Tokyo Day 3 - Tokyo Great Cycling Tour!

On our second full day in Tokyo, we signed up for the Tokyo Great Cycling Tour.  We thought it would be a great way to see the city and good exercise.  It turned out to be a fun and easy day and the guides were really great.  There are cycling tours around Shanghai, but I don't think I would be comfortable riding a bike anywhere here as the drivers are SO aggressive.  Our guides in Tokyo did a great job in choosing safe routes and much of it was along rivers, across bridges, and on little side streets giving us a nice view of the city.  We had a great trip and were worn out by end! Below are so images from the day.... The new camera is amazing, but the pictures I upload in here don't see to capture the quality of the  pictures, I will have to post some on facebook sometime!

TGCT office, getting ready to leave for the day

Safety First!

We started the tour by pedaling along the Sumida River.  There were not so many skyscrapers in Tokyo compared to Shanghai, but lots of really cool architecture and many bays and bridges.

On of our first stops of the morning was the Tsukiji Fish Market (pronounced Ski-gee).  Located in central Tokyo, it is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest  wholesale food markets of any kind.  I mean, we are talking a lot of raw fish in this place!  The market opens are 3am with the delivery of all the seafood, and the auction begins around 5:20.  The market is busiest from 5:30-8am, and opens to the public after 9am.  We arrived around 10:30 and there was still a lot of fish out, and some local consumers making purchases.  We stopped at a Tuna vendor and watched them cut us some of the freshest looking fish I had ever seen.  We took it with us to have for lunch a few hours later!

The tuna we got! sooooo good!

These were still alive!

As the tour continued, I caught a pic of this cute little kid in his karate uniform.  Totally Japanese!

We made our way over several bridges and finally took a short break in Odaiba where we had a Japanese picnic lunch.  After lunch we headed back to central Tokyo on a ferry boat.  It was great, we just loaded our bikes and got to take a 25 min break.  We enjoyed the views of the city and the temperature was not too hot.

Please ignore the sweat stain I have from carrying the camera across my body while riding the bike.  Gross!

Next, we made our way to the area around the Zojoji Temple in central Tokyo. Our guides emphasized the balance of old and new that you see in Tokyo today.  Below you can see the temple which was built 1393, and brought to its current location in 1598 right next to the modern day Tokyo Tower.  The Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower located in Shiba Park.  It was built in 1958 and since then over 150 million people have visited.

May Peace Prevail on Earth
This saying was all over the city!

In the garden next to the temple were rows of little statues with bonnets and windmills.  They are the statues of jizobosatusu, the protector of the souls of stillborn children, and the Buddisht equivalent of an angel.  Mothers who have lost an unborn child may dedicate an image of the deity and decorate it with baby clothes and toys.

Jizabosatusu statues

We finally made it up a huge hill to get to to the base of the Tokyo tower.  Adam took this picture laying on his back on the sidewalk.  I really should have taken my helmet off....

Tokyo Tower

Our next stop was a shrine on the top of a big hill.  I can't remember and can't seem to find the name of the place.  However, the guide told us a story of how it came to be.  Essentially, the emperor at the time (a long time ago), wanted a new place to worship.  One brave young person braved this huge hill by horseback and determined it would be the perfect spot for the emperor.  It was said that braving this big hill elevated his status with the emperor and he quickly was promoted in his responsibilities.  Therefore, scaling these steps is said to be good luck in career.  Hopefully!

Entrance to the shine

This guy was selling food and drinks outside a park.  Had to get a picture of the Indiana Shirt.... he did not get it.

Adam and I in front of the Imperial Palace.  The Imperial Family of Japan is only a figurehead and has no role in the affairs of the government.  The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world, with the recognition of 125 monarchs dating back to 660 BC.  This is the main residence of the current emperor of Japan.  We didn't get to go inside the grounds of the palace at all, but we could tell it was beautiful!

Outside Imperial Palace

Overall, we had a great day with the Tokyo Great Cycling Tour.  It was great way to see all over the city and the tour guide provided important information along the way.  They even offered beers when we arrived back at the office! It was a great way to cap off the day!