Northern Tokyo

Today, I decided to explore northern Tokyo, which is around Ueno and Asakusa. Our first destination was Yanaka Cemetery, which, ironically, is more famous for its cherry blossoms than its graveyard.

So the highlights of this cemetery are:

1. Tennoji: A Buddhist Temple built in 1274.

The temple is to the right (the house in the back). There is a large Buddha statue at the left of the temple. 

2. Kaneiji: A Buddhist temple founded by the third shogun Iemitsu of The Tokugawa shogunate. Six of the fifteen shoguns are buried here.

 

 

3. Tokugawa Yoshinobu Haka (tomb)

Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the fifteenth and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate rests here.

After that, we went to Ameyoko Market, which is a huge bazaar. There is sooooo much stuff here, from seafood to snacks, candy, liquor, cigarettes, foreign imports, such as Chanel and Nike. There is a huge range of fish, which, according to my friend, is pretty cheap. But I also saw fruits that were wayy overpriced (a tray of strawberries for 2000 yen!), but you can bargain with them.

Whale meat!

 

Taiyaki, a fish-shaped cake with azuki filling.

For dinner, we went to a sushi buffet. It was really cheap (¥1000 per person), no time limit.

Natto temaki; natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybean. It has a slimy texture and a strong smell, which is why some people don't like it. They say that you either hate it or you love it, however, I land in the middle. It's not that bad, but I wouldn't say it's great. I would probably just eat it for its health benefits.

We then headed for Asakusa.

This is the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. It is the oldest subway line, which is why the station and the tracks are kind of run down. To me, though, it's still okay. Despite its antiquity, it's still very clean.

Asakusa Station

One thing I'd like to add about Tokyo's subways: they have heated seats!

Finally, we went to Tokyo Skytree, which is basically a broadcasting and observation tower. The tower is fairly new; construction didn't begin until mid-2008, and it was only completed a year ago. It stands 2,080 feet tall, which makes it the tallest tower in the world. Inside, there are also many shops and restaurants. Since it was a cloudy day today, we didn't go to the top.

The view outside from the fifth floor.

There was a sakura tree that sat in the middle of the walkway outside the tower. 

After a close observation, though, I realized the tree was fake. I couldn't figure out if the flowers were, though.

The line to the observation deck.

Now, for the shops. There were a TON of shops, and I wanted to take pictures of everything.

LINE, a popular social network used by many Japanese people.

Look at the size of this binder clip!

Pumpkin chopstick rests.

 

They had ice cream with black cones, which were sesame flavored.

"Nano Block," sort of like Legos, with smaller pieces.

But this is amazing.

So inspiring for toast-making.

Lastly, a comment about restrooms in Japan. 

There are plenty of public restrooms in Japan, so you never have to worry about going to the bathroom. In Tokyo, the toilets are very fancy, fully installed with bidets.

This is what every toilet should have!

and a close-up of the directions.