Day 2 in Japan was a little less crazy than day 1, I wasn’t quite as hardcore about shooting time-lapse every second of the day so I slowed down and enjoyed things a bit more =). That said, I still covered quite a bit of ground after checking out of Kimi Ryokan. Also, I couldn’t stay out as late as the night before because I needed to get back from wherever I was to Ikebukuro to pick up luggage from the ryokan, and then head out towards Saitama to meet up with Tomomi when she arrived. A little bit of crazy coordination that somehow worked out beautifully! Read on for the crazy adventures of Zac in Tokyo, day 2! And follow the rest of the series by clicking this link for other posts about my travels in Japan.

Ueno/Asakusa Guide

My first stop of the day was Sensoji Temple, another place that I visited back in college but somewhere I knew would provide a different view for the time-lapses I recorded yesterday. That said, I took the long day to get there and enjoyed myself =). I took the train from Ikebukuro to Ueno, which isn’t all that far from Asakusa, but Asakusa does have it’s own station too if you don’t want to walk. Ueno is a bit of an older part of Tokyo though, more residential than the skyscrapers of Shibuya and Shinjuku, and was a great way to spend a brisk January morning wandering down side streets. Why not explore a bit and take the long, leisurely path, camera in hand? Today was a bit of a relaxation day anyways, only 68 GB shot!

Their are also various smaller shrines down streets, unfortunately I didn’t get the names of any of them.

When you start seeing Kappa (the green lizard-like creature) and kitchen supplies everywhere you know you are on Kappabashi Street and close to Sensoji! After Kappabashi you will approach another Tokyo icon, Nakamise street, selling all sorts of souvenirs and snacks for Sensoji visitors.

Sensoji Travel Guide

Sensoji Temple is Tokyo’s most famous temple, and the throngs of people even on a chilly January afternoon are a testament to that! I spent a good amount of time filming time-lapses of the crowds. The weekend of my visit was also a national holiday weekend (Coming of Age Day, 成人の日 Seijin no Hi), which may have contributed to the extra crowds in Tokyo over the weekend. Their are various things to do at Sensoji, besides visiting the main hall and wishing for favor from Kannon (Wikipedia article on Sensoji). As seen in the photo directly below, buy an Omikuji fortune, and tie the bad ones to the “tree!” Or as seen in a few photos lower, buy some incense and spiritually cleanse yourself – I felt better =).

After wandering around Sensoji Temple for a while, I started off for my next destination which was Shinjuku, Harajuku, and the Meiji Shrine which are all in relatively same part of Tokyo. I took the Asakusa station train this time and after a few short connections, it was off to Harajuku!

Harajuku Guide

Entrance to the main Takeshita Street (Takeshita Dori) where the main shops are that are iconic of Harajuku. A short walk from the JR station exit – gotta love those JR trains!

Not a whole lot of tings to take photos of in Harajuku, because it’s a short street – with a TON of people (mostly younger teenage girls)! I did wander in a few stores to look around at all of the kawaii items for sale, and I even found the Evangelion Store Tokyo-01 which is on a side street just off of the main Takeshita Dori. Definitely an interesting stop for fans of the show, didn’t buy anything of course but it was neat to see =)

From Harajuku I started walking towards the Meiji Jingu, which is really close to Takeshita street and easily walkable without having to get on another train.

Meiji Jingu Guide

I stood in line and paid my respects at the Meiji Shrine (I also did so at Sensoji), and from this photo you can see how busy it was on Saturday =). Another interesting place to film time-lapse at, lots and lots of people! After being in the main temple area, I wanted around the larger garden area which has a massive walking train around Yoyogi Park. Unfortunately not a lot of commentary on things to do at Meiji Jingu – it’s the Meiji Shrine after all! Walk around and check out the history and design of the temple, their is a cafe area behind the main temple complex, and the larger Yoyogi Park is a great area to walk and enjoy nature away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

I had a bit of free time while the other camera ran time-lapse, so I took some photos of people. Creepy? Maybe! It’s “street photography”… or something.

As the sun set it was time to start heading back (with a few stops for time-lapse along the way of course).

Wandering back from Meiji Jingu, I think I was technically in Shibuya at the time =)

Swung by the Lomography store in Shibuya on the walk back, to check out the lomo film cameras and the artwork on display. I want to shoot film!

I also stopped by Shibuya crossing and said hello to Hachiko, who was PACKED on a Saturday night as a meeting place.

After swinging by Shibuya on the way back, the remainder of the night was spent trekking back around Tokyo to Ikebukuro to pick up my luggage from the front desk of Kimi Ryokan, and then heading back to Ikebukuro station to take the Seibu line out to Saitama to meet up with Tomomi who arrived that evening as well! Sort of a crazy evening with trying to connect with Tomomi, she got delayed by a day due to a snow storm, so instead of spending most of the day with her I finally met up around 8:30 PM! Well, better late than never of course, it was great to connect with her in Japan and to be welcomed into her home in Saitama by her mother and sister (and niece).

Everyone loves Ichika, so a lot of photos of her =)

Tomomi’s mom also whipped up a quick dinner for us all, nice warm noodles, perfect on a Winter evening for us weary travelers (Tomomi and I)!

And so wraps up Day 2 for me in Tokyo! Ok, so Tomomi and I did stay up way too late chatting but I think it was a bit of jet lag on both our parts =). Big day for day 3 traveling to Mt. Fuji and all over Tokyo yet again, but that’s what coffee is for, right? Another last quick reminder, to read the rest of these blog posts about my travels in Japan, click this link!