Another hot and sunny day... and another day exploring Tokyo. This time a combination of parks, temples, shrines and museums. We began our day at the MOMAT, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. The MOMAT is Japan’s first national art museum. It focuses on Japanese art from the beginning of the 20th century… Continue reading Tokyo: Visiting MOMAT, Kitanomaru Park and Yasukuni Jinja Shrine
Tsukishima is a sleepy little man-made island in the heart of Tokyo - and upon looking in several guide books, there was not much being said about this little quarter. But still, I was curious, it was so close to where we were staying and it looked intriguing, some old houses and a local food… Continue reading Tokyo: Strolling around Tsukishima and eating Monja
The Nezu Museum has to be my favourite museum in Tokyo - it is so beautiful, not just the architecture and exhibits inside, but also the outside and the beautiful surrounding garden. It is an oasis of calm in the heart of Tokyo. The museum is home to pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art that… Continue reading Tokyo: Nezu Museum
After visiting the Gotokuji Cat temple, I also read about a cat shrine, which is in the East of Tokyo. I was curious to find out the difference, and so I did a bit more research. I stumbled upon another legend that relates to this shrine: Once upon a time, an old woman lived in… Continue reading Tokyo: Imado Jinja Cat Shrine
Ever since my friend Monica had posted about the cat shrine (here) in Gotokuji, in the quiet Setagaya Ward of Tokyo, I wanted to go and see it for myself. The shrine is famous for the hundreds of statues of the "Maneki Neko" - the beckoning cat, which usually greets customers in front of Japanese… Continue reading Tokyo: Gotokuji Cat Temple
Yanaka is one of the loveliest quarters of Tokyo. It is full of old houses, little streets and tiny shops in an old town ambience reminiscent of Tokyo from past decades. Throughout the district, there is an air of nostalgia and a rustic charm. This quarter is actually one of a trio of neighbourhoods collectively… Continue reading Tokyo: Exploring the old quarter of Yanaka
Bunkyo is not an area that I came across before, but when we realised that it is home to Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, one of the two surviving Edo period clan gardens in modern Tokyo, we decided to explore this area a little bit. Our first stop was the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, which dates back to… Continue reading Tokyo: Strolling around Bunkyo (Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, Tokyo Dome)
Another day, another part of Tokyo to explore. This time the area of 'six trees' - Roppongi. Six very old and large zelkova trees were used to mark the area, but they have not survived all those years. Now, Roppongi is a busy district with lots of foreign embassies, big office towers, a wild night… Continue reading Tokyo: Roppongi continued (Roppongi Hills, Mori Tower, Tokyo City View, Tokyo Midtown, 21_21 Design Sight)
After my stroll through Akasaka in the morning, I decided to continue on to Aoyama - which is very close by. I passed the Takahashi Korekiyo Memorial Park, which is a small park next to a residential area. I would not have stopped, if I had not seen these little stone fellows standing there - I do… Continue reading Tokyo: Strolling around Aoyama and Roppongi (Takahashi Korekiyo Memorial Park, Aoyama Cemetery, The National Art Centre)
I noticed that I had still a number of posts about Tokyo in my pipeline, which stem from our visit in June and September 2015. I had plans to continue with those, but then decided to wait a little bit, given that we revisited Tokyo in May 2016. So let me now use this opportunity… Continue reading Tokyo: Station and KITTE
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