From Old Edo to Otaku Paradise: How I Made Tokyo a Walkable City

I managed to get up this morning at my usual time, got ready quickly, had breakfast, and set off for the station. The plan today was to explore the area of Kyoto known as Asakusa, famous for its temples and souvenir shops. So after about forty minutes of public transportation and three transfers, I was in Asakusa district. It was so hot today, but I knew I had to use my day wisely and go sightseeing. And my guidebook had a walking tour of the area, so I felt that I had no excuse in not checking it out. Coming immediately out of the station, I was plagued by Japanese tour guides offering to take me around the area. After navigating past the various guides, I made my way to the Kaminarimon Gate.

Half of me expected it to be crowded by tons of tourists, but luckily, there weren't too many people in the area. I think this is because it was a Thursday instead of a weekend. I was very very pleased to see that I wouldn't be completely bombarded with groups of sightseers. Anyway, the Kaminarimon Gate leads to Nakamise Dori, which is a street lined with tons of shops and food stands.

I browsed them with lackluster enthusiasm, eager to see Sensoji Temple at the end of the way. I was little disappointed upon reaching the building to see that it was undergoing construction. Actually, the way up to the temple was lined with under construction stalls. It seemed to take away the magnificence of the temple for me, but I ventured onward.

Before entering the temple, I went to the Abolution Pavilion and washed my hands, as customary, for purification. The Temple itself was pretty magnificent on the inside. I went to the main altar then wandered around to see the sub altars. After though I ventured outside to try and find the Asakusa Shrine the guidebook listed as right next to the temple. However, it was under construction and unavailable for viewing, which bummed me out. Instead, I headed back towards the entrance of the Temple, where to the left was the 5 story Pagoda. Apparently, this Pagoda has a bone of the historical Buddha Siddhartha (in Japanese Shakiyamuni).

The guidebook advised going into the grounds of the Pagoda, stating that the gardens were especially gorgeous. However, as I wandered over there, I saw a sign saying that the gardens were closed. Once again I was disappointed, but I would not be deterred. I made my way over to Chingodo Shrine and then back to Nakamise Dori, taking more time to go into the shops and see if I found anything of interest. I made a few notes to myself that I had certain stalls/shops to come back to and then decided to head to the next spot on the tour.

Kappabashi-dougugai Dori is known as the kitchenware district. All the shops lining the street provide kitchen goods and even supplies for restaurants, from sinks, to fake food platters, to signs for what kind of restaurant one is. As I wasn't entirely sure of where the street was, I headed away from the location of the shrines and temples and figured I would find it eventually (as long as I stayed on the major street and followed the signs). Well, I did actually. I found a side street that led to the main street. This side street was lined with tons of streamers and lanterns (I have no idea why), but it wasn't very crowded. In fact it was quite the opposite; it was rather deserted, which was peaceful considering that I just listened to the streamers in the wind.

Eventually I made it to the street and for the next hour and a half, walked up and down it, admiring the various stores and their wares. There is so much cool stuff at the same time you feel as though you're seeing the same things over and over again. One thing I have really wanted to get while I've been here is a lantern for my dorm room. Getting an authentic lantern that says "ramen" (obviously in Japanese) for my room would be even better. I figured I could get one here. However, all of the ones I found were EXTREMELY expensive and huge. But with persistence, I eventually found one, reasonably sized for 80% off...making it only 700 YEN. That's like eight dollars. To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. I can already picture it in my room next year (though I have not the slightest clue what my room looks like...but that's beside the point).

After wandering the kitchen district, I decided to quickly head back to Nakamise Dori, buy a few things, then walk over to Ueno. Ueno and Asakusa are three subway stops away from each other, but I felt like they couldn't be more than 40 minutes apart. Following my brief retracing of my steps, I began walking down the main street towards Ueno. And it really did only take me about forty minutes. I even stopped at a shrine on my way there.

So Ueno is known for its park and the fact that it has a Hard Rock Cafe in its station (it's a major transportation hub). While I'm all for parks and temples and shrines, it was around three pm by the time I arrived and I was in no mood to be out in the direct line of the sun for the next hour. Instead, I decided to walk through the flea market and head down towards Akihabara, which I felt like couldn't be very far from Ueno as it was only two stops from Ueno on the Yamanote Line. Probably only a twenty minute walk. And as long as I walked parallel to the train tracks, I figured I would be safe and not get lost (though I did consult a city map to make sure I was headed in the right direction before setting out on my way).

Akihabara is the town that never sleeps in Tokyo. It is known as the electronics district mainly because of the sheer amount of high story electronics stores that are located within blocks of each other and the station. Additionally, in recent years, the district has also become known for its massive amounts of shops dedicated to anime and gaming. Essentially, it is an otaku's paradise. There are also an absurd number of maid cafes, with these girls lining the streets, holding out pamphlets to their business, trying to get you to come upstairs and obviously spend money.

I ended up browsing a few stores and seeing plenty of maids but I can't say that Akihabara is for me. The thing that made me really excited for Akihabara was the six floor Book Off, which I went to and ended up finding Mulan in Japanese. Obviously I purchased it, another wonderful Disney movie in Japanese to add to my collection here. But I was pleased with my tour. I know that when my friend Chelsea moves to Tokyo for her internship later in the month that we will definitely frequent this district much more. But for now I'm interested in exploring elsewhere.

From Akihabara I decided it was finally time to head home, so I got on a train and rode the train to Ikebukuro station. It felt so good to sit down, even if only for twenty minutes; it was the first time I had sat down since getting off the subway this morning in Asakusa. It was about five thirty by the time I got to Ikebukuro and I felt like there was still a little time to walk around the area before totally heading home. So I braved the massive amounts of people and walked around the shopping district before taking the walk home.

The walk home was longer than I had remembered, but perhaps that is mainly due to the fact that I was so exhausted. On my way home though, I passed by Gokokuji Temple. Seeing as I was already here, I decided to go take a look and was pleasantly surprised. With no one around I was free to roam the grounds and see everything I liked. However, the main building was closed, so I will have to make a trip back to the temple when it is open.

I finally got back to my apartment and wanted to collapse. But I kept myself from doing so, and instead, cleaned, vacuumed, showered, and made myself curry for dinner. All in all it was a productive, fulfilling day. It may have gotten off to a strange start, but I'm so glad that I saw so much today!