Tuesday's Dream Place to Visit

We think it's safe to say that one of our biggest dreams is to travel the world. We've been to a few nearby places, and never outside Europe; we're still hopeful that that fact will change soon (anyone feeling generous? contact us, pls :P)

 Japan's been on our "to-do" list (especially Margarite's) for a while now, as it's a wonderful combination of tradition and modernity that we appreciate. From skyscrapers, colourful shops and clubs, to temples, peaceful gardens and traditional houses. Take a look yourselves:

~ Koishikawa Kourakuen Garden

One of Tokyo's oldest and well known gardens, frequented a lot by tourists. Even though it's beautiful throughout the year, it's especially so during the fall, with rich vibrant red and orange colours. It's also interesting to see during plum and cherry blossom season.

~ Tokyo Imperial Palace Koishikawa Kourakuen Garden

 

Main residence of the imperial family, a large park-like location, with several buildings, including main palace, private residences, archive, museum and administrative offices. Visitors are able to enter the inner palace grounds on two occasions: January 2nd (New Year's Greeting) and December 23rd (Emperor's Birthday).

~ Shibuya

 

picture by  Guwashi

  Shibuya was historically the site of a castle of the Shibuya family from 11th century through the Edo period. In 1882, Aoyama Gakuin University was founded, and with opening of the Yamanote Line in 1885, Shibuya begin to emerge as a railway terminal for southwestern Tokyo and eventually as a major commercial and entertainment center. There are many famous fashion department stores, and probably the most famous major shopping centar near Shibuya Station is Shibuya 109. 

~ Meiji Shrine

 

A Shinto shrine,  located in Shibuya, is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shouken. It was officially completed in 1926, on a location of an iris garden, frequented by the Emperor and the Empress. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the World War II, and the present iteration of the shrine was funded through a public fund raising effort and completed in October, 1958. The area is covered by an evergreen forest that consists of 120,000 trees of 365 different species, which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established.

~ Yoyogi Park

 

One of the largest Tokyo city parks, adjoined to Shibuya Station and Meiji Shrine. It's on a site where the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan took place by Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa on 19. December 1910. It's very busy in springtime, when people visit it to enjoy cherry blossoms during hanami.

~ Roppongi Hills

 

picture by Chris 73

Roppongi Hills is basically a city within a city. It's a new urban center of the Roppongi district, constructed by Minoru Mori, and it's opened in 2003. It features offices, apartments, shops, restaurants, a hotel, art museum, observation deck and more. The office floors are home to leading companies from the IT and financial sectors, and it could be said that Roppongi Hills have become a symbol of the Japanese IT industry. At the center stands 54-storey Mori Tower, one of the largest building in the city.

~ Harajuku

 

picture by TokyoFashion

Harajuku mostly refers to the area around Tokyo's Harajuku Station, located between Shinjuku and Shibuya. It's the center of Japan's teenage culture and fashion styles, with lots of shops and some historic sights.

~ Tokyo Disneyland

  Seriously, does it need any explanation?

You may noticed this post was basically about Tokyo, and that's by no means the only thing to see in Japan. So guess what? Stay tuned for more. Mata ne!