure in the world. A large shopping complex with aquarium is there at its base and there are to observation decks too. If we have visited here next month we might be able to reach there and enjoy the sight from there. Anyway we missed it.

From there we walked towards the station, but couldn't reach there even after walking long. At last we reached  a park. Its hanami in this place today and the park is rushed. We were too tired walking such a distance, so we spent half an hour in the park enjoying the beauty of the sakura trees. There were so many people there.

Cherry blossom.

A building of Tokyo.

Reflection of the skytree on a
building near the park.

At last we reached the station with the help of an old lady who accompanied us all the way to there. Then we went to Akihabara - the district of electronic goods.

 From there, we purchased some electronic equipments and left there after our dinner.

Our last visit in Tokyo is to the Tokyo tower. But we become so late as we reached there after our shopping from the electronic city. From the Hamamatsucho Station, we walked to the tower foot. The tower as visible in the darkness as if it is ignited.

Tokyo tower.

Tokyo tower.

 

Then we returned to the Shinjuku station from where our return journey begins at 10.30pm.

Tokyo Imperial Palace...

Early in the morning, after having our breakfast from the Toyoko Inn ,w e started our journey to the Imperial Palace.  We took a one day pass or the Tokyo city travel and hired the train to Tokyo station.

We walked towards the Imperial palace which can be accessed by a 5 minute walk from the station according to the information that we have collected.

We crossed a park while walking to the palace which looks so beautiful with trees surrounded with flowered bushes and fountains. In 7 minutes we reached the east gardens of the Imperial palace.

 The current Imperial Palace is located on the former site of Edo Castle, a large park area surrounded stone walls. It is the residence of Japan's Imperial Family. The palace buildings and inner gardens are not open to the public. Only on January 2 (New year) and December 23 (Emperor's Birthday), visitors are able to enter the inner palace grounds and see the members of the Imperial Family, who make several public appearances on a balcony.The Imperial Palace East Gardens are open to the public.There are two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds called the  Nijubashi.

Nijubashi.

Imperial palace.

The Imperial Palace East garden is open to the public. They are the former site of Edo Castle's innermost circles of defense, the honmaru ("main circle") and ninomaru ("secondary circle").
None of the main buildings remain today, but the moats, walls, entrance gates and several guardhouses still exist. A wide lawn and the remaining foundation of the former castle tower can be found on top of the hill, where the castle's innermost buildings once stood.

The foundation of the former castle tower.

 In place of the former buildings in the secondary circle of defense (ninomaru) at the foot of the hill, a nice Japanese style garden has been created.

We walked up to the foundation of the former castle tower. From there we could see the palace building.

Then we walked through  the garden infront of it, there were so many cherry trees with full of flowers.

We left the palace garden area after walking  around there for an hour.