I need to do something about this damn jetlag. We set the alarm clock at 8:00, but we woke up around 6. The sun was already up anyway... I hope I can sleep well this night.
With so much time (if the day starts at 6:00 in the morning it feels really long), we decided to explore the area a bit. We went to a nearby store to buy some breakfast and started walking. Nope, no map. A compass would have been useful, but we didn't have one either. So, when we decided to start with our plan (we have a little list of things to do in every city), we sort of saw half of the city before reaching our destinations due to the fact that we only had a small idea of where we could be and where our destinations could be. As bad as it may sound, I personally liked that more than our actual destinations. We got to see the "real" Tokyo, with the little kindergarden kids running around in their uniforms, all those little streets covered with cables, the mixture bewtween skyscrapers, shrines, parks, etc. Of course, I am not really a reference, but for those of you who are planning to come to Tokyo I seriously recommend to have some unplanned time to simply walk without any real destination.
After some hours of walking around we finally got to our first destination: The Ueno park. This is one of those things I was talking about. Its a wonderful park, with a really beatiful shrine, surrounded by large buildings, railways, etc. It really feels like some sort of bubble inside the city.
Our second destination was the Edo Castle. Although on the first day the subway structure seemed really complicated (remember, some women helped us buying the tickets and getting on the right train), this proved to be wrong. We bought a Suica card, with which we could simply pay the subway trip by passing it over a card reader, instead of having to buy a ticket every time. Then, with a little help of our subway plan, we could find the right lines very easily by looking for the right line colours and station names.
Although we coulnd enter the gardens of the Edo Castle, the park around it and the view of the city was amazing.
Afterwards we headed to Shinjuku. It is definately crowded. If you look at it without focusing on anything it looks like a group of ants moving around randomly. There are lots of people who can't stand being in a crowd. I love it. This was a really cool experience.
Finally, we ate some raamen and noodle soup in a small restaurant in the Shinjuku area, and returned to the hostel, completely exhausted and with sore feet. Sadly, due to our tiredness we couldn't stay and see Shinjuku at night. Let's see how tomorrow goes :)
Some pictures:
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Exploring the district our hostel is in (Asakusa)
With so much time (if the day starts at 6:00 in the morning it feels really long), we decided to explore the area a bit. We went to a nearby store to buy some breakfast and started walking. Nope, no map. A compass would have been useful, but we didn't have one either. So, when we decided to start with our plan (we have a little list of things to do in every city), we sort of saw half of the city before reaching our destinations due to the fact that we only had a small idea of where we could be and where our destinations could be. As bad as it may sound, I personally liked that more than our actual destinations. We got to see the "real" Tokyo, with the little kindergarden kids running around in their uniforms, all those little streets covered with cables, the mixture bewtween skyscrapers, shrines, parks, etc. Of course, I am not really a reference, but for those of you who are planning to come to Tokyo I seriously recommend to have some unplanned time to simply walk without any real destination.
After some hours of walking around we finally got to our first destination: The Ueno park. This is one of those things I was talking about. Its a wonderful park, with a really beatiful shrine, surrounded by large buildings, railways, etc. It really feels like some sort of bubble inside the city.
Our second destination was the Edo Castle. Although on the first day the subway structure seemed really complicated (remember, some women helped us buying the tickets and getting on the right train), this proved to be wrong. We bought a Suica card, with which we could simply pay the subway trip by passing it over a card reader, instead of having to buy a ticket every time. Then, with a little help of our subway plan, we could find the right lines very easily by looking for the right line colours and station names.
Although we coulnd enter the gardens of the Edo Castle, the park around it and the view of the city was amazing.
Afterwards we headed to Shinjuku. It is definately crowded. If you look at it without focusing on anything it looks like a group of ants moving around randomly. There are lots of people who can't stand being in a crowd. I love it. This was a really cool experience.
Finally, we ate some raamen and noodle soup in a small restaurant in the Shinjuku area, and returned to the hostel, completely exhausted and with sore feet. Sadly, due to our tiredness we couldn't stay and see Shinjuku at night. Let's see how tomorrow goes :)
Some pictures:
----------------------------------------------------------
Exploring the district our hostel is in (Asakusa)
At the park around the Edo Castle
Getting out of Shinjuku
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