No trip is complete without a visit to the local amusement park – at least for my husband and daughter.  They go off and get turn upside-down, dropped from heights, eat sweets, and experience the other side of town while I do something “boring” like go to a historic house museum or temple garden.  Tokyo was no different except for the fact that the amusement park was like something out of Spirited Away.   Hanayashiki amusement park, originally opened as a flower park, has a history of more than 150 years. Located just a few steps from Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district, the miniature amusement park offers a small Ferris wheel, roller coaster, carousel, a ride that is powered by you pedaling, Space Shot and great crepes.

We spent 7 incredible days in Tokyo. Despite the hustle & bustle of a crowded, vertical city, Tokyo is extremely manageable and easy to navigate. Street signs and public transportation are easily identifiable and restaurants always have pictures/plastic models of the food they serve.  Ultimately, Tokyo set a new standard upon which I judge all other cities.  This is what Tokyo offers that I want: clean, well-maintained public spaces, easy-to-use public transportation, great street food, extremely helpful people and public baths.  Tokyo has all of this, plus magnificent ancient structures that co-exist with uber-modern architecture.

Tokyo is a city of neighborhoods, each with its unique character and personality.  If you are the meandering type, visit the Yanaka district where you can wind through the streets, enjoy lovely little gardens, explore the shops and stumble onto amazing temples and/or shrines every few blocks.  On the other hand, if neon, technology and cute girls in maid costumes are your thing, Akihabara is the place for you.  Like shopping???? Try Ginza for the high end and Harajuku for the funky – do one in the morning and one in the afternoon to experience the contrast of cultures and generations in modern day Tokyo.

The Yanaka area is not as well known as some of the other neighborhoods but definitely worth a visit as it has retained its historical ambiance and character.  Yanaka was developed as a temple town in the Edo period (1603-1867) and prominent temples like the Tenouji and the Kaneiji still exist in the area.   Yanaka is next to two neighborhoods, Sendagi and Nezu are collectively they are called Yanesen: Ya (Yanaka) Ne (Nezu) Sen (Sendagi).  In addition to the temples, there are beautiful cemeteries, little stores with exquisite crafts, and amazing shrines.

Taito Culture is a wonderful website that contains all kinds of information on this area.  Don’t miss the walking tour page!  Here is a Yanaka Map.

Here are a few places that I missed but want to see next time:

Asakura Choso Museum was the Fumio (1883-1964), famous for his statues of statesmen, women, and cats, many of which are on display here.  I have read that the house combines modern and traditional architecture and, wraps around an inner courtyard pond fed by a natural spring, and contains some furniture and antiques in its many tatami rooms, including a beautiful library, a tearoom, a room for enjoying the morning sun and a rooftop garden.  The museum was closed when I was there due to renovations and is scheduled to re-open in 2013.

Meguro Parasite Museum.  Really, the name says it all.  In addition, I read that the Parasite Museum is a popular spot for lunch dates!  I don’t know about you, but parasites always put me in the mood for love.

The Ghibli Museum was designed by Hayao Miyazaki, the incredibly creative, Oscar award-winning director of My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Ponyo. The Ghibli Museum, which opened in 2001, was designed to present the studio’s works and is built as both a fantasyland and an art museum.

The following links are to sites that I found really helpful in understanding and navigating Tokyo and Japan, as a whole.

• Tokyo Tourism Info is a great source of information and very easy to navigate.  You can sort by neighborhood, interest, videos, etc.  This site has great Self-Guided Walking Tours and suggested tours.
• Tokyo Essentials is GREAT.  It has everything from how to get from Narita airport into the city to “Quirky Tokyo.”
• Tokyo Metro also offers a GREAT feature that provides 6 Sightseeing plans, each with several attractions, mapped out station to station.
• Wikitravels is also a terrific resource.
• Narita Express: Gets you from the Narita airport into Tokyo city.  It is included with the JR Rail Pass.
• Tokyo Metro map can seem daunting.  But, most of the neighborhoods and “major” sites are on the circular JR Yamamote line.

You can’t go to Tokyo without checking out a depachika, the lavish department store food basements that sell everything from dainty wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) and bento to$500 melons and European pastries.  Depachika is a combination of  ‘depa’ (department store in short) and (‘chika’) and they are truly a food lover’s paradise.  In addition to buying wonderful meals and gifts, you can also sample your way through and end up quite full.  Some of the highlights included:

• Handmade inari sushi made by nuns
• Refreshing fava bean and parsley smoothies from a smoothie bar called Vegetaria
• Fresh soy milk
• I also can say that I ate them most disgusting thing in the world but I am not sure what it was. The experience is seared into my gastrobrain.

You can find depachikas at:

• Takashimaya and Isetan in Shinjuku
• Matsuya, Mitsukoshi and Matsuzakaya Department stores in the Ginza

Desert Comes First is a great website that features some helpful information about Japan and beautiful photos of the depachika.

Convenience Store delights

Does the thought of convenience stores conjure up images of icees and melted cheese sauce?  Well, in Japan, konbini (convenience stores) are Tokyo’s corner one-stop-shop where you can pay bills, buy baseball tickets, and send mail and buy bowls of udon, onigiri and fancy desserts.  My favorite was the extensive choice of limited-edition Kit Kats in crazy flavors.   Late night eating has never been so easy and tasty.

Say what you want but I am a Dollar store junkie.  Some of must best finds have been at Big Lots in America, the Pound Store in London, and the 100-Yen Shop in Japan.  You can find these 100 Yen shops all over but the biggest one that I visited was the Harajuku Daiso with four floors full of things you just have to have.  I bought 4 lovely little yellow ramikans that I use ALL THE TIME.

A Style and a State of Mind

Harajuku refers to the area around Tokyo’s Harajuku Station, one station north of Shibuya on the Yamanote Line. It is the center of Japan’s most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles, The focal point of Harajuku’s teenage culture is Takeshita Dori and its side streets, which are lined by many trendy shops, fashion boutiques, used clothes stores, crepe stands and fast food outlets geared towards the fashion and trend conscious teens.

Takeshita Dori Street is opposite the Takeshita Dori Exit of Harajuku Station. Turn right at the bottom of Takeshita Dori Street, walk along Meiji Dori Avenue as far the crossroads, then turn left into Omotesando Dori Avenue.

On Sundays, visit Yoyogi Park, which is located near Harajuku station.  This is a place for musicians, artists, and people engage din cosplay (“costume play”), dressed up in crazy costumes.

Close by is Omotesando Dori, often referred to as the Champs Elysee of Tokyo.  OnSundays, it is littered with street performers. At the end of Omotesando Dori, you’ll find Aoyama, a stylish area full of expensive shops and boutiques.  Omotesando, accessible from the south exit of JR Harajuku station (Yamanote line), the subway Meiji-jingu-mae station (Chiyoda line), or subway Omotesando station (Chiyoda and Ginza lines), has all the big name fashion houses.  Walk all the way along Omotesando to Aoyama-dori (or take the subway from Jingu-mae to Omotesando station – Chiyoda line), cross the intersection and keep walking two blocks to take in Prada’s Tokyo flagship store on your right.  The Prada store, six stories of “insect-eye” glass, was built in 2003 at a cost of $80 million.  It is, as a New Yorker magazine article noted, “one of Japan’s most provocative public spaces”.  Leave it to Prada!

Here is a great map of Harjuku

Life is Nothing but a $100 Piece of Chocolate at Bulgari

Where else can you sit and eat chocolates in the Bulgari Café while gazing at the Chanel building across the street?  Ginza is associated with luxury and the cost that goes along with that characteristic.  In addition to the best of the best, Prada, Gucci, Vuitton, et al, there are the great department stores with their depachikas.  On Sundays, the main Ginza shopping street is closed to all cars so you can stroll freely up and down the avenue sans soucis. In addition to great shopping (window shopping for me), Ginza is a great place to people watch.

Chuo-Kanko.com has a great map and information about the Ginza neighborhood.

Plastic Food, anyone? Don’t miss Kappabashi-dori

Want to bring home some lovely little Japanese plates or find the perfect knife for making sushi when you return?  Then you must visit Kappabashi-dori, a street supplying professional kitchens with everything from lacquer soup bowls to plastic food models that you see displayed enticingly in restaurant windows across the city.