Tokyo – Imperial Palace & Sensoji Temple in Asakusa (Japan)

After admiring the view from the Metropolitan Government Building this morning and being at Tokyo Tower, our tour of this huge city continued to the Imperial Palace and Sensoji Temple in Asakusa.

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Imperial Palace in Tokyo

One of the most important sights in Tokyo is the Imperial Palace, where the Japanese emperor resides. The palace is located on the former site of Edo Castle in what is now the Chiyoda district.

The most famous photo spot is the view of the Nijubashi Bridge with the palace in the background. The visit to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo was rather disappointing for us, because you can’t really see much of the huge terrain. Most of the palace is closed to the public. In principle, only the Ostgarten, formerly the site of the mighty castle of Edo, is accessible. Some parts of the inner palace grounds are only accessible on two days a year without prior notice: the Emperor’s birthday (23 December) and New Year’s Day (2 January).

Tokyo Central Station

From the Imperial Palace we walked to the main station, which was built on the model of the Amsterdam railway station and is today the starting point of almost all Shinkansen lines.

The Sensoji Temple in Asakusa

From here we drove with the really good but completely crowded metro to the district of Asakusa. The district is best known for the Sensoji Temple, Tokyo’s oldest and most important Buddhist temple. A small market street leads to the temple, at the beginning of which there is the Kaminari-mon entrance gate. The nearly 12 meter high gate is a very popular photo motif, especially because of its huge lampion. At the end of The Market Street is the Sensoji Temple.

Tokyo Skytree

From the Asakusa district you also have a good view of the Tokyo Skytree. At 634 metres, it is the tallest free-standing television tower in the world.

View from the Government Building at night

On the way back to our hotel we went back to the Metropolitan Government Building to see the skyline of this huge city at night.

Starbucks Global Icon City Mug of Tokyo

Seit einiger Zeit sammeln wir die Starbucks Tassen der Städte (City Mugs) und Inseln, die wir auf unseren Reisen besuchen. Die großen Tassen gibt es leider nicht von jeder Stadt, in der es auch eine Starbucks Filiale gibt. Aber wenn es eine solche Tasse gibt, dann finden wir diese ein wirklich schönes Andenken. Hierbei sammeln wir allerdings (fast) nur Städtetassen der 2008 erschienenen “Global Icon Serie”. Unsere komplette Sammlung könnt Ihr Euch hier ansehen: Starbucks – Unsere Tassensammlung der Global Icon Serie

Tokyo has several Starbucks stores, but the cup of the Global Icon series is incredibly rare. These were probably only available in limited quantities at the US Naval Base. Luckily, we were able to buy one of these rare cups on eBay and are very happy about it 🙂

Alle Reiseberichte aus Japan

Nach unseren 4 Tagen hier können wir sagen, dass uns Tokio richtig gut gefallen hat! Die Japaner sind wahnsinnig höflich und freundlich und trotz einer so riesigen Stadt kommt irgendwie keine Hektik auf. Es gibt an jeder Ecke irgendwas zu sehen, die Stadt wirkt sehr modern und ist trotzdem bodenständig. Selbst die Taxifahrer haben alle Anzug mit Krawatte an. Für eine Millionenstadt wirklich sehr überraschend. Hier hätten wir gerne noch ein paar weitere Tage verbringen wollen. » Tokio – Unser Flug von Australien nach Japan
» Tokio – Die Pandas & Seelöwen im Ueno Zoo
» Tokio – Die Ameyoko Street & der Stadtteil Shibuya
» Tokio – Metropolitan Government Building & Tokyo Tower
» Tokio – Der Kaiserpalast & der Sensoji-Tempel in Asakusa
» Arakurayama Sengen Park, die Chureito Pagoda & der Berg Fuji
» Das Shibazakura Festival – Ein Blumenmeer am Mount Fuji
» Tokio – Der Stadtteil Shinjuku & das Hibiya Oktoberfest