In the Land Of The Rising Sun - Tokyo - 25 April 2026

The day was packed with plenty of activities and visits to parks, gardens, shrines, streets, etc., which meant a lot of walking too. The first visit of the day was to the Ueno Park. The large public park grounds, next to the Ueno metro station, were originally part of Kaneiji Temple, which used to be one of the city's largest and wealthiest temples and a family temple of the ruling Tokugawa clan during the Edo Period.

The Ueno Park is famous for the many museums found on its grounds, especially the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum for Western Art, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the National Science Museum. It is also home to Ueno Zoo, Japan's first zoological garden. Most importantly, the Park is also reputed to have one of the best cherry blossom viewings in the country. Unfortunately, I am a couple of weeks late for the majestic sight.

The Shinjuku station is one to be experienced. The station features over 200 exits, 36 platforms, and connects five major railway operators. It is said to confuse even the most seasoned rail users. The station handles between 2.7 to 3.5 million passengers every day, a Guinness World Record. As compared to this, Churchgate Mumbai handles over 1 million passengers every day and CSMT Mumbai handles over 2 million passengers per day. It is an absolutely fabulous experience to be amidst such a sea of humanity. From a ticket counter in Shinjuku, I booked my Shinkansen ride to Kyoto a few days later.

On the way to the next destination, namely the Shinjuku Gyeon National Park I picked up a Salmon Onigiri and an Egg Sandwich from a 7 Eleven outlet for breakfast, besides Octopus Balls and Pork Bread Croquette for a snack later on. The instructions on how to open the packaging are also clearly given on the packaging. Amazing how organised this country is. I didn't very much like the Salmon Onigiri. It's grilled salmon flakes stuffed in sticky rice covered with dried, pressed sheets of red algae.

The present Shinjuku Gyeon National Park originated during the Edo Period, between 1603 and 1868, as a feudal lord's Tokyo residence. It is one of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks. Later it was converted into a botanical garden before being transferred to the Imperial Family in 1903. The park was almost completely destroyed during World War II but was eventually rebuilt and reopened in 1949 as a public park. This is another of Tokyo's favourite cherry blossom viewing locations. Again, I missed it.

The traditional Japanese landscape garden in the park features large ponds dotted with islands and bridges. The Taiwan Pavilion was built on the occasion of the wedding of the Showa Emperor. The park's other main gardens include a symmetrically arranged, formal French garden, and an English-style landscape garden with wide, open lawns surrounded by flowering cherry trees. There is also a beautiful greenhouse with many tropical and subtropical flowers.

Before leaving the park, I walked into one of the cafes and feasted on the superbly crafted egg sandwich. The Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo is the world's busiest crosswalk in the world's busiest city. Up to 2,500 people cross at once, from all directions, every 2–3 minutes. Over 500,000 pedestrians pass through here daily. It is an amazing experience and the enthusiasm of the people doing the crossing is to be experienced. I did see annoyance on the face of some elderly locals.

The Shibuya crossing and Hachiko statue are virtually synonymous. It is a tribute to Man's loyal friend, a dog that waited before the Shibuya station every day for 9 years and nine months from 1925, unaware that its master had passed away!

From the Shibuya crossing I intended to take a bus to the Meiji Jingu shrine. Google Maps is spot on when it comes to options to take the public transport to various attractions in Japan. So was it this time too. However, at the bus stop, I asked a lady if I was at the right stop for the intended destination. Very politely she told me to cross the road and the take the bus from the stop there. Friendly and smiling, she was.

The Meiji Jingu shrine was established in 1920, to commemorate the virtue of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken who took the initiative to make a foundation of modernized Japan. The 145 acres of land has forest, gardens, massive torii gates, museum and the main shrine itself. Almost in the heart of the city, the serene and traditional Japanese scene unfolds a huge expanse of greenery. The barrels of wine casks and barrels of sake wrapped in straw in the way to shrine catches every visitor's eye. Truly, very interesting!

Close to the Meiji Jingu shrine is the Yoyogi Park. Before becoming a city park in 1967, the area served as the site of the Olympic Village for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and before that, as a residential area for US military personnel. Near there I had the most incredible sweet potato from a street vendor, so soft and sweet.

A short walk away is the Harajuku Village, which has become a suburb synonymous with Japan's youth-driven street-fashion scene. Teens flock from all over Japan to check the latest trends, street food and pop culture.

I took the metro and walked a bit to reach the Edo Castle, which used to be the seat of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan between 1603 until 1867. In 1868, the shogunate was overthrown, and the country's capital and imperial residence were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. The current Imperial Palace is located on the site of former Edo Castle, a large park area surrounded by moats and massive stone walls in the centre of Tokyo.

It is the residence of Japan's Imperial Family. The inner grounds are only open to public on two days of the year, when the royalty family gives audience to visitors. Exhausted by the long walk throughout the day, I located a small bench to rest for a while and feast on the Octopus Balls I had been carrying the whole day. The Pork Bread Croquette soon followed the Octopus Balls.

I wound up the hyperactive day by making a short tour of the famous kitchenware district, Kappabashi street. It is an 800-meter stretch of over 150 specialized shops selling professional-grade Japanese knives, ceramics, cookware, and realistic plastic food samples.

I willed myself, rather than walked, back to the hostel by late evening. A Suntory highball and a couple of Family Mart sandwiches were the highlights before winding down after sundown.