Our first full day in Tokyo resulted in over 10 miles of walking. (Note to self, that was too much!)

I had hired a private guide for the four of us. It was a curated tour that was tailored to our interests but could pivot based on what we wanted. It was the way to go.

We started out early to figure out how the train system worked. Our hotel is right across the street from the Shingawa station (one of the largest in Tokyo) which made access easy. We stood looking at all the signs and machines for a while because nothing was in the English language. Suddenly a very nice man walked up and asked where we were going. He looked at the station we were headed to, and then guided us through buying tickets and left. Suddenly he was back making sure that we knew the right entrance gate and that Platform 3 was where we needed to be.

What a great start to Tokyo!

We hopped on the train and to say it was packed is an understatement. We were right in the middle of rush hour and people kept getting on and jammed together. I tried to capture the experience with a photo but it doesn’t give the fullest experience.

We met our guide with no issue and took off. We walked to Meiji JinGu. Meiji Jingu is one of the Shinto shrines in Japan, with the vast land of the forest (~170 acres) right in the middle of Tokyo. It was established in 1920, to commemorate the virtue of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken who started the modernization of Japan.

From there we hopped on a subway and headed to Takeshita Street which, when open, is a bustling shopping area for the younger crowd. Fortunately, for me, we were early and none of the shops were open.

We then walked to Shibuya. Shibuya is a major commercial district and home to two of the busiest railway stations in the world. We waited on the sidewalk until there was a light change just to experience a mass crossing. All the lights turned red and the people filled the street crossing in all directions. It was quite the sight.

We then headed to the Tsukiji fish market to experience the environment and to have lunch. Both were wonderful.

On to Ginza. It is considered to be one of the most expensive, elegant, and luxurious city districts in the world. There is a huge Tiffany store there. From a roof garden across the street, I took a picture of Mae with the store behind her, because that was as close as she was going to get😊. While we were on the roof, we found a cherry tree with a few blossoms left. I snapped a photo of Mae because we're behind the cherry blossom peak and that may be the only one we find.

From there we headed to our final stop: Zōjō-ji Temple, a Buddhist temple. Zōjō-ji is notable for its relationship with the Tokugawa clan, the rulers of Japan during the Edo period, with six of the Tokugawa shōguns being buried in the Taitoku-in Mausoleum in the temple grounds.

We called it quits there and headed back to the hotel to recover.

We wanted an authentic Japanese meal for dinner and were not disappointed. A 10 minute walk found us at a modern Japanese restaurant in a bustling area.

Tomorrow is Day 2 of 3 in Tokyo. Hopefully there will be less walking!