TOKYO.Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō?), officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to?),[2] is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people. The population of the prefecture exceeds 12 million. The prefecture is the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, the world's most populous metropolitan area with 35 million people and the world's largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$1.191 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2005.
Tokyo is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. (wiipedia)
----------------------------------------------------The Tokyo Tower
333m Height of the Tower. Since its opening in 1958, the Tokyo Tower has been the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is 320 m high. http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/
Entrance is at 820 yen each up to the intermediate floor where you can have a view of tokyo from 150 m high. If you want to be on the top observation floor you'll have to pay 1420 yen. For those who have been to Eiffel Tower in Paris, its just the same except that it is slightly taller. The time we went to the Tokyo Tower was almost the cold as when we were in Paris!
My Trip. We arrived in Tokyo, one of the most populous cities in the world via Japan Airlines (JAL) on the 4th day of our Japan trip. Tokyo is an hour and 10 minutes flight from Osaka. It was a my first time to fly with JAL and I loved it! You may also reach Tokyo from Osaka through the Shinkansen line or the bullet train. After a deadly walk searching for the hostel we booked through booking.com, we immediately ran outside to catch a taxi to take us to The Tokyo Tower which took us 3000 yen!! We decided to take the taxi although there was a train that stops near the Tokyo Tower because it was already getting late and we have already lost all our energy walking through the asakusa in search for our hotel!
The Oak Hotel. We stayed at the Oak hotel for 2 nights. The room was very small but cute and clean, very basic with t.v, a cabin-like bathroom and a very nice looking bathrobe. It was more expensive in Tokyo than in Osaka. We paid 15000 yen for a double room. The staff were young and nice, and its a relief that they speak good english. There were 3 internet kiosks in the lobby free for use, but of course you have to queue and should limit your use since there are others who are waiting, too. There was also a dining area and kitchen in the communal area next to the reception where you can cook, prepare your food and wash laundry, a vending machine for packed drinks like coffee, juices and water and some crackers. What I liked most was, they have posted a map of the area and all of Tokyo's tourist's attractions complete with suggestions on how to get there, how much it would cost via bus, subway or taxi... cool! At least you can budget everything and also plan your itinerary for the day accordingly. Since it is a youth hostel and more of a backpackers place, guests were mostly young and from around the world. Asakusa was also very near as well as the Ueno Park.
Asakusa's main attraction is Sensoji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century. The temple is approached via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.
For many centuries, Asakusa used to be Tokyo's leading entertainment district. During the Edo Period, when the district was still located outside the city limits, Asakusa was the site of kabuki theaters and a large red light district. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, modern types of entertainment, including movies, set foot in Asakusa.
Large parts of Asakusa were destroyed in the air raids of World War Two. While the area around the rebuilt Sensoji has regained its former popularity after the war, the same cannot be said for Asakusa's entertainment district. (excerp taken from http://www.japan-guide.com)
Kaminarimon Gate leading to Sensoji Temple, which we visited on our last day in Tokyo.
----------------------------------Souvenir shops along the way to the Temple
----------------------------------------- Sampling Japanese street food!
------------------------------------------The Senso Ji Temple Ground
-------------------------------------------------One of the many Pagodas
------------------------------------UENO PARK, Sakura tree.
It is best to visit the Ueno Park when the Cherry blossoms are in full bloom. You may check the jnto website for the flowering dates, usually during the last week of March to April. Unfortunately when we went there, it was just starting to bloom, =(....
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