/categories/district/ Recent content in district on Tokyo, endless city Hugo -- gohugo.io en Tue, 07 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/parkhyattshinjuku/ Tue, 07 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/parkhyattshinjuku/ The three towers of the Park Hyatt Hotel in West Shinjuku will forever recall scenes from the film Lost in Translation for me. In turn that film contains much that initially drew me to Tokyo. This is my favourite view of the Hotel. It would be nice to stay there one day and look down on Yoyogi Park and all the other places. /posts/shibuyacrossingbuilding/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/shibuyacrossingbuilding/ The Shibuya Scramble Square building standing tall and looking good on a sunny day. I am slightly sad that the Shibuya Crossing area is changing so quickly, but change is the norm in Tokyo, and thankfully it is still relatively easy to find everyday buildings and commercial premises going back half a century or more. Of course, I am also looking forward to seeing what the view from up there is like. /posts/sunnyasakusa/ Sat, 21 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/sunnyasakusa/ I forget how good the weather is in December in Tokyo. Almost every day this visit began with watching the sun rise and later seeing it set. /posts/sumida-kanda-yanagi/ Thu, 19 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/sumida-kanda-yanagi/ When walking up the west bank of the Sumida river towards Asakusa you have to take a little detour up a short stretch of the Kanda river to the Yanagi bridge where this photograph of a scene from another era was taken. /posts/under_marunouchi/ Sun, 14 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/under_marunouchi/ There is a huge amount of pedestrian space underneath Tokyo, and often it can be pretty sparsely populated. This is from under Marunouchi Plaza near Tokyo Station taken early evening just before Christmas. These places provide access without consideration of traffic, and I think much of their reason for being were the number of pedestrian accidents. They also protect you from the elements whether that is rain, cold or heat, and are always well lit and very, very clean. /posts/rooftop_cafe/ Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/rooftop_cafe/ There are many places you can get great views over Tokyo. A view from Tokyo Tower revealed this scene over a rooftop cafe. It’s design and structure just cannot be seen from the ground, and even when sitting there as a patron you prabaly don’t get a good feel for the whole. /posts/postoffice_reflections/ Thu, 28 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/postoffice_reflections/ Some may think concrete, steel and glass buildings a bit soulless. But they have different and often appealing moods depending on the season and time of day. Here, the Marunouchi Post Office building shows interesting reflections of the nearby buildings and lovely clear blue December afternoon sky. /posts/ningyocho-nights/ Mon, 04 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/ningyocho-nights/ This Chinese restaurant on a busy road looks and smells so inviting on a cool evening at the turn of the year. The whole road was lined with New Year lanterns at the time. /posts/luckyshutters/ Mon, 13 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/luckyshutters/ The shutters drawn down over this tradional Japanese sweet shop depict the Seven Gods of Fortune that are said to bestow longevity, fortune, popularity, sincerity, kindness, dignity, and magnanimity. /posts/dondonudon/ Sat, 28 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/dondonudon/ A wonderful little udon restaurant hidden away under the Hakozaki junction in Chuo City. There are so many of these small establishments and each has its own atmosphere. /posts/rail-crossing/ Sun, 01 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/rail-crossing/ One of my favourite sounds in Tokyo is the sound of a level crossing. Just adjacent to Araiyakushi Mae station in the early morning people are making their way to work and school across the tracks. Many have just alighted from the departing ever-punctual train. The trains in Tokyo really are a wonder. We had just finished a three train journey across Tokyo during a Friday morning rush hour, and despite the sheer number of people, it never felt overcrowded or uncomfortable /posts/kebab-shop/ Wed, 21 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/kebab-shop/ There is so much of Tokyo in this tiny scene. The utility poles, the narrow roads, the even narrower buildings, a temple, vending machines, a combini, bicycles and a bright, but this time sadly closed, a bright shop selling hot food to take away. Perfection. /posts/takeaway-yakitori/ Mon, 12 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/takeaway-yakitori/ I am always awed and pleased to see such establishments as this happily opening up and selling their wares each day. This place must take some setting up and taking down each day. I love the colourful flowers and New Year ornaments put out. /posts/tower-to-tower/ Wed, 05 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tower-to-tower/ Two of the most iconic sites in modern Tokyo linked by this line of sight. In normal times countless eyes on the viewing platforms of both towers cast gazes that cross over the buildings below as they wonder who is looking their way from the other Tower. This is a tiny area of the whole panorama visible from Tokyo Tower, and yet see what a variety of style and scale compete for ground. /posts/cute_door/ Thu, 15 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/cute_door/ I am not enamoured of all things kawaii, but there is something intriguing about a door like this. One has to wonder what lies behind. Perhaps I have been watching too many Ghibli movies. This door was beside the Sumikko Gurashi store along 1st Avenue in the underground shopping mall of Tokyo Station on the Yaesu side. /posts/ningyocho-nighttime/ Sun, 14 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/ningyocho-nighttime/ There is something wonderful about the bright neon lights and other signs that beckon you into darkened doorways on streets all around Tokyo. They often appear intimidating, especially for those without any Japanses language skills, but I have never had a bad experience and always found both the staff and clientel to be welcoming and friendly. This is a short stretch of a small street in Ningyocho. /posts/sunny_minato/ Sun, 14 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/sunny_minato/ It is interesting to see how many of the buildings around Tokyo Tower are not as tall as you might expect. Here, looking closer along Sakurada-dori south through Minato City towards Takanawa, the apartment and business buildings seem to rise as they get further away. It may not be deliberate, but it does have the happy consequence of making for many wonderful views from the Tower. It was a lovely sunny day when I took this, making me want to join the pedestrians down on the sunlit pavement. /posts/zojojitemple/ Wed, 20 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/zojojitemple/ The viewing platform at Tokyo Tower provides an excellent opportunity to look down on the magnificent Zojoji Temple complex. Taken at the end of 2020, and a few days before I was standing in the Temple on a subzero New Years Eve, this is a view from just before the world changed and the travel options we so much took for granted were taken away. The narrow road on the left is a familiar route for me, being my approach of choice to the iconic Tokyo Tower. /posts/hato-bus/ Mon, 09 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/hato-bus/ There is something special about a Japanese tour bus, and these from the 70 year old Hato Bus company, at the foot of Tokyo Tower, are a fine example. They carry you in comfort along the paths and between the districts of the city and beyond. The smartly uniformed staff keep you informed and entertained, and the views and sights are an endless source of opportunities to note for future exploration on foot. /posts/tokyo-tower-trees/ Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tokyo-tower-trees/ Last Christmas Eve I approached Tokyo Tower from a new angle for me and saw it rising as if from a forest. The Tower really is the centre about which Tokyo spins. So long a symbol of the city and still, even with the modern prevalence of high-rise buildings, visible all over the city. /posts/mori-from-tokyo/ Sun, 04 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/mori-from-tokyo/ The Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is an amazing complex with one of the best observation decks in Tokyo. This photograph of the top dozen floors or so was taken from Tokyo Tower, and if you look at the full size image you can see people behind the windows of the 52nd floor looking back at you. /posts/tokyo-prince-hotel/ Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tokyo-prince-hotel/ This hotel, seen here from Tokyo Tower, has the feel of another era that appeals to me. Built in time for the olympics way back in 1964, it still exudes a restrained elegance echoed by what I have seen second hand of its interior. Whenever I have walked past it or looked down on it as here, I think to myself, “One day we will stay there”. Sadly too many such buildings are being razed and rebuilt, or renovated beyond recall. /posts/roads-and-skylines/ Mon, 07 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/roads-and-skylines/ This photograph was taken looking south towards Shinkawa towards the end of the day. The red brickwork is part of the Royal Park Hotel. I love the way layer upon layer of high rise buildings jostle for a place in the sky, presenting a line far more complex than the most intricate key, and just as unique. From every one of countless windows there is a different and individual skyline. /posts/meguro-housing-complex/ Tue, 25 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/meguro-housing-complex/ There are a seemingly infinite variety of housing projects in Tokyo that are each fascinating and captivating in their design and detail. It would be nice to see some from the inside one day. This one, in Meguro Ward, is as seen from the Ebisu Garden Place, a landmark which has a great platform from which to view the four Wards of Minato, Shibuya, Shinagawa and Meguro. /posts/blue-horizons/ Tue, 11 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/blue-horizons/ Looking south over Sumida and Koto wards from the Skytree on an almost cloudless April morning over countless homes and businesses all the way to the Tokyo Gate Bridge and Haneda Airport and the highrise cluster of Chuo City. It looks vast, and yet is still only a small slice of the whole of Tokyo. Below, in the long thin Sumida River Park where I had just walked, are chaperoned tribes of colourfully hatted kindergarten classes playing, and old men quietly fishing in a fragment of an old canal. /posts/borderlands/ Thu, 30 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/borderlands/ I am fascinated by the borderlands where nature begins to take back the works of man. In this photograph taken in Minamisenju at the south end of Arakawa City, nature seems to have approached from the right and is washing against the shores of human activity on the left. /posts/tokyo-ramshackle/ Wed, 15 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tokyo-ramshackle/ Whilst much of Tokyo is new and shiny, there are still countless little, old, and rundown buildings to be seen whenever you step off the main business and tourist areas. Each one is brimming with character and a history one can only guess at. I particularly like ones like this one, at the northern edge of Minowa, that appears to be being propped up by the more modern and robust buildings either side. /posts/urban-eels/ Wed, 01 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/urban-eels/ It might just be me, but these Shinkansen, seen in Tokyo Station from a viewpoint on the Post Office viewing deck, look like giant futuristic eels lurking in an urban coral reef. /posts/royal-park-hotel/ Tue, 16 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/royal-park-hotel/ The Royal Park Hotel in Nihonbashi Kakigara-cho, close to Suitengumae metro station, has an impressive red brick appeal and a fascinating tower rising along the outside corner of the L shaped building. The circular windows in the rooms afford 270 degree views over the north and east and an envieable view of Tokyo Tower. Well worth a stay if you can afford it. /posts/roads-upon-roads/ Fri, 05 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/roads-upon-roads/ The complexity of the transport infrastructure is not often appreciated from ground level, but at some places you can look up and see a glimpse of it. Like here at Hakozaki Junction where four layers of roads can be seen. /posts/towers-of-glass/ Sat, 23 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/towers-of-glass/ Tokyo has many stunning towers of glass, and this one, the newish Kitte building on the south side of Marunouchi Plaza, is one of my favourites. Here looking especially beautiful against a clear blue winter sky. The viewing platform from where this photograph was taken is the perfect location for looking out over the plaza and Tokyo Station too. /posts/industry-and-smokestacks/ Wed, 13 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/industry-and-smokestacks/ It is easy to forget that Tokyo has industial areas when you stay within the approximate confines of the Yamanote line. But just an hour south east of Tokyo central are scenes like these in Ukishimacho in Kawasaki ward. In this case visible from my flight into Haneda airport. /posts/marunouchi-plaza/ Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/marunouchi-plaza/ Marunouchi Plaza is one of my favourite public spaces in Tokyo. There is an endless variety of contrasting architectures to look at and explore, not to mention some very fine vantage points for viewing the surrounding area. From the new post office building (where this photograph was taken from) to the wonderful Tokyo Station and even looking down Gyoko-dori towards the Imperial Palace there is so much to see and explore from this space. /posts/roof-tiles-and-rain-chains/ Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/roof-tiles-and-rain-chains/ I love Japanese roof tiles. Their texture, shape, glaze and colours are a major contributor to the appeal of temples and other traditional Japanese buildings. Another fascinating element of such buildings are the rain chains, or kusari-doi, that so much more elegantly deal with off-roof water flow than the usual drainpipe. This photograph is of part of the Jyokan-ji temple near Minowa Station. It lies right on the boundary of the Arakawa and Tatio wards which is a fascinating area to explore /posts/abandoned-bookshop/ Mon, 13 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/abandoned-bookshop/ You do not have to travel far from the polished city centre before you start to see shops and stores that have been shuttered for the last time. Whilst it can be sad to see, and often fills my mind with the ghosts of happier days, the slow ageing of the materials is beautiful in its own right. /posts/pink-white-and-blue/ Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/pink-white-and-blue/ This office block in Sumida City caught my eye, the very man made colour framed by the pink, white and blue of nature. It overlooks the Sumida River Park, a very pleasant long thin park whose pathways mark the boundary between many of the eastern and western districts of Sumida ward. /posts/complex-road-junction/ Tue, 17 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/complex-road-junction/ Hakozaki Junction in Kakigaracho is typical of many such junctions in Tokyo. Multiple levels of overhead roads somehow weaving between hi-rise buildings, and barely noticeable from the streets below. /posts/cans/ Fri, 06 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/cans/ There is something tidy and considerate about the Japanese people. It is something I became aware of on my first visit and something that I feel has improved the way I behave. In this scene you can see that even on the edges of the big city the ubiquitous vending machines are used to a much greater extent than the provided bins can cope with. And yet the discarded tins are arranged as neatly as can be managed, awaiting collection and recycling. /posts/rust/ Sat, 22 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/rust/ Rust is a universal sign of decay, and it may suprise some that you do not have to travel far in Tokyo to see it. Here, in northern Tokyo, two well rusted bicycles stand guard outside an apparantly abandoned store like the guardian sentinals outside a shrine. You can see rust stains on the road suggesting the bikes have been in situ for quite some time, giving the impression the road is rarely travelled. /posts/arakawa-home/ Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/arakawa-home/ Not all buildings in Tokyo are big, bright and new. Some homes, stores and businesses really are from a different age, and it is suprising how little distance you have to travel to find them. This is an example from Arakawa. /posts/tokyo-station/ Sat, 25 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tokyo-station/ Tokyo Station is an immense building with an amazing history. Here is the south side of the station, and the central dome. It sits astride a massively complex transit system nexus and a vast underground shopping mall. With trains and metros, taxis, busses and coaches it truely is a location where journeys begin, end and transition. /posts/count-the-buildings/ Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/count-the-buildings/ The variety in size, design, colour, texture and function of buildings in Tokyo never ceases to amaze and fascinate me. Looking east from the superb vantage point of the Skytree out over Kyojima and Yahiro, I wonder how many buildings there are in this one small area of the city. I wonder if any two are the same. The windows are like stars in the sky or grains of sand on a beach - uncountable. /posts/shibuya-in-the-rain/ Thu, 26 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/shibuya-in-the-rain/ The night time city is always aglow with its endless neon (or more likely LED) lights, but when it rains the streets are covered with rivers of reflected lights that are quite otherworldly. The Shibuya Scramble Crossing is always a special place to be, but at night in a quiet warm rain with my combini umbrella there are few other places I would rather be. /posts/joyful-shopping-street/ Tue, 10 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/joyful-shopping-street/ Whilst not necessarily “Joyful” as such, I always find it a joy to discover these covered shopping streets, or shotengai, that still cater for their local communities. There are numerous little stores selling all manner of produce and services. And above them are often the residences of the store owners. This one, actually called the Joyful Minowa Shopping Street, is in Minamisenju and my favourite way to get there is to take the Arakawa Tram to the terminus at Minowabashi. /posts/towards-marunouchi/ Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/towards-marunouchi/ Around the Imperial Palace there is open space that allows you to step back a little from the tall, close set forest of concrete, metal and glass. This is a view up Gyoko Dori towards Tokyo Station and Marunouchi. The people lucky enough to work at or near one of those myriad windows must surely have a splendid view of the Palace grounds behind me. /posts/giant-plush/ Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/giant-plush/ There is one thing you can be sure of in Tokyo, and that is that you do not have to go far before something stops you in your tracks as you try to figure out the what and the why of it. This is one such item I came across deep inside Tokyo Station. I can only assume people used to walk into the pillar it surrounds. /posts/kinchi-park/ Sun, 27 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/kinchi-park/ Kinshi Park is a well maintained and interesting park area with a wide avenue of cherry trees running across it. The clocks and the childrens activity area especially caught my eye, but there are lots of unusual little things, like the tap, and the small, rounded, open sided cubes seen here. /posts/dawn-over-nihonbashihakozakicho/ Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/dawn-over-nihonbashihakozakicho/ There must be three dozen different buildings visible in this tiny sliver of Tokyo looking south west over Nihonbashi Hakozaki-cho. Each has its own architecture, scale and texture, standing on its own uniquely shaped plot of land. It was dawn on an April weekday when this was taken and most of these buildings were filling up with daily commuters as they began their working day. /posts/mukojima-district/ Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/mukojima-district/ Mukojima is a shitamachi district, meaning that it is comprised lowrise buildings in a somewhat less affluent area. The nearby Skytree looks over it now, and is a great place to view the district from, especially on a brilliant sunny day like this was. Remember you can right click on the image to access it full size - something I especially recommend for photographs like this one. /posts/colourful-play-park/ Sun, 29 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/colourful-play-park/ There are countless play areas for kids in Tokyo and often they appear in the most unusual locations. This one, however, is in a corner of the larger Kinshi Park in Sumida City. I love its bold bright colours and futuristic theme. Shame there were no children around to enjoy it that Tuesday morning. /posts/sports-park/ Fri, 13 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/sports-park/ The Shiba water Stations Park is a public park where kids can play football in the heart of urban Tokyo. What it must be to be able to play in the shadow of the iconic Tokyo Tower, from where this photograph was taken. One of the things I like about Tokyo are the many small oases of green scattered between the apartment blocks and business high-rises. /posts/sakura-waters/ Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/sakura-waters/ There is something almost overwhelming about the quantity of all things sakura in Tokyo. How can the most urban of cities find room for so many cherry trees? How can each tree put forth so many flowers? How can you not be awed at blizzards of pink petals in the air around you, and carpets of pink at your feet and in the city waterways. Here are a few petals on some still waters in the Sumida River Park. /posts/tracks-and-skytree/ Tue, 27 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tracks-and-skytree/ The Skytree watches over vast tracts of Tokyo, much of which still has an older, smaller, more patinated atmosphere. Areas around train tracks especially have that feel. Looking across the Tobu-Kameido Line here in Oshiage is one such place. Though only taken a year or so back the red building opposite is now gone, soon to replaced with who knows what. That is another constant in Tokyo: Change. /posts/living-city/ Sun, 11 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/living-city/ This photograph, looking over Minato city, shows in microcosm, the complexity of Tokyo. It does not take long, witnessing scenes like this, to feel that the city is a living entity. Remember you can right click on the image to access it full size - something I especially recommend for photographs like this one. /posts/hachiko/ Sat, 27 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/hachiko/ The statue of the loyal dog, Hachiko, is probably the busiest meeting place in Tokyo. Outside Shibuya Station and next to the Scramble Crossing it is almost always heaving with locals waiting for friends and tourists posing for photos and touching his paw to ensure their wish to return to Tokyo is fulfilled. This photograph was taken on a rare occasion when the area was fenced off for a ceremony. /posts/government/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/government/ There are few words less interesting to me than the title of this post. However, having been based in West Shinjuku on my first stay in Tokyo I soon warmed to the magnificent Metropolitan Government Building there. It looks majestic during the day and stunning at night. Combined with the twin viewing platforms at the top of each tower, a very nice cafe, excellent restaurant and a useful tourist information centre, it is one place I enjoy returning to. /posts/dancers-in-the-park/ Wed, 03 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/dancers-in-the-park/ Tokyo has a wonderful array of public art, from tiny utility hole covers to, well, Godzilla sized pieces. I came across this slender and graceful piece in the small Hamachō park beside the Sumida river during Hanami season. /posts/ningyocho-street-clock/ Sat, 22 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/ningyocho-street-clock/ Almost all of the wards and districts I have visited in Tokyo have a strong sense of their history and uniqueness in their shops, buildings and public art. This street clock is a good example of the many ways this uniqueness and character manifests itself in everyday life. /posts/bicycles-and-alleyways/ Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/bicycles-and-alleyways/ There often seem to be a huge number of cyclists on the paths of Tokyo, and this is reflected by their many mounts seen against railings, on rooftops and, as here, lining narrow alleyways. /posts/wall-tiles/ Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/wall-tiles/ One of the more fascinating details of traditional Japanese buildings are their roof tiles. Often they are too high to get up close and really see the detail, but here, topping a section of wide wall around the Zojoji temple grounds near the Tokyo Tower, they are low enough to touch. /posts/rainbow-candyfloss/ Fri, 10 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/rainbow-candyfloss/ There are countless businesses producing a myriad products I just cannot see being viable anywhere othere than Tokyo. Long may they all thrive. This Totti Candy Factory Rainbow Candyfloss is one such product many enjoy on Takeshita Dori in Harajuku. /posts/jokan-ji-door/ Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/jokan-ji-door/ Around the back of the Jōkan-ji temple is a door behind which are stored the remains of a great many women whose sad story is well worth looking into. /posts/moss-and-octopus/ Tue, 02 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/moss-and-octopus/ I was sad to pass this small bar in Minamisenju when it was closed, and have made a note to return during its opening hours. I cannot read the real name but have labelled it for myself as the Moss and Octopus. /posts/tree-and-skytree/ Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tree-and-skytree/ The Tokyo Skytree is visible for much of the length of the long and thin Sumida River Park. A very pleasant park on a cool spring morning. At this point the east (right hand) half of the park is in Kotobashi and the west side is in Midori. You can weave in and out of a dozen different districts as you walk along its winding paths.