The blue hour in Asakusa

Fire, earthquake, war and growth have ensured that looking for ancient buildings in Tokyo is a fool’s errand. Still, Senso-ji is worth a visit; it is the temple with the oldest tradition in Tokyo, and already had a thousand year history when Tokugawa Iyeasu designated it the main temple of his clan. Shops which always spring up around temples were organized into rows around the street called Nakamise-dori in the late 19th century CE. In 2012 the Asakusa Culture and Tourist Information Center was built at the other end of this street to a design by Kengo Kuma. By contriving to look like, and function as, several old-style buildings piled on top of each other, this high rise blends into the neighbourhood, in line with the architect’s philosophy.

Thoroughly exhausted after a day of walking, we sat in the observation deck of Kuma’s wonderful high rise and waited for the sun to set. As dusk fell, the area came alive with lights. I took a few photos of shoppers in Nakamise-dori as The Family concentrated on the fascinating spectacle of the Tokyo Skytree on the other side of the Sumida river. We’d waited long enough, and it was time now to walk to the temple and see it close up.

But as I stood at the road waiting to cross I saw something that is hardly ever visible in the tropics: the wonderful blue hour of spring. When the sun is sufficiently far below the horizon, the sunlight scattered through the ozone layer is absorbed to give the lovely colour of the sky that you see in the gallery above. The sun hits the horizon at a slant, and the ozone layer is thicker, away from the tropics, giving a long period at dusk with this beautiful sky.

As the sky grew darker we passed the first gate, the Kaminarimon, with its single giant lantern, walked through the Nakamise-dori, where the shops were closing, past the double-storied second gate, the Hozomon, with its three lanterns and two giant sandals, into the forecourt of the temple, where tourists were busy getting their fortunes told. There was a queue of people still waiting to get to the temple. We walked around, looked at the five storied pagoda of the Asakusa shrine next to the temple, the lovely small garden to one side, in front of which two young men did a wonderful synchronized dance as a girl took their video against the lit-up temple, and the panels on Nakamise-dori which told the story of the founding of the temple. There is a lot to see here, and you need to either keep some time aside for Senso-ji, or come back again and again.

Planning half a Sunday in Tokyo

My trip to Japan involves half a Sunday in Tokyo, day after tomorrow. I’ll spend a night in Suidobashi, very close to Tokyo Dome. I found that it is not just a baseball stadium but also a nice place to hang out. I’ll arrive in Narita in the morning, and will not be able to get my hotel room until 2 in the afternoon. I guess I’ll have to do my Tokyo tourism in two halves: lunch and early afternoon, and then evening and night. So, if I’m too tired to walk around Tokyo for half a day and half a night, I can just hang about near the dome in the evening.

Shibuya and its pedestrian sprawl may be worth looking at even on Sunday. The area is full of cafes and restaurants, so it may be good for lunch. Blogs tell you that Starbucks is a good place to take photos from, but it is closed for renovations now. Perhaps I’ll try out the L’Occitane cafe near the Hachiko exit for a shot of the scramble. If I can’t, then I’ll have to scout around and waste my time. I really don’t want to do that, because I want to get to Harajuku quickly.

Harajuku may be one-stop Tokyo, with both high-culture and otaku subculture living cheek by jowl. I think I have seen the Meiji Jingu shrine on my first visit to Japan, but I should go there to verify. Shibuya and Harajuku are neighbouring metro stations. Yoyogi park is also near the shrine, and on Sundays is full of people in cosplay. This would be a great place for photography usually, but it rains a lot in July and Sunday afternoon may be a washout. Blogs suggest a walk around Takeshita Dori, a teenager’s fashion street. I’m not a shopper, and I know better than trying to shop for a teenager, so I could easily give this a miss.

In the evening I might go to the Asakusa neighbourhood. I imagine that walking up the Nakamise Dori to the Senso Ji may yield great shots in the evening. This is a Buddhist temple, so I expect a lot of smoke and bustle. That’s just the thing to keep you awake if you are mildly sleepy. The temple is open till 5 in the evening, but the grounds are always open. I guess if I reach after 5 I will miss the smoke and bustle, but may get nice photos.

My time in Tokyo is too short to browse in Akihabara, have breakfast near the Tsukiji fish market, sit in Ueno park, spend a long evening in Roppongi, or get in my first visit to Odaiba. Unless I get enough sleep on the flight out of Delhi, I might not even get to do the three things which I have planned.