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Things To Do In Tokyo – Part 2

I dedicated the first part I posted about things to do in Tokyo to the five areas I loved most in the city. In this post you can read about four more fun attractions that you should add to your itinerary if you’re planning a trip to the capital city of Japan.

 

Let's dive right in! 🙂

 

{It's recommended to watch at the best quality – after pressing the “play” button, click on the small gear on the right-hand side of the screen and then click Quality}

 

 

TSUKIJI FISH MARKET

 

We arrived at Tokyo's famous fish market, Tsukijo Market, as part of an excellent private guided tour provided by FURYU. The guide explained to us the famous history of the market, about auctioning tuna every morning {except on Sundays and holidays} and the fact that it’s the largest wholesale fish market in the world and one of the largest markets in the world in general. The large market is divided into two parts – the outer market, which includes dozens of restaurants and food stands selling mainly the freshest seafood there is {but not only seafood, as in all Japan, you can find ice cream stands in different, and sometimes odd, flavours}, as well as stores that sell kitchen utensils and Japanese cooking utensils; And the “wholesale” inner market consisting of hundreds of small stands displaying fish and seafood that were caught that morning.

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan -Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Tsukiji Fish Market

We started the tour at 9 am, when the wholesale area of ​​the market opened for tourists. The wholesale area is crowded and lively and is divided into narrow, crowded alleys where carts, scooters and trucks are constantly passing through. So you have to be alert to what’s going on around you so as not to interfere with the work in the market or, god forbid, get hurt by vehicles. After we more or less got used to the commotion, we walked by the various stands packed with fish and seafood of all kinds and species. A visit to the wholesale part of the market provides an exceptional cultural and gastronomic experience, especially for foodies, but it’s important for me to emphasize that it’s not suitable for everyone because it’s really not a delicate aesthetic experience and therefore less suitable for those with a sensitive stomach… After visiting the inner market, we visiting a small temple right by the outer market {Namiyoke Inari Shrine} and from there we continued on a tour of the outer market, where we also ate a breakfast of fresh tuna nigiri.

Hedonis-Tip: If you want to enter the tuna auction that opens at 5 am, you should get to the market very early. Since the number of participants is limited and because it’s a famous tourist attraction, it’s very difficult to enter the auction. I read that there were people who arrived as early as three in the morning {!} And still didn’t get in, so if that’s something you don’t want to miss, you should prepare accordingly 😉

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan -Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Tsukiji Fish Market

 

ASAKUSA AND SENSOJI TEMPLE

 

With traditional shops, low buildings, narrow alleys and a beautiful ancient temple – Asakusa, Tokyo's “Old City”, is the place to go to imagine how Tokyo once looked. After the morning visit at the fish market, the guide took us to Asakusa, where we started the tour at the entrance gate Kaminarimon, which was built more than a thousand years ago and symbolizes the ancient city of Tokyo. Unfortunately, the front of the gate was under renovation, but we were able to see the two statues of the gods standing on both sides of the gate symbolizing the defense against storms and wind. From the gate we continued on our way to Asakusa's main attraction, Sensoji Temple. The way to the temple is through the Nakamise shopping street where you can purchase a variety of traditional local snacks and various tourist souvenirs. After we quickly passed the shopping street, which didn’t really impress me much after we visited more successful versions of it in Kyoto {at least in my opinion}, we reached the famous Sensoji Temple. It’s a Buddhist temple built in the 7th century AD, making it the oldest temple in Japan. Although it was damaged in World War II, it was renovated and restored. The large temple, which stands out in its orange color on the green background of the beautiful garden that surrounds it, is dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, Canon. The guide told us about the history of the temple and the legend behind the name of the temple and also explained to us about the various ceremonial practices characteristic of the Buddhist temples, such as fortune telling with Buddhist lucky notes called Omikuji.

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Asakusa & Sensoji Temple

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Asakusa & Sensoji Temple

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Asakusa & Sensoji Temple

THE RAMEN MUSEUM IN YOKOHAMA

 

Japan's ramen museum isn’t really in Tokyo, but it’s very easy to get to by train, only 50 minutes away from the city, so it's a must-see for the ramen lovers who come to Tokyo. In fact, it’s an attraction that’s less of a museum and more an amusement park that revolves around one of the most famous Japanese dishes in the world – the ramen.

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Ramen museum

On the ground floor is a small museum where you can read about the history of the ramen and a gift shop where you can buy different kinds of ramen noodles, soups and spices that you can take back home. But the real experience of the museum begins when you descend the stairs to a park which resembles Shitamaki, Tokyo's bustling old city, in 1958, the year the ramen was invented. The park is divided into two floors where the ancient alleys of the city were restored with a ceiling that simulates the night sky, spectacular vintage billboards, a large courtyard with an antique-style bar and a small stage for live music. This is the ideal place to try different regional styles of the famous dish because among the facades of the fake buildings there are nine restaurants serving original ramen noodle dishes from the most famous ramen restaurants across Japan.

The ramen is ordered as typical of Japan in a machine outside of each restaurant, and in addition to the usual ramen you can also buy a small portion that will leave room for more tastings 😉

In addition to ramen, you can also enjoy a cool bar in the park, which is located in the central courtyard of the make-believe street and sells different types of saka, and a Japanese antique-style candy store, as befits the nature of the park, which sells not only an amazing variety of special Japanese sweets but also cool toys from long ago. By the way, we saw a lot of local people in the park, so it really isn’t just a tourist trap but a place where even locals come to eat lunch 🙂

DISNEYLAND TOKYO

 

I wanted to go to Disneyland Tokyo from the second we decided we were flying to Japan, but after an unsuccessful experience at Universal Studios in Osaka, we had a lot of concerns about whether to take the risk of getting to one of the most popular tourist attractions. On the one hand, we didn’t want to spend a whole day in a crowded place and waiting in endless lines. On the other hand, we really didn’t want to miss the Disney experience in Japan – especially since we were in Japan just before Halloween and we knew that the park would be decorated in a special way for the holiday and that people would put a lot of effort into dressing up. In the end, we decided to go to the park on the last day of our trip and it was one of the most fun days of our trip – there's a reason they call it “the happiest place in the world” :). The park itself really didn’t feel crowded, the lines were relatively short, the parades and performances were spectacular, the food was tasty and particularly cool.

True, this isn’t a traditional Japanese experience, but as I already mentioned in my post about Osaka, I have a weakness for American theme parks and giant characters. And besides, although Disney is a distinctly American phenomenon, there’s so much of the current Japanese culture in this park, and yet the experience at Disneyland Tokyo is different from any other Disney park in the world, so it really shouldn’t be missed.

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

Hedonis-Tip:

1. Don’t go there on weekends and holidays, when the park is particularly busy.

2. Get there early in the morning – so the queues are short and you can enjoy as much as possible from the park!

3. According to what they say, Disneyland Park is more suitable for children and families, while the DisneySea Park is more suitable for adults because it has more action and more frightening rides. I'm more in the realm of princesses and kiddy rides so Disneyland suited me 😉 , but if you like more action, it's worth checking out the second park.

4. Disneyland tickets in Japan are significantly cheaper in other parks around the world. An adult ticket costs 7,400 yen, which is around $67, while a ticket to other Disney parks in the world costs around $100.

 

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

Things To Do In Tokyo, Japan - Disneyland

 

 

Which of the attractions I've written about in this post make you want to visit Tokyo?

And if you've been to Tokyo, feel free to add the things you liked the most in the city in the comments below! 🙂

 

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