Japan: Sensō-ji Temple in the Asakusa District (Taitō, Tokyo)

Asakusa, for most part of the 20th century, was the major entertainment district of Tokyo. Today however, other colorful districts such as Shinjuku have taken over. We trooped to Asakusa to visit the famous Sensoji Temple, said to be the oldest in Tokyo. We went straight there after we checked out from the youth hostel which was just a station or two away.

Sensoji Temple is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon, more popularly known Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The entrance to the temple is called the Kaminarimon or "Thunder Gate." On the gate is a massive paper lantern painted in vivid red-and-black tones suggesting thunderclouds and lightning. It's a very popular and important temple obviously gauging from the crowds we saw there.

After the gate is a long row of souvenir shops. The street is called the Nakamise-dori where one can find a great selection of souvenir items and food. I enjoyed the many snack items on sale and bought some for tasting. These shops themselves are part of the heritage of the area having sold to pilgrims who walked to Senso-ji since the 18th century. The street is about 250 meters and has close to 90 shops.

After walking around the temple grounds, we had a late lunch at one of those vendo restaurants. You selected and paid for your food through a vendo machine and gave the printed out ticket to the staff who serve as both cooks and waiters. It's efficient really and it keeps costs down since minimal manpower is needed to run the place.

Anyway, after lunch, we proceeded back to the youth hostel to get our luggage. Several of us were going back to Manila. While others were taking the 4 p.m. Shinkansen to Kyoto.

Part 1: Konichiwa from Tokyo, Japan!
Part 2: Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan
Part 3: Tokyo is a candidate city for the 2016 Olympics

Japan: Tokyo is a candidate city for the 2016 Olympics

Who could imagine that I'd get to visit three of the four candidate cities of the 2016 Summer Olympics this year? I was in Madrid, Spain in April and May. In June, I got to visit Chicago, USA. Now I'm in Tokyo, Japan. If Tokyo wins, it will be the second time the city will host the Summer Olympics.

The selling point of Tokyo is that it will be "the most compact and efficient Olympic Games ever." And I wouldn't be surprised, if given the chance, that they'll pull it off! So the countdown to October 2009 begins when the IOC will announce the winning bid!

Part 1: Konichiwa from Tokyo, Japan!
Part 2: Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan
Part 4: Sensō-ji Temple in the Asakusa District (Taitō, Tokyo)

Japan: Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan

Talk about waking up early to see a fish market! The Tsukuji Fish Market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. So don't be surprised if this fish market has become a big tourist attraction. We had wanted to see the world-famous Tsukiji fish auctions but we learned they stopped allowing tourists at the auctions early this year due to health concerns and to avoid any disruptions in operations and other trading activities.

Besides, we could not leave the youth hostel we were staying at before 6 a.m. since they had a curfew. Doors were locked from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. After the conference, we vacated our five star hotel (sigh!) and transferred to the Sumidagawa Youth Hostel on the opposite side of town. A bed here was ¥3600 a night. But members of Hostelling International get a ¥600 discount.

Anyway, we were out of the hostel a little past 6 a.m. If you're going around Tokyo for a day, it would be convenient to get the one day subway ticket which is ¥710. If you want to include the JR Line in your day pass, you'll have to shell out a little bit more. From the Asakusabashi Station, we were at the Tsukiji Station in no time.

The main market of Tsukiji is about a kilometer from the subway station. On the way to the inner market, you'll pass by Tsukiji's outer market filled with wholesale and retail shops that sell seafood and other food items, kitchen tools, and restaurant supplies, and restaurants that sell sushi and other Japanese delights. You'll have to come early since shops in the outer market are closed by the afternoon, and those in the inner market even earlier!

At Tsukiji, the first thing that greeted us was the constant traffic of forklifts and small vehicles moving about. The scene looked like it was pulled out of a Star Wars movie! We walked about enjoying the different seafood on sale. The fish market is said to handle more than 400 different types of seafood from tiny sardines to 300-kilogram tuna, from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar!

After exploring a good part of Tsukiji, we heard our stomachs rumble and it was time for breakfast. On the menu was sushi of course! We got ourselves some breakfast sushi boats which range from ¥1000 to ¥2000 each. After that sumptuous seafood feast, we made our way back to the youth hostel to catch up on sleep before our 10 a.m. checkout.

Part 1: Konichiwa from Tokyo, Japan!
Part 3: Tokyo is a candidate city for the 2016 Olympics
Part 4: Sensō-ji Temple in the Asakusa District (Taitō, Tokyo)