The first day to explore Tokyo! My cousin and I decided to walk around Tokyo on foot and by train. We started the day pretty early and we took the regular MRT to the Asakusa area since our JR Pass is not activated yet at that time. With minimal Japanese vocabulary and insufficient maps application, my cousin and I bravely took the MRT train to the Asakusa area. We finally entered the MRT but we got off at the wrong stop. We hurriedly get off the train then my phone slipped and landed at the tactile paving. A few seconds later, I saw my phone’s LCD cracked badly. In less than 24 hours since I arrived in Japan, I had an incident already. I wanted to cry, but it’s too absurd until I can’t express my feelings.
After that incident, we finally arrived at Asakusa, the heart of Tokyo’s past unfolds. I was intrigued by the authentic tendon shop that I saw on Instagram and it was located right behind Sensoji Temple. So, I decided to visit the Asakusa area on our first full day in Tokyo. Not only because of the culinary that I would like to try, but I think for a first-time visitor, visiting Japanese temples is a necessity.
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| Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate |
As soon as we arrived at Asakusa station, the big red lantern greeted us. At that time many people from all over the world visited Sensoji Temple, one of the oldest temples in Japan. As soon as I arrived in Asakusa, I totally forgot about my cracked phone. I feel excited and the feeling that I am in Japan was getting more real. We passed through the big lantern at the front gate of Sensoji Temple, known as Kaminarimon or Thunder Gate and we took the left side street.
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| Daikokuya Tempura |
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| Instagenic front face |
A few meters from there, I finally found the tendon shop I wanted to visit, Daikokuya Tempura. I don’t usually like tiger prawn tempura and rarely eat tendon. But, after I saw a post of this shop’s front face on Instagram, I decided to visit here. The shop is relatively medium-sized and it is two-story. They actually have expanded their original shop and have an annex building right next to it. And I got to eat at the annex building.
Small-sized stools and tables fill in the shop and I can feel the traditional Japanese vibes. I arrived at around brunch time (they opened at 11AM) and almost half of the guests were the locals. Thankfully, they had the English menu, even though they only sell like two or three menus. Also, they have pictures!
I ordered Tendon A which consists of prawn, kisu fish (Japanese whiting), and mixed tempura. The regular tendon or tempura, in general, has a crunchy texture and is light-colored. But, the tendon that Daikokuya serves is quite different. It has dark-colored and moist. The batter is mixed with some kind of soy sauce and sesame oil for Edomae tempura which make the color darker and taste salty-sweet. It also has a hint of spiciness, which makes the food more flavorful and less boring. I really love Japanese rice and choosing tendon as an opening was a really good choice.
After a hearty meal, my cousin and I took some pictures before heading to Sensoji Temple. I really love the pictures I took in front of the shop and the nearby area. That day, the weather was so good and there were big and fluffy clouds. I guess that’s what makes all of my photos look good.
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| I & My Omikuji captured with a disposable camera |
Before we really entered the shrine, we tried to get our Omikuji or written fortune. I don’t really believe in fortune, but we took this just for fun. It was written on how to take Omikuji that if we got a good fortune, we should not be arrogant and careless. They both wrote what to do if we get bad or good fortune. I think that is a very important thing.
Thankfully, I got a pretty good fortune even though I just dropped my phone earlier. The Chinese believe that bad lucks may disguise good fortune. So, I’ll take my phone breaks as an incoming good fortune in disguise. Fast forward to November 2019, I finally received good luck! So, I guess my first day in Tokyo is to take away my bad omen for the upcoming day ahead.
There is a water fountain on the right side corner of Sensoji Temple, called Chozuya / Temizuya. Just like any other worship place, purifying is symbolized by water, so cleaning yourself before entering the worship place is necessary.
Even though I’m not a Buddhist, temples, and shrines fascinate me. I was expecting a serene and quiet temple, just like the temple I saw in Korea. I was quite surprised at the time I entered the main hall of Sensoji Temple because it was quite crowded with people and it wasn’t as quiet as I expected. But after all, it was an amazing experience.
After some walk-around the temple, we came across a matcha or green tea specialized shop nearby. I am not a fan of Japanese green tea, but Ossuloc (a Korean green tea specialized shop) and this shop in Tokyo changed my thoughts about matcha. The shop we visited is called Yanagi-Chaya. The store was opened in 2018 and they use premium-quality green tea from Uji, Kyoto.
We ordered the best seller mochi (glutinous rice cake) with matcha ice cream and roasted green tea boba drink. For refreshment, the menu we chose was perfect. It wasn’t too sweet nor too bitter. Just right. Also, it was good to cool down our body because we walk around outside for more than 2 hours, and this green tea ice cream, and boba drink flush all of the heat.
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| Candid Nakamise Street captured by my cousin |
We passed by the Nakamise Shopping street as we walked our way out from the Asakusa area. The shopping street is about 250 meters long and it connects the first gate to the second one, called Hozomon. There were many souvenir shops and snack stalls along the Nakamise shopping street. I didn’t buy anything there and I regret it now.
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| The view while waiting for the traffic lights |
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| Sumida River |
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| Tokyo Skytree captured at 1 PM |
Our next destination is the Ginza area. But, to reach there we need to go to Asakusa Station, and on our way there, we passed by the Sumida River, also we saw the Asahi Beer Museum from across the road, and Tokyo Sky Tree as the background. We walked at 1PM and it was really hot. But, it was worth the miles and I’ll count it to burn some calories.
I don’t have a special reason to visit the Ginza area, but my cousin does. She wanted to buy some things there because Ginza is one of Japan’s shopping heaven. There were lots of branded flagship stores. When I stepped out of the Ginza station, the vibes were totally different from the Asakusa area. I feel transported to the modern days right away. There were tall buildings and cars passing by along the main street.
The first thing that welcomed us when we exit the train station is The Nissan Crossing. I never saw Nissan’s sports cars before and I know it’s lame, but I was stunned. There is also Wako Department Store with Seiko clock on it, across the street that I saw while we were waiting for the traffic lights. This reminds me of the H&M Flagship store in Melbourne, where they repurposed an old building giving it a new life. The Wako Department Store was rebuilt in 1932 and ever since then, it became the icon of Ginza. My cousin didn’t really get what she wanted, so we head back to Shinjuku.
Arrived in Shinjuku, we headed for our early dinner. I just realized it was our second meal yet. We went to Gyu-katsu Motomura to try out the original Gyu-katsu. I have tried a few Gyu-katsu in Indonesia, but surely the meat quality is different and it makes the whole meal taste differently. Also, Japanese rice is my favorite type of rice, and thanks to it all of my meals in Japan taste very good. By the time we arrived there weren’t many guests yet, even though it was a famous restaurant and I heard that guests should line up to get their Gyu-katsu. Thankfully, we didn’t have to line up and could get our hands on their Gyu-katsu easily.
We ordered the smallest set one set each. Each set consists of Gyu-katsu, rice, soup, and cabbage salad. It was such a hearty meal to end the day.
My first full day in Tokyo was like living as a transporter. In the morning, I was taken back to the past and in the evening I was transported to the present day. I got to experience the best of both worlds. If I happened to visit Tokyo again, I would definitely cruise over the Sumida River and explore the other part of the Asakusa area.
References:
https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-tokyo_train_station/article-a0002059/
Daikokuya Tempura full English menu: http://www.tempura.co.jp/english/
http://www.meetrip.to/asakusa_2.html
https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/yanagi-chaya
https://www.gotokyo.org/en/spot/73/index.html
https://www.japanistry.com/wako/
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14504618
