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May
06
Sumida River, Minato Park and Yarakucho
We left Tsukiji Fish Market and cycled along the Sumida River. The afternoon sun provided warm light and made the many different buildings of the city look somewhat soft. Only at the end of the park did we see the sign that said it is not allowed to ride bicycles. Fortunately there was nobody around, so we luckily didn’t offend anybody. We returned them near Yarakucho Station and took the Metro back Nogizaka Station, where we started our journey in the morning.
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May
06
Tsukiji Fish Market
Sometimes you are very lucky without knowing. The first time this happened to us was when we visited the New York World Trade Center twin-towers in 2000. A year later they were gone. 17 years later this happened again, when we visited the Tsukiji Fish Market in May 2017. Little did we know that it would be closed and relocated to Toyosu Market in October 2018. Looking back, I feel very happy that I had the chance to see the traditional fish market, which opened in 1935.
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May
06
Hibiya Park Food Festival
The previous days’ tour de force took it’s toll. We slept a lot longer than planned and woke up late and very hungry. The Metro took us to Yarakucho station, where we hired some bicycles and started our journey. As luck would have it, there was a food festival in Hibiya Park. How convenient!
May
05
Tokyo Tower
Aimed with a snack and a plain but very tasty rice ball, we made our way to the Tokyo Tower but didn’t go up to the viewing platform. Instead we opted to go and see the famous Shibuya crossing at night. On our way to Shibuya we found several food trucks, but postponed it to another day and cycled on.
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May
05
World Trade Center, Tokyo Tower and the Skyline at night
The Ginza Parade left us hungry and we went to find something to eat. Japan is a perfect country to be hungry, because most corner shops also offer a variety of delicious hot food at very affordable prices. We sat on a bench and thought the yellow mini-skyscraper across the street looked like half a dozen European garages stacked on top of each other and wondered where the staircase might be hidden. Real estate sure is in short supply here and therefore the Japanese even stack parked bicycles in a clever and efficient way to save space.
May
05
Ginza Parade
Driving from the Tokyo Station towards the shopping district Ginza, we saw a huge crowd and wondered what was going on. The timing couldn’t have been better, as the opening ceremony of the 2017 Ginza Parade was just about to begin.
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May
05
Imperial Palace East Gardens
Upon arriving at the Imperial Palace East Gardens, we tried to park our bicycles but one of the guards told us that it is unfortunately illegal to park bicycles at the garden perimeters. Well then, we improvised and stored them in an underground parking across the street. Back at the Hirakawa Gate we smiled at the guard and he let us in after we paid the entrance fee. We thanked him and went to explore the Imperial Gardens.
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May
05
The Hie Shrine in Chiyoda
After a healthy breakfast in a typical Japanese corner restaurant, we hired bicycles at a hotel nearby and set off to explore the megacity Tokyo. The friendly and very courteous staff gave us a map with the hire stations and marked the point where we started, so we could find our way back later on. As on most of our travels, we didn’t bring a tourist book to follow. Instead, we love to explore and decide at every intersection by gut feeling whether to go left, right or straight.
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