Japan: part IV

Japan Diary 12 - 21 MAY 2010
The land of sunrise

18 MAY 2010 - 2nd around Tokyo

5:00AM, we wake up and go to Tsukiji market. It is a large wholesale market for fish in Tokyo. Tsukiji Market consists of an inner market where most of the wholesale business and the famous tuna auctions are taking place, and an outer market whose retail shops and restaurants carter to the public. Many restaurants are also found in the inner market.

After that, we come back to hotel, pack the baggage and check out because we will move to another hotel. Today (May 18th) is a International museum day, so we can visit all museum with free admission. We go to National Museum of Nature and Science at Ueno. It's home to two permanent exhibits; the Japan Gallery and the Global Gallery. There are around 14,000 items on display on subjects such as the evolution of humans and animals, changes in the environment and the advancement of science and technology, centered around the theme of Coexistence of Mankind and Nature. It also includes a 360-degree movie theater in the round that show the story of Dinosaurs.




We walk to Tokyo National Museum. It is the oldest Japanese national museum, and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, houses, and preserves a comprehensive collection of art works and archaeological objects of Asia, focusing on Japan. The museum holds over 110,000 objects. Because of time limitation, we can visit only the main gallery.

Next, we walk to The National Museum of Western Art. It  is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition. The Main Building was designed by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier.



We walk to Ueno station and have a lunch of Kaiten Sushi. Its cost per dish is 100 - 600 yen up to the raw material used. Next, we go to  Akihabara. It is famous for its many electronics shops. We move all baggage to a new hotel: Tokyu stay, Ikebukuro. It is quite new, opened less than a year ago. Its cost is 6,980 yen/night for single room. It has around 16 sq-m area with necessary facilities including TV, washing and drying machines, a microwave and internet (LAN&Wi-Fi) available.

We have a dinner at Ootoya restaurant. I order rice with stir fried chicken, 700 yen. After that, we go to Roppongi hill, a new urban centre and one of Japan's largest integrated property developments. One can see the Tokyo tower here.

to be continued ...