Asakusabashi

One of my favorite places in old Tokyo is Asakusabashi.  Many places are wholesale shops.  There are so many that it would take weeks to explore them and we may not even scratch the surface.
Shimojima is right outside the Asakusabashi station on the red line.  Seven floors of all kinds of office supplies, boxes, packaging, wrapping, craft supplies, kitchen and hardware items to seasonal holiday decor.  Halloween decor was featured last week.  Yes, Halloween in Japan.

Tokyo Day 2

My body clock is still a little off.  Even after 9 to 10 hours out walking and shopping; legs tired, hot and humid, I keep getting up every 2 hours during the night.  Maybe I'm too excited being in Tokyo and want to make sure I don't miss a minute.

Breakfast--I forgot how good Japanese yogurt tastes.  We head out to Ameyoko after a light hotel breakfast,perhaps a little jet-lagged and dehydrated after the long day of flying then hitting the ground  running, yesterday.

Ameyoko (Okachimachi station on Yamanote line) was just beginning to bustle at 10am.  Luckily Susan remembered the hair pins for Nicole because I was distracted by all the other products in the drug stores.  We found our spray on hair color for only Y580.

The nori vendor was friendly as Susan got her quota for this trip.  Next to him was a tea seller and we got stuck there tasting green tea candy and sipping fragrant peach green tea.  These make perfect take-home gifts. I found a sakura shaped spoon to go with the gift pack.  Got myself a little tea strainer too.

Kept seeing the BB cream that is only now catching on in Honolulu.  Got Japanese sunscreen and hair gel.  Love these corner drugstores. (The hair gel was a huge tube for around $3.00--too big; got confiscated at Narita TSA).

The day was heating up and our bags were full and heavy.  Learned that not every station has storage lockers.  Susan needed a new, larger tote bag for all the omiyage she'd gotten so far.

We needed a break so sat on tatami at Owariya, an historic 100 year old restaurant in Asakusa.  Tenzaru soba really hit the spot.  The shrimp was crispy and fragrant with sesame oil.

Nakamise is very touristy and there were a lot of them!  There was a 'parade' of drag queens and throngs of groupies and film people surrounding them.  We had to move out of their way as they swept past us to the shrine.

The two side streets were much more calm and nostalgic. We sat in the shade of a wisteria pergola with a few tourists and enjoyed our melon ice bars.  Fujiya Tenugui was closed!! (Thurs)  Kanaya-tawashi shop--Horse hair toothbrushes.  There are temples and shrines everywhere in Tokyo.  I love coming across one in a busy shopping area. 

HNL to TKY  May 2012

Tue/Wed May 21/22:  From Honolulu to Tokyo.  Our flight left on time and was full of tourists returning to China.  Not a pretty sight; lots of pushing and cutting lines.  Restrooms were constantly full.

The time flew by for me because I watched three movies on the seat back screen:  J.Edgar, My Week with Marilyn and The Descendants.  Enjoyed all.

Narita is a shiny new  airport since I last visited 17 years ago.  Breezed through immigration and customs.  Fingerprint scanner and camera not withstanding.  (Remember to fill in the blank "occupation"; never leave it blank!)

Susan's foresight and planning made our transition so smooth and quick.  Plus, Narita mid week seemed rather empty. 
Shipped Wayne's suitcase ahead to Hiroshima, then got our JR passes and train ticket assignments downstairs at the JR East Travel Center. You must know the exact time and destination of your trains.  (or I guess you could wing it).  The girls are bilingual and very patient.  This transportation system is fantastic.  I also purchased a SUICA card to use on the local trains and subways.  These are also refillable.

We took the Limo bus to the Shinagawa Prince Hotel.  Location is great!  The station is immense and has lots of shops and restaurants which I found, stayed open late into the night.  Checked in, dropped our suitcases and got on the Yamanote Line.




Waiting for the Yamanote train

 




Our first stop was Akihabara, Denki (Electric) Town.  I was a little disappointed at the lack of product selection.  As I remember it, there were a myriad of duty free shops catering to us tourists.  Cameras galore, audio players, video cameras, watches and much more.  I guess the economy determines supply and with no demand......

But we found some fun little gifts.

Akihabara




Yurakucho Yakitori Bar

 

On to Yurakucho.  It was dinner time for us so we found a good yakitori bar under the train tracks near Shimbashi.  Yurakucho is so cleaned up and gentrified now, I almost didn't recognize the place.  Kinda lost some of it's old-time charm.  Nevertheless, this was a cultural and delicious experience.

We asked our waiter for directions to the Godzilla statue.  We found it close to the Shimbashi station/Ginza 4-chome-5-chome.  Next to the 7-ll store.  Back to Shinagawa Station and the place was still jumping.  So many trains and subways pass through here that the little shops and restaurants are open very late.  Picked up some snacks and water.



Godzilla still lives in Tokyo