Tokyo

Tokyo's changed a lot since my last visit two years ago. My favorite two restaurants are gone. I think most of the good memories centered around Osaka and Kyoto. But even so, Japan in the winter has a different free from Japan in the fall. Fewer tourists, more fur (roses on top of fur for example), an emphasis on winter cuisine (roots and snow crab).

I wanted to go to Hakone, but it seemed treacherous in the snow. Instead, we went to Nikko, a shrine town about 2.5hrs away from Tokyo. It's a town famous for its yuba (tofu skin) and yuba noodles. It's also one of Japan's top tourist destinations; there's even ads on the subway called "nikko in winter." And yes, Nikko was cold, so cold it snowed. A shot of the bridge leading from Nikko town to Nikko temple.



Steps leading to a collection of Nikko Shrines.



Nikko looks cold doesn't it.


Here's a view of some of the temples. Nikko's pretty awesome, you walk up these stairs out of a forest and bam it's gold and ornate and beautiful


We were in Japan during the New Year's Sumo tourney, but did not attend, watching it on NHK instead. Here's a sumo statue. Behind him is the chanko nabe (sumo soup food) restaurant where we had lunch.



This is the view from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Government building in Shinjuku. I'm only posting this because way off in the distance, you can see Mt Fuji. It lords over the city as it does in all the paintings.



Fugu restaurant in Asakusa. $53. We saw them catch 2 live! Did not eat here.



Ginza LV store. Tokyo is sick expensive. I bought furry boots and jeans that fit though =)



Remember Gwen and her Harajuku girls? It's the Harajuku Gap.



Here's the Meiji Temple, dedicated to the spirit of Emperor Meiji. We went a day after the prime minister visited. It's 5pm in this shot, still very crowded, I guess one must attend the temples on new year's.