Miyajima

The island of Itsukushima, commonly known as Miyajima, is 30 minutes from Hiroshima by train.

Arriving by ferry presents one of the traditional views of Japan with the big red torii in the sea.

The island is inhabited by deers who eat everything, including clothes and maps!

Another building of note is the pagoda from the 16th century.

The island is famous for the Itsukushima shinto shrine, which looks like it is floating on water when the tide is right.


The central part of the shrine is the oldest noh theatre in Japan, even if it has been rebuilt at least once, like many old wooden buildings in Japan.

If you are lucky, you may see a wedding:


Depending on the season, you may come upon other less traditional sights, like a smoking tanuki...

...or these sculptures of gremlins, alien and predator

Shinjuku

The largest train station in the world with close to 4 millions travelers a day, Shinjuku Station in the West of Tokyo is the place for skyscrappers and adult establishments. Kabukicho, for a long time the Tokyo red light district, is still a dodgy place at night. During the day it is a lively mix of restaurants, electronic shops and bookstores.

For a good view of Tokyo, take the West exit of Shinjuku Station and walk for 10 minutes to arrive amongst skyscrapers like the luxury hotels Century Hyatt, Park Hyatt and Keio Plaza. For our purpose, the best is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office.

It is difficult to miss the massive construction, designed by Kenzo Tange. Each of the two towers offers an observation deck on the 45th floor with various souvenir shops. From up there you can see Mount Fuji on a clear day. The view from the southern tower shows more of the city and is considered more interesting.

On the ground floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, there is a good tourist information center with maps in all languages and helpful volunteers. Events are sometimes held in the giant hall of the building and in December don't miss the Chinese New Year decorations! With luck you could also catch the setting-up of a kimono exhibition.

If you took the underground passage at the West exit of Shinjuku Station, you walked under the Shinjuku Center Building which offers a free observation platform on its 53rd floor. Other good pictures can be taken from the 51st floor of the Sumitomo Building, with the added bonus of a juice bar. From there you can even see the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office.

At night the skyscrapper district looks like something out of Blade Runner. Actually a few movies took place in this part of Tokyo. The hotel in Lost In Translation is the Park Hyatt and at the beginning of Sukeban Deka, the main yo-yo cop girl escapes from a secret base right behind the Century Hyatt...

On your way back to Shinjuku or Yoyogi, you can see funny sculptures all over the place.

Sakura

From March to the end of April, it is sakura season in Japan!


Cherry blossoms appear in the parcs, along the rivers and the railroads, as well as in the gardens and the countryside.


As always in Japan, the food follows the season with cherry flowers and leaves in the rice of the lunch boxes.
One can easily try sakura-flavoured ice cream, candies, cakes, cookies and pink mochi (rice cakes) wrapped in cherry leaves.


Kokura castle (a modern reconstruction) is very beautiful at this time of year.


Crowds come to spend the day under the trees. Groups of coworkers have lunch on a blue tarpaulin. In the evening, the dinner may become a drinking party. Being under the trees is the important thing; drinking too; and of course the food and the sake.
Sorry, what was all that about?


Small restaurants open shop on the castle grounds and the picnic tables are all booked.


From time to time, the wind creates pink snow...


(there are some big "koi" in the castle ditch)