It’s December 1st and it was a lovely sunny warm but fresh 16 degrees in Tokyo. I decided to head out for a walk around Tokyo Tower. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and it was really a beautiful day out.
I started from Hamamatsucho (浜松町) just 15 minutes walk to the East of Tokyo Tower. While Tokyo Tower is a major tourist attraction the surrounding area is to a certain extent a business district. Due to that I was lucky enough to find a few really nice independent coffee shops that were quite quiet due to it being a Saturday.
I recommend Byron Bay coffee at Hamamatsucho and Towers cafe at Higashiazabu.
A few pictures on the way to the tower follow. I definitely have a soft spot for morning light on glass buildings. And of course my favourite thing ever is day to day street scenes.
Coming towards Tokyo Tower from the East you can walk through Zojo-ji temple (増上寺). The following photos are taken on the walk up to the temple and in the temple grounds.
I’m really happy with today’s photos. A few favourites here.
I loved these worn concrete steps leading up to the main temple buildings, so I wanted to capture them strongly in the foreground. Of course I find people the most interesting of things and I thought the elderly gentleman walking down the steps looked good in the frame.
I was also lucky to catch the other elderly gentleman praying in front of the temple entrance and could take a picture w/out disturbing him.
And I think the autumn trees from the small park framing the tower was a nice view.
It’s worth mentioning the delightful little children statues. I will quote directly the nearby placard:
“These are ‘care guardian deities of children’. They are dedicated for the safety growth of children and grandchildren, as well as for the memorial service for still birth or miscarried children.
To protect and keep warm their heads, “red hat” “red apron” and “windmill”, were dedicated to the guardian deity of children image.
After existing Zoji temple grounds you arrive at the base of Tokyo Tower:
The diagonal shot is the won that I’ve often seen on instagram and facebook. The little squirrel was part of a Christmas display at the base. They also have a little garden featuring if I remember correctly about 80 types of coniferous trees, it would be nice to go back at night and see the lights on those.
I also took the front on shot of the tower with the aim to take a less photographed angle.
Finally i walked around the surrounding areas in the North, West and South directions, one more photo worth sharing from the South side.
This time of year truly is beautiful in Tokyo. The mild weather, the blue skies. I love it.
hakkanotogame 