Early Monday morning, we took the train over to the Tsukiji market.  Coming by a different route than before, we encountered a temple where businessmen were making offerings.

In mid-morning, some of the tuna were still in recognizable forms, with fishmongers rapidly creating portions with saws and knives.

On this visit, I discovered the reason that some tuna are called yellowfin.  These had a yellow fin smaller than a thumbnail.

From Tsukiji, we walked through the Ginza, and up towards Yurakucho.  We stopped by a pachinko parlour where the machines were as loud in the morning as they are in the evening.

Down the street, the BIC store is one of the larger electronics retailers in town.  The variety of cameras, mobile phones and electronics fills up multiple stories in the Yurakucho building.

The main hall of the Tokyo International Forum was open, dwarfing the few people inside.

Roy was curious about the statue at the north end of the Forum, that I hadn’t noticed before.  It’s Ota Dokan, a monk, and architect of the Edo Castle in the 15th century.

On the Ginza, we stopped by the Nissan showroom.  The model on display wasn’t for export.

The sounds of music drew us in from the Ginza into the Yamaha showroom, where a keyboardist vigourously exercised a variety of computer patches.

A little further along, we stopped for lunch at an old favourite:  Hanamasa Steak, in Ginza 9.  Ordering food by putting coins into a vending machine, and then eating at the counter is a modern (if not economical) Japanese experience.

The group agreed to next visit Asakusa.  Many families paused at the main gate for photographs.

On the shopping street behind the gate, a few women in kimonos stood out from the rest of the visitors.

Behind the street of commerce is the Sensoji Temple.  Inside, tourists mixed with visitors with more spirtual interests.

Beyond the temples, it’s s short walk to the Nishisando Arcade.  We we unsure of its location until we found the gate.

Inside the arcade is the Edo Shitamachi Museum of Traditional Crafts.

Handmade crafts, such as these lanterns, aren’t in the everyday stores in Tokyo.

Our group got smaller, as jet lag set in.  Roy and I were to only two to continue to Shinjuku, eventually having sushi dinner in a restaurant amongst the pubs.

The next day, Roy and I went over to the east side of Tokyo, crossing the Sumida River.

The Ryogoku neighbourhood is off the beaten path for western tourists, with two very large Japanese attractions.  We were early for both.

The mural outside of the Sumo Museum leaves little doubt of the sights for visitors.

For a building about historical times, the Edo-Tokyo Museum is certainly a modern edifice.

Inside the museum are some large installations, such as the Nakamura Theater, as we viewed from upstairs on the Nihonbashi Bridge.

After lunch, we visited the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

For an evening experience, Roy and I continued to the Naru Jazz Livehouse.  Gary eventually found us there, after resolving some confusion about which exit of the rail station was near the club.  Mabumi Yamaguchi was an experienced sax player, leading younger yet accomplished sidemen.

For a change of pace on the next day, Yoshi met us, and took us to the Japan Auto Federation head office, where there’s a automobile simulator that we each tried out.  It’s not the same as a real car!

Under the elevated highway of the Inner Circular Route, the canal boats reminded us of water routes through the city.

On the way to lunch, we stopped by Shimizu Cycle, which stocks parts for gearhead enthusiasts.

In Mita, Yoshi guided us to his favourite Korean restaurant for lunch.  Toko had the daily specials on display, although we had already pre-ordered to improve speed.

These trips to Tokyo aren’t all sightseeing.  The researchers actually have meetings, where we spend days at the Ookayama campus, in an invited discussion.

On campus, we walked by some students out juggling, presumably as a way to work off stress.

On this particular visit, the weather was exceptionally clear, so that a view of Mount Fuji was possible.

After two days of invited discussion, the public is invited to attend open lectures in the main building of the Ookayama campus of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

This year, the lecture room was filled to capacity.

With the main formal activities completed, we had a night at Toko that included dinner …

… and karaoke.

Since international flights generally leave Narita Airport around 5 p.m., there’s a chance for some sightseeing in the morning and afternoon of the last day.  We hadn’t yet seen Harajuku.  Takeshita-dori was full of umbrellas on this grey day.

Nearby, the Togo Shrine was closed to visitors, but we could see a wedding party through the gate.

Design Festa Gallery is a regualar “starving artists” stop for me.

In the west galleries, one wall is shared by multiple artists, each section marketed off with yellow tape.

The display of cards would be more portable as gifts.

The east gallery is newer, and less populated.

Some artists were still setting up.  Power tools were in play.

Etsuko came to meet us in Harajuku.  She hadn’t tried the fast food takoyaki before, so we sampled a shared order.

Eight days after we had arrived, we were back to Narita for the plane home.  There’s always a lot to see on our visits to Tokyo.

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I guess that Saturday afternoon is a good bet for families to visit the gardens.

As we entered the gardens walking north, I enjoyed the view of the brook to the side.

The park honours the Emperor Meji who passed away in 1912, and is interred in Kyoto.  The view of the long, tree-covered walk is impressive.

Sake barrels are displayed as decorations, emptied from prior festivals after having been donated by local brewers.

The Meiji period was seen as enlightened one, when the emperor enjoyed western food and took wine with it.  Wineries in Bourgogne, France, consecrated these barrels in the emperor’s honour.

At the end of that entry walk, a turn left brought us to to the torii (shrine gate).

Approaching the main shrine building is the covered fountain typical in temples.

As did other visitors, Marianne cleansed herself with the water.

A smaller torii marked the perimeter of the main temple.

Marianne took care to cross over the threshold into the main temple.

The courtyard is enclosed all the way around by buildings.

We were surprised and honoured to be just in time to watch a wedding procession

Everyone in the shrine stopped to admire the wedding group.

Marianne had forgotten to bring her camera, and was impressed by the embroidery on the back of this bright kimono.

After a brief pause for ceremony, the wedding party crossed the courtyard to another gate.

Through the gate, we saw them taking formal photos, presumably with extended family and friends.

We continued into the main temple, which had an internal courtyard.

Visitors made offerings at the altar.

On one side was a taiko drum, that might be used in a festival.

As we were about to leave, Marianne noticed the curtain tassels, commenting on their colour.

Outside the main shrine, we noticed the walls of votive tablets.

The gardens were no less grand, as we left.

I hadn’t noticed the detail of water flowing by the walk on the way in.

We had also crossed over an arched bridge on the way in.  I guess that I was too focused on getting to the shrine on the approach!

Looking down from the arched bridge, only a small trickle of water was flowing in the stream.

The gardens are a tranquil oasis right beside one of the busiest train stations in Tokyo.  We wouldn’t have known it was there!

The shrine and garden were constructed in the honour of the Emperor Meiji, who I’ve now learned ushered in modern Japan.

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Looking north and east at dusk, the distance from the Shinjuku district to the harbour was too great to see any water.

From the east of the observatory, the lights in the Shinjuku shopping and entertainment district were just starting to come on.

Walking from the Metropolitan Government building to central Shinjuku took 20 or 30 minutes. By that point, the sun had set. The area is a destination for shopping in the evening.

There also a large choice of restaurants in Shinjuku. Western chains are well represented. Some features of the area were, however, a mystery. The tall person in the yellow jumper in the middle of the photo may be a cross-dresser.

We then encountered a small squad of people in yellow jumpers. We’re not sure why they were carrying brooms and sweeping. They didn’t seem to be working hard at cleaning, so maybe they were using the task as an excuse for loitering around the nightlife.

Shinjuku attracts young adults at night to movie theatres. Some big screen ads lit up the area.

On the back streets, Diana and I wandered around the love hotels. On our visit to Japan, we were free of other family members in our accommodations, but high real estate prices in Tokyo may make the love hotels a reasonable choice for short periods of intimacy.

Unlike conventional hotels where windows are favoured, most love hotels don’t provide a view (either in or out). Each venue has a different theme. Here’s one with stained glass windows.

Rates are charged for 3-hour periods, or longer. Travelers desperate for overnight accommodations may be considered only if they check in really, really late.

Walking back towards a subway station, the lights on the main streets were bright.

With the large number of people out at night in Shinjuku, we felt relatively safe. Around the back alleys, we did notice a few police patrolling. We expect that they were more for chasing pickpockets than for violent crimes.

On one of the large screen interactions had us bouncing bubbles up, before they hit the ground.

The NTT ICC is small part of the larger Tokyo Opera City complex that takes up a large city block. In addition to a skyscraper tower, there’s a concert and recital hall , the New National Theatre Tokyo (for opera), an art gallery, and a gallery shop.

At the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, we saw the Melting Point exhibit. Jim Lambie covered the floors with strips of tape, immersing gallery visitors in colour. We also enjoyed the environments of Ernesto Neto, who used fabrics to partition rooms in strange ways. Diana and I played gopher in a room with a sheer fabric about a metre off the ground, with holes cut in a few places so that we could stand up.

In addition to the interior galleries, the Opera City complex has large plazas on three floors. There were performers and small shopping stalls where families with children came for entertainment.

Diana and I sat down on a bench to rest for a bit. A magician entertained the last few families staying as the sun set.

Diana and I split an order of shave ice to cool off. Tokyo Opera City is the type of venue that our kids would have really enjoyed when they were young. We enjoyed it, too, so I guess it’s appropriate for kids of all ages.