North Tokyo is a more mature part of the city, where you can find temples, shrines, gardens, shopping strips, museums and residential neighbourhoods. There was something more authentic about this part of the city. It a great place to stroll and observe and find traditional artisan stores.
We didn’t see many sites in North Tokyo, but we did spend a few hour exploring Asakusa district and Sensoji Temple. From there we walked all the way to the Skytree Sumida City district. The views in the low city are quite spectacular and shouldn’t be missed.
Asakusa is on the north-eastern fringe of central Tokyo and is the centre of the low city (shitamachi) due to its low elevation on the banks of Sumida River. This district has a more traditional atmosphere than some other parts of Tokyo. The main attractions are the Sensoji Temple and Nakamise shopping street.
Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) is an iconic symbol of Asakusa. The Nakamise shopping street runs from Kaminarimon to the second gate, Hozomon. Here you can find Japanese souvenirs such as yukata, folding fans and traditional Asakusa snacks.
Sensoji Temple is a Toyko’s oldest Buddhist temple. We walked through the Hondō (main hall) and the garden. There is beautiful artwork on the ceiling of the main hall and the garden has beautiful statutes. The little bridge in the garden is Tokyo’s oldest stone bridge.
Next, we went window shopped around Asakusa area. We found a nice view of the river from the top of a retail building and then went for lunch in an underground restaurant. I had the most amazing sashimi. Marco preferred Burger King. After that, we walked across the Azuma-bashi Bridge, over the Sumida River, to Azumabashim.
The Skytree is a Tokyo landmark and a great place to see an amazing view of Tokyo. It stands 634 meters and is the tallest building in Japan. It has two observation decks, a restaurant and bar at the top. At its base, it has a large shopping complex and an aquarium. The view from here was spectacular. The Lychee Vinegar and Soda was also really nice and refreshing.
This post concludes our visit to Tokyo. For the last leg of our trip we visited Hiroshima.
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