After the epic shopping spree in Akihabara (my OST and Jpop/Jrock album collection is mushrooming) I decided to do a bit of conventional sightseeing in the areas of the city that are more (in)famous among ordinary tourists. This involves more walking and photography and less spending of money, and helped give me a clearer impression of the place. Two of the most well-known names are Shibuya, a lively shopping district with the enormous pedestrian crossing and Shinjuku, which has a nice contrast between insane public transport mayhem in the railway station and a stunning public garden that sits in the middle of the urban sprawl.
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Away from Shinjuku is the even trendier district of Ginza, which is where you’ll find high-rise office blocks and high-price department stores. This time around we decided to walk from Ginza through Ueno to get to Asakusa, just in time to see the Taito city festival processions. As I type this the usual sleepy, small-town feel of Asakusa has turned into a crowded festival atmosphere with (so I’m told) three million locals and tourists descending on the area.
Shibuya’s central crossing is indeed utterly nuts. There are loads of shops and eateries around (including an underground food court that puts the best bits of London to shame) but the sheer number of people moving around has resulted in what I can only call the most interesting piece of street planning I’ve ever seen. The multi-way pedestrian crossing is part of the road network that criss-crosses through the city but every couple of minutes the whole junction becomes one enormous crossing for shoppers, businesspeople and tourists. Now you see see it…
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…and now you don’t.
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This was from the point of view of the overlooking Starbucks but it’s pretty intimidating at ground level too.
I quite liked Shibuya for its cosmopolitan atmosphere – it’s a lot like London in many ways (Ginza reminds me a lot of Knightsbridge and Kensington too) but I really like Shinjuku. Firstly there’s the enormous station and nearby shopping mall but right in the middle of the built-up area is an enormous and utterly beautiful park. For only ¥200 each you can wander around from early morning until 4pm among the lawns, trees and lakes. There are themed areas (English, French and Japanese) and a couple of tea houses but what I loved most of all is the fact that there’s this gorgeous, serene expanse of green serenity in the middle of the most built-up area on the planet.
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The fact that there are bloody great skyscrapers just behind the treeline is a reminder of this.
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I guess it’s a lot like Hyde Park: for local city-dwellers, having a walk in a garden or stretching out under a tree on the grass is a rare treat. Especially when life is so work-orientated, as is demonstrated by the shiny efficiency of Ginza.
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Of course, the city still looks (to me at least) beautiful at night. Shibuya’s youthful trendiness is infectious, and really sums up why Tokyo is thought of as a 24 hour city.
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Asakusa is still more laid-back; centuries ago it was the pleasure district with theatres and such but now is pretty spiritual and relaxed. There’s a festival going on this weekend though, so the streets are extremely lively and crowded.
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I love the juxtaposition of pop culture and old local traditions in that shot: sums up the general area really. The festival’s still going on so I’ll probably leave more pics of that for later…that and the fact that Tokyo Tower and the Sunday morning charms of Harajuku await me tomorrow…