Date: 17th October 2024
Travelled: 20 kms roughly on the JR around Tokyo
Visited: Nezu-Jinga Shrine, Renge-ji Temple, the Yanaka District and Shinjuku-Goyen
Stayed: MyStays Gotanda Station, Tokyo
Budget: 21 days @ $XX per day
Last night we stumbled upon Excelsior Cafe only a short walk from our hotel in Gotanda, it was too late for a coffee but Pam pushes me out the hotel at 6.30 this morning with her order. The inconvenience of not being in our motorhome with its coffee machine for the last 10 years.
I return with two triple shot latte (the Japanese havenโt extended to cappuccino just yet). They proved to be pretty good, so the morning starts on a good note.
We give the optional tour a miss today, have breakfast and walk across the road to the railway station, purchase two one day rail passes for A$7.60 pp. Our loose plan today is to explore the Uenu-Yanaka district our guide book describes as โOld Tokyoโ.
The JR is quick and efficient, no need to rush as another train will come in 5-6 minutes. The number of people getting on and off when the train stops is a little intimidating but you get used to it.
We change trains at Tokyo Station pictured above to another line about 5 minutes walk away. Alighting the next train at Nero Station on the western side of Ueno-Yanaka district, from there its less than 500m to Nezu-Jinga Shrine our first stop.
The blurb tell us itโs one of the older set shrines in the city. The shrine stands in a small park with a stream winding its way through. There are a number of small shrines and stone sculptures to wander.
We continue on generally to the east across the Yamaka. The streets turn to laneways, mostly only one way because they are so narrow. Even the footpaths give way to a green strip painted on the edge of the roadway.
There is the odd timber cottages squeezed in between more modern houses. Our next stop is the Renge-ji Temple pictured below. The grounds are very small but it has some beautiful plants growing amongst the monuments.
The further we walk the more temples we pass all well kept with tidy gardens. When we enter the grounds we always seem to find a gardener doing something, they simply give a nod of their head and continue working.
Following our guide book we take a slight detour to find an old shop that has been restored as a museum, pictured below. There is a tour guide speaking English so we listen for a few minutes before loosing interest as most of her group already appeared to have done.
As we leave we spot a small cafe across the road with a coffee sign, so we walk over to open the door to the strong smell of coffee and a Barista busily working away. So we order a couple of cappuccino extra strong of course and thatโs what we got.
Another 500m and we enter Yanaka Cemetery which according to our guidebook is one of the largest and oldest in Tokyo. You know we enjoy walking a cemetery, as we couldnโt read the headstones and they donโt appear to have dates it was a little unusual.
In any case the cemetery makes an excellent shortcut to our next JR Station. A few minutes later we are on the train once again. We change line for Sendagaya and the Shinjuku-Goyen National Garden. We tried to visit this famous โJapanese walking or strolling gardenโย on our first day but it was closed, thankfully it was open today.
Shinjuku-Gyoen covers an area of almost 60 hectares, with some 20,000 trees, the garden is divided into different styles but the Japanese garden is what where here for. Pictured below on a grey humid afternoon.
We find a small pavilion over looking a lake and enjoy a very late lunch and the view. After 90 minutes of wandering here and there we make our way back to the station, and the train to Gotanda.
We’ve done some walking today so a long hot shower and a beverage is in order before head off into the early evening to find a little restaurant for dinner.
Michael + Pam
