Criss Crossing Tokyo

 

Criss Crossing Tokyo

It seemed that Hotel Lumiere was going to serve the same breakfast every day. There was no change even of an iota in the spread. To have more sustenance I had sausages though I don’t like them, but not that I can’t eat them.

Senso-ji temple in Asakusa is the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan located in North-East Part of Tokyo. It has strong connection to Hinduism as it dedicated to Kannon, Bodhisattva of compassion. I did not know how much crowd to expect because Wikipedia has said; it is visited by 30 million devotees along with tourists annually! Japan is opened for tourists for the first time after two and half years of Pandemic! So crowds were expected in epic [Demic!] proportions!

Exit of Asakusa station is so Non-descript, one would miss it easily as it is tucked away in a small alley. I got the hint as soon as I got out of station. It seemed that everybody was going to Senso-ji. After crossing a rather busy street you enter the premises of Senso-ji.

chochin moji

 I loved the huge lantern hung at the entrance of Nakamise-dori Street, bright red in color with Golden saucer shaped support at base and top with transcriptions written in Japanese all over. Red lanterns are known as Chochin moji and are supposed to shoo away darkness of ignorance. There were white lanterns too and they signify purity, innocence and morality.

White Lanterns

Nakamise-dori Street leading to main shrine is lined up on both the sides by ‘N’ number of souvenir and food stalls. In that overcrowded congregation I was about to lose my composure at least thrice in the land of compassion because I was practically man-handled by the crowds! I did not know what to do and where to put the next foot as; the attack was from all the sides. And nobody lacked, there were Firangs as well as ‘Polite’ local Japanese! I tried Ballet to save my toes along with Waltz to avoid stepping on the feet but everything was exercise in futility and I received ‘Prasad’ in ample amounts!

Nakamise dori

Why there is such a rush at souvenir shops I never understand. They sell everything at a high price and in the end those souvenirs end up in the dustbin after few years.

Japanese specialty ‘Taiyaki’, a fish shaped deep fried cake filled with red bean paste was available in many food stalls and there was scramble amounting to almost stampede to buy them. I refrained, though I wished to taste it!

These both religions, Buddhism and Shinto co-exist in Japan without having any altercation as of now! They co-existed for years together so much so that many rituals are common to both. Common ritual to offer respect in Buddhism is to bow down twice followed by clapping two times and then bowing again. I saw many men and women attired in western outfits offering their respect in such manner. Japanese do keep their personal and work ethics absolutely apart!

There is Shinto pagoda just next to main shrine.

Main Shrine

Sanctum Sanctorum

The main shrine is ornamental and decorated with fancy lamps. There is a huge canopy hanging over the main deities. That too was embellished with gold. I don’t know when these traditions of decorations started but they totally go against the grain of teachings of Lord Buddha, where frugality is a main virtue! Is it not the same for Saibaba at Shirdi?

'Cutting Chai' Japanese Style

It was time to leave spirituality behind and have something soothing, as the sugar levels took a dip! I normally don’t prefer tea but saw a café serving Tea with milk, a rarity in Japan so I decided to try it. It tasted good but different than the ‘Cutting Chai’ of Mumbai. And it was damn expensive. Y 600 for one cup, almost Rs 400!

Goku Anime

My daughter had asked me to buy ‘Anime’ hoody which she told would be available in Electronics market of Akihabara. ‘Anime’ is practically a cult in youngsters. These are characters from Japanese ‘Manga’ comic books and graphic novels which are not only extremely popular in teens but adults in mid-twenties too are hooked on it. I too wanted to visit Akihabara, electronic city of Tokyo.

Sotura Anime

In fact the various localities within the City of Tokyo are called cities, like Shinjuku City, Shibuya City, Minato City, Koto city etc etc. May be they were separate in-habitations that got engulfed by the ever expanding Tokyo.

Akiba Electronics Mall

Because it was center for smuggled electronic goods post WW II Akihabara came to be known as Electronic city. As of now too it has so many stores selling electronic goods, the name justifies. The first shop, rather electronics mall that I entered was more than 10 storied, named Akiba electronics. Different floors catered to different electronic goods entirely, e.g. one floor only for cameras, another only for watches. The floor for mobile phones and its accessories was practically boundless. Being the most hyped product of this generation it had countless models with accessories, I had never heard of. For me phone is mostly used for communication at the most as camera! Electronic toys for kids were on the 7^th or 8^th floor, I don’t remember now. There I realized that with advancing age I get confused very easily. The choice of toys was so enormous, that it may be a small word to describe it. I purchased few mostly considering their volume!

There was no need to even have cursory round of the rest of Akihabara as every road, nook and corner has electronic store and video game arcades. Unfortunately I could not locate shop selling ‘Anime’ clothes. Shops selling ‘Anime’ stickers, pictures, and figurines were plenty but none sold ‘Anime’ clothes. One suggested Roppongi city.  And Roppongi was at the other end of Tokyo from Akihabara. It was like going from Goregaon west to Sewari East! But daughter’s wish is supreme for every father!

Roppongi is upper crust residential area of Tokyo with Brand Franchises and up-market malls; notable being Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Mid Town. Roppongi Hills apart from mall, houses one of the prestigious TV companies of Japan, Asahi TV, while Tokyo Mid Town has the tallest tower of Tokyo, [Homework!] I did not have any intention to step in these malls because they make you feel small, [South Korea Experience!] and it was highly unlikely they could be having ‘Anime’ outlet amidst Zara, Burberry or Chanel!

Tried at some smaller mall but again No No for ‘Anime’! But other clothes were good and at bargain so bought few for Shubha my wife and my daughter in law, Neha! I  now can definitely say that I did shopping in Roppongi, Tokyo! Hurray!!

Roppongi

On stepping out of the mall, on the left I saw something that looked like Tokyo Tower. Neither did I know that it was so nearby nor did I have any intention to visit it. First, it being adulterated copy of Tour De Eiffel, the original I had visited twice, and second I had already booked a slot in Shibuya sky. Unknowingly I started walking in its direction and after crossing ‘Roppongi Crossing’ I changed my mind. Though a copy it looked worth a visit!

It did look grandiose from near and 4 PM’s slot was open, I could not resist the temptation so booked myself in! Unlike Eiffel Tower it has 4 storied building underneath the main tower known as Foot Town housing restaurants, souvenir shops, and entertainment arcade along with a museum. Exactly like any American tourist spot that is most commercialized. Who wants to eat biscuits shaped like a tower or sleep on a pillow with picture of tower on it! Original one has vast empty space below it without any American commercial hoopla, giving a sense of freedom, liberty, space and grandeur!

Tokyo Tower

It has two observation desks, lower and upper. Upper one does not offer any thing extra except wider angle, at too exorbitant cost. But one does not want to look like spendthrift so falls for it. Lift carrying you to upper deck is so cramped it hardly accommodates 4 people at one time. Somebody or the other literally breathes down your neck!

Rainbow Bridge from Tokyo Tower

The view? It is phenomenal. 360* is too wide to fit in one eye sight. On south you see entire Tokyo bay with Tokyo Harbor, Odaiba and eye candy: Rainbow Bridge. North you can see up to Shibuya, eye catching being tower of Tokyo Mid Town. Sky tree which has given tough competition to Tokyo tower is in North East. The upper deck has many mirrors fixed in different angles. It allows shooting yourself without any difficulty, like your face getting obscured by your own camera! 

Mumbo Jumbo Japanese style!

How the time flew! It was already 5.30 PM. On the way to station I saw these figures in the nearby shrines. Do Japanese still practice mumbo jumbo? Absolutely tribal in land of utmost modernity!

Luckily I could put my foot on the board of metro to Nishi Kasai; on the next station it was so full… hardly any space even to breathe! Because it were rush hours!