tokyo

Tokyo

A view of the skyline from a boat in Tokyo Bay on an unclear day.

These are just a handful of my favorite places in Tokyo, and of course, there are a bunch of other great areas in Tokyo. It's amazing how big Tokyo is and how differently flavored the different areas are.

Probably my favorite place in Tokyo is Shibuya, where everything is just so "hip," but also home to what's been called Tokyo's most splendid Shinto shrine, Meiji-jingu. Even though I didn't live all that close to Tokyo (3 hours by shinkansen - bullet train - or "the shink," as all of us gaijin called it), I managed to get to Tokyo quite often. It seems that everyone meeting in Shibuya meets at the Hachiko statue, perhaps the most popular meeting place in all of Japan. Hachiko was a dog that followed his blind owner to the station every morning and waited for his return every night. When the man one day died while he was out, faithful Hachiko continued to wait (I think for 10 years?) outside of Shibuya station for his return. Today his statue is still there and is a tribute to his loyalty. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of Hachiko. Here, however is the view from Shibuya station. Standing on the corner waiting to cross the street while watching the big screen TV's was very cool.
	Tokyo's Ginza is all that they say it is. It's the 5th Avenue of New York, the Rodeo Drive of Los Angeles, and the Michigan Avenue of Chicago all rolled into one. A beautiful area with shopping, shopping and more shopping. This picture is actually scanned from a post card because it was better than any of my own picutres.
My favorite building in Ginza, and probably in all of Japan, is the San-ai Building, or what I just call the "Coke Building."
	Another Ginza landmark is the impressive clock tower building in the heart of Ginza.

Near Tokyo station is this view of the Emperor's Palace. Traditional Japan smack in the middle of high-tech and modern Tokyo.

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