Tokyo 13.07

Teist Tokyo päeva alustasime loomulikult Shinjuku jaamast. Yamanote (JR) roheline liin viis meid Ueno linnaossa, kus asub maailma suurima linna, Tokyo loomaaed. 

Millest ma ei saa siiani üle on külastuse hind - 600 jeeni (ca 3.85 eurot). Võrdluseks, Tallinna loomaaed 14 eurot, Helsingi loomaaed 23 eurot (eelmüügist 22 eurot). Igatahes. Alustasime oma päeva loomaaias. Mul on alati loomaaias elavatest loomadest kahju. Tokyos ei tundu neil kõige mugavamad elamistingimused. 

Tegime praktiliselt tervele loomaaiale ringi peale. Nägime kahte pandat, kellest oli ka kahju. Ühe pandapaari vaatamiseks pidi pikas järjekorras seisma, millest loobusime. Reklaam käib enamasti pandade ümber. Aga midagi erilist välja tuua ei oska. Jalutada mulle meeldib. 

Lõunapausi tegime samuti pargis. Võtsime mõlemad riisikausid mingi lisandiga. Friikad. Ahjaa, minul oli terve reis, igal pool kus sai, Cola😁 Õhtusöökide juurde saime ühe erandiga alati tasuta vee, aga Cola ostsin ikkagi. 

Juba süüa tellides märkasime panda koogikesi aga kohe neid ei ostnud. Kui olime ära söönud, võtsime need ka, sest armsad ju. Ja kook, noh. Välimus on petlik. Ei olnudki magusad, hoopis mingi veniv tainas. Riis kindlasti. Jaapanis on kas riis või oad. 

Lühike metroosõit viis meid edasi Asakusasse. Selleks, et meie esimesele budistlikule templile õigest suunast läheneda, alustasime jalutuskäiku 11.7m kõrgusest Kaminarimon (ehk müristamise) väravast. Väravat kaunistavad ja Senso-ji templit kaitsevad neli jumalust. Värava keskel ripub 700 kilone punane latern (Jaapanis on punane värv kurjuse tõrjeks).

Läbides Kaminarimoni värava jõudsime edasi algupäraselt 17. sajandist pärit Nakamise tänavale, mille kauplemiskohti antakse sugupõlvede kaupa edasi. Sarnaselt Takeshita Dorile, leiab Nakamiselt hulgaliselt suveniiride ja mille kõige müügikohti. Inimesi oli kordades rohkem kui eelneval päeval Harajukus asuvas Takeshitas.

Läbisime veel teisegi värava ning jõudsime lõpuks Tokyo vanima budistliku templi, Senso-ji väljakule. Seda loetakse küll vanimaks, algupäraselt 7. sajandist, aga nagu enamik Tokyo puhul, hävitas II MS halastamatult suure hulga kultuuripärandist ja tänapäeval saame vaadelda reproid. Selle peale on äärmiselt kurb mõelda, et sajandeid püsinud ajaloolised hooned lihtsalt hävitati paari aasta jooksul.

Ühe aarde logimiseks (geopeitus) ostsime ka siis 100 jeeni eest ennustuse/õnne. Pärast (südametunnistuse järgi, sest keegi ei kontrolli) raha maksmist raputad anumat, kust võtad välja numbriga pulga. Number viitab ennustusele. Halb õnn tuleb kokku voltida ning võrestikule siduda, mida me mõlemad teha saime. Aga ega siis halva õnnega ei saa piirduda. Teine kord sai ema parima õnne ja mina keskpärase õnne.

Enne Senso-ji templisse sisenemist järjekordne viirukiga puhastus ja kätepesu. Tempel ise on võimas. Nagu eelnevalt, päris palvekohta on võimalik vaadelda piire tagant. Ja nii oleks soovinud päikesepaistelist ilma, kõik särab siis hoopis teisiti.

Jaapanis on kaks peamist usku - šintosim (mitmed jumalused ja looduse usk) ja budism. Eristamaks nende kahe pühakohti, šintosimis on pühamud, mille juurde kuuluvad torii väravad. Budismis on templid.

Templi tagumisel vasakpoolsel küljel asub väike kivisild ja selle all olevas tiigis suplevad värvilised koid (karpkalad), keda oli väga rahustav jälgida.

Templi juurest tagasi liikudes valisime Nakamise Dori putkade taga kulgeva tänavaosa, kus oli rohkem hingamisruumi.

Õhtuks oli jäänud veel üks külastus ja Googlest transpordivõimalusi uurides avastasin, et sinna saab ka praamiga. Kui selline võimalus on, siis loomulikult. Tokyo Cruise peatus asus väga mugavalt Nakamise tänava otsast, Kaminarimon väravast 200 meetri kaugusel (sarnaselt Asakusa metroojaamaga).

Umbes pooletunnine praamisõit pakkus Tokyo vaadetele natuke teistsugust vaatenurka ning viis meid Toyosu sadamasse, kust lühikese jalutuskäigu kauguselt leiab teamLabs Planets Tokyo nimelise muuseumi. Valisin selle eeltööd tehes ühe kohana, mida Tokyos külastada võiks. Ma ei teadnuki väga täpselt, mida see endast kujutab, ainult nii palju, kui piltidelt nägin. Kuna teamLabsil on palju head tagasisidet ja pildid tundusid huvitavad, võtsin selle plaani. Nagu teistelgi eelmüügist ostetud piletitele, kehtib sissepääsul pooletunnine aken. Kohapeal piletite saamine on keeruline, sest need on tihti välja müüdud.

Esimese asjana paluti jalanõud ära võtta, mis ei tundunud kõige toredam. Seda selleks, et võimalikult palju tunda ja kogeda, aga ikkagi.

Käisime vees (loodan väga, et piisavalt klooriga), "mustas augus" (väga pehme põrandaga ruum), lõputute kristallide keskel (põnev kogemus), jälle vees, mille pinnale kuvati koikalad, suurte pallide keskel, lillede saalis ja samblases aias. Sellist muuseumi ei olegi enne kogenud.

Majutuse poole tagasi sõitsime seekord bussiga. Nii nagu terve reisi vältel kogesime, inimesed seisavad peatustes järjekordades. Korralikes järjekordades, kus üksteisest mööda ei trügita. Seda nii bussi-, rongi- kui metroojaamas. Järjekordne näide jaapanlaste viisakusest.

Õhtusöögiks pelmeeniraamen. Kahepeale 18 eurot, mille sees kaks raamenit, Cola ja õlu. Kõndisime läbi Omoide Yokocho toidutänava ja suundusime majutusse.

Obviously, we began our second Tokyo day from Shinjuku station. The Yamanote (JR) green line took us to the Ueno district, where you can find Tokyo Zoo. 

As I have mentioned, Tokyo is currently considered the largest city in the world. What I still cannot get over, however, is the price of the visit - 600 yen (approx. 3.85 euros). For comparison, Tallinn Zoo asks 14 euros, and Helsinki Zoo 23 euros (advance ticket is 22 euros). 

Anyway. We started our day at the zoo. I always feel sorry for the animals there. Moreover, Tokyo Zoo doesn't seem to offer the most comfortable living conditions for animals. 

We got to see most of the zoo. We also got to see two of the four advertised pandas, which I also felt sorry for. There was a massive queue to see the other two pandas but we skipped that option. It was unclear why two of them were visible without any restrictions and two required special treatment. All-in-all, I can't pinpoint anything specifically interesting about the zoo. But I do enjoy walking. 

We also had our lunch in the park. Both of us took rice bowls with some toppings and a pack of fries to share. And I had Coke. Well, I had Coke everywhere I could😁 With one exception, we always got complimentary (cold) water with dinner, but I still bought Cola. Since the zoo's advertisements revolved around pandas, we noticed panda cakes while ordering our food, but did not take them. However, after eating, we decided to have those too because they looked cute. And they were cake-looking. Unfortunately, appearances can be deceiving. They weren't sweet at all, but rather a stretchy dough. Rice for sure. In Japan, food is either rice or beans.

A short metro ride took us to Asakusa. To approach our first Buddhist temple from the right direction, we began our stroll from the 11m high Kaminarimon (or thunder) Gate. Four deities adorn the gate and protect the Senso-ji temple. A 700-kilogram red lantern hangs from the middle of the gate (in Japan, the colour red frightens evil spirits).

Passing through the Kaminarimon Gate, we reached the 250-metre-long Nakamise Dori, originating from the 17th century. Similar to Takeshita Dori, you can find numerous shops selling souvenirs, sweets and snacks. Even so, Nakamise Dori was way more packed than Takeshita. 

We walked through yet another gate and finally arrived at Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple, Senso-ji. It is considered the oldest, originating from the 7th century, but like the majority of buildings in Japan, II MS mercilessly destroyed a lot of cultural heritage, and today we can see replicas. It is heartbreaking to think how the historical buildings that stood for centuries were simply destroyed within a few years of war.

Both of us bought a prediction/fortune for 100 yen to log a geocache. After paying (according to your conscience, because no one checks anything), you shake the container, from which you take out a stick with a number. The number refers to a prediction. Notes with bad luck can be folded up and tied to a thing. Well, both of us managed to draw bad luck, so we tried again. This time, Mum got the best luck and I got average luck. A good way to make people spend their money.  

Before entering the Senso-ji temple, we again purified ourselves by washing our hands and beckoning the incense towards ourselves. 

The temple itself is magnificent. As with the previous shrines we had visited, it's impossible to approach the actual altar. If only it had been sunny, everything would have shined much more brilliantly.  

In Japan, there are two main religions - Shintoism (a belief in multiple deities and the belief that spiritual powers exist in the natural world) and Buddhism. To distinguish between their religious buildings, in Shintoism, there are shrines that have the torii gates and in Buddhism, there are temples. 

It is easy to miss an old stone bridge on the back left side of the temple, crossing a pond with the colourful koi. 

Walking back from the temple, we wanted a room to breathe, so we took the path behind the Nakamise Dori shops. There was one more visit left for the evening, and while researching transportation options on Google, I discovered that you can also get there by ferry, which was an interesting possibility. The Tokyo Cruise stop was conveniently located only 200 meters from Kaminarimon Gate. 

The ferry ride took about half an hour and offered slightly different views of Tokyo. The ferry took us to Toyosu Port, which is a short walk from teamLabs Planets Tokyo. 

I chose this museum while doing research on places to visit in Tokyo. They had a lot of positive feedback and interesting photos. As with other tickets purchased in advance, there is a half-hour window for entry. Getting tickets on the spot is difficult because they are often sold out. 

The first thing we were asked to do was take off our shoes, which didn't seem the nicest thing. I know this enhances the experience, but still. 

We got to walk in a corridor filled with water (I really hope it contained enough chlorine), the "black hole" (a room with a very soft floor), the infinite crystal universe (an exciting experience), again in the water, with koi displayed on the surface, a room filled with large balls, the hall of falling flowers, the room with flowers projected on the ceiling, and in the mossy garden. I have never experienced such a museum before.

This time we travelled back to our hotel by bus. Just as we saw throughout our journey, people form immaculate queues at bus, train, and metro stations. Yet another example of Japanese politeness.  

For dinner, we had ramen with dumplings. 18 euro, including two ramen, Cola and beer. We browsed through Omoide Yokocho food street and headed to our hotel.