On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Captain C
These photos are from the second half of my first stretch in Tokyo in spring of 2019, which happily (and by intent) coincided with cherry blossom season.
This is from just below the Tokyo Skytree, looking up around 1900 feet to the top.
Looking north-northeast from the 350 meter observation deck.
The 450 meter deck, reached via separate elevator from the 350 meter deck, has an angled floor, and a serious barbie theme.
This is facing roughly the same direction as the photo above from the 350 meter deck.
As should always be expected when visiting Japan, sometimes the weirdness happens. In this case, I happened upon a Mario Kart race taking place over the streets of Tokyo.
Ueno Park is one of the most famous and popular parks in Tokyo. As it was cherry blossom season, many people brought tarps and boxes of food and drink (which they emptied, and then placed on the ground upside down to use as a table), and spent a nice evening with their friends amid the beauty.
One of the nice things about having a friend in a city you are visiting, is that they can take you to places you never would have thought to visit on your own. In this case, C took me on a walk through Nakano before my Thursday afternoon Shinkansen to Kyoto. We happened upon a lovely little temple/shrine complex depicted here.
At one point during our Nakano explorations, C and I noticed a bunch of photographers lined up on a pedestrian overpass near a train crossing. C guessed roughly why, and a minute or so later we saw this train go by.
A couple hours later, I was on the bullet train to Kyoto, but that part and beyond will have to wait for another post…
John Revolta
Very nice!
elizadin
I lived in Japan for two years–further south than Tokyo, but traveled to Tokyo several times while there. Absolutely lovely country, with welcoming people (even during the reign of Bush II). Both my children learned Japanese, while I muddled through with my sparse understanding of it.
Cherry blossom time is unbearably beautiful.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
Tokyo is a vibrant city with so many layers to it. Sometimes, I think I could spend my life simply traveling all around Japan tasting the regional dishes, exploring the localities, and soaking in a history that goes back forever.
Robert Sneddon
The Mario Kart thing is not exactly a race, it’s an escorted tourist event. The local police in Sumida and Taito (the areas around Akihabara and Chuo-dori) don’t like it but they can’t do anything to stop it.
mad citizen
Very nice (so many travelogues on BJ)–envy all of you who have lived and traveled there. Have never been but would like to visit. My wife and I just finished the James May six part Japan series on amazon prime, where he travels from north to south (James May: Our Man in Japan). We stumbled upon it one night. He did the mario cart thing.
randy khan
The views from on high remind me of how surprised I was to discover that there really aren’t that many very tall buildings in Tokyo. I suspect it has something to do with earthquakes, but for such a big city it is very close to the ground.
DaveInOz
definitely on my bucket list.