(Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shodan/211781390/) The Samurai Museum in Kabukicho, Shinjuku is a fairly recent museum that has quickly become very popular with foreign visitors (despite the relatively high entrance fee). As well as exhibits of samurai swords, armour and other weapons including guns, visitors can try on samurai armour and try their hands at samurai cosplay. Exhibits The Samurai Museum is on two floors. Visitors are given a tour of the exhibits by enthusiastic English-speaking guides who at first demonstrates a number of samurai sword moves and lets out a blood-curdling scream for good measure. The detailed explanation includes information on the weapons on display and what was happening in Japanese history … 続きを読む

(Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pouchin/6647636715/) Hidden between the skyscrapers of Shinjuku, close to the nightlife district of Kabukicho, the discreet Hanazono Shrine invites calm and meditation in an otherwise unrelenting urban environment. Host to numerous festivals and with a rich history, Hanazono is certainly worth checking out if you’re in Shinjuku. Hanazono Shrine was first established in the mid-17th century but has undergone countless redevelopments and expansions throughout its long history. Although many of these changes have been largely cosmetic, the biggest overhaul of the shrine came in the wake of the firebombing campaigns of WWII, which sadly destroyed large parts of the complex. Hanazono literally means “Flower Garden”. The land surrounding Hanazono … 続きを読む

(Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/manuuuuuu/6124027531/) Why not take a stroll down “Memory Lane”? That is the literal translation of Omoide Yokocho, as you can get a nostalgic feel of the 1950s olden Shinjuku. Chow down on some tasty meat on a stick called yakitori while sitting in a slightly cramped bar space surrounded by Japanese salary men who come to drink beer after a hard day’s work. There are about 60 restaurants, most selling yakitori and oden, a one-pot winter dish, tightly crammed into a four-lane space. If you’d like to get a real feel of the Japanese after-work life nostalgic of the flourishing post-war era, don’t miss a visit to Omoide Yokocho. … 続きを読む

(Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hikosaemon/5698226549/) Shinjuku Gyoen Park is a large, 144 acre (58.7 hectare) park in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, and is an urban island of Japan’s seasonal beauty. Shinjuku Gyoen has gardens, woods, a large and picturesque pond, and hundreds of cherry trees (sakura) which make Shinjuku Gyoen one of Tokyo’s most popular cherry blossom viewing venues in early April. Shinjuku Gyoen is home to more than 20,000 trees from all over the world and is a nature lover’s delight in the variety and beauty of its flora, yet with a skyline punctuated with towers. Shinjuku Gyoen includes a French formal garden, an English landscape garden, a Japanese traditional garden, a “Mother … 続きを読む

Meiji Jingu Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Shibuya, Tokyo. The shrine is dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji was instrumental in opening Japan to the outside world after a long period of self-imposed isolation. The shrine is also sometimes called just Meiji Jingu or Meiji Shrine and is Tokyo’s largest and most famous Shinto shrine. Meiji Jingu Shrine is built in the traditional nagare-zukuri style with Japanese cypress and copper. It is located in a beautiful part of Tokyo in a forest that covers an area of about 175 acres. The evergreen forest consists of around 120,000 trees of … 続きを読む

Bars and Eateries in Narrow Alleyways (Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/polardivide/33328271952/) Shinjuku, Tokyo, is known for skyscrapers, seedy nightlife, suited businessmen and a time-warped tumble of bars called Golden Gai. This perennial haunt of Tokyo’s salarymen has been getting a lot more international attention lately – and for good reason. Among the dense high rise developments with much wider roads there is a tiny section, about 6 narrow alleys connected by even narrower passageways, in Shinjuku that remains in a time warp from the early 20th century. This tiny area of Shinjuku is known to the locals as Golden Gai and is gaining popularity among the foreigners. The “secrecy” of Golden Gai makes … 続きを読む

Free Entries to its Observation Decks Completed in 1991 and designed by architect, Kenzo Tange, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku is often visited by tourists for its free observation decks which provide good panoramic views of Tokyo and beyond. Standing at 48 stories tall, the 243 meter tall building has two towers, and each houses an observatory at a height of 202 meters. It had been the tallest building in Tokyo until it was overtaken by the Midtown Tower in 2007. The towers and the surrounding buildings contain offices and the assembly hall of the metropolitan government of Tokyo. Visitors are therefore subjected to bag checks prior to … 続きを読む

Japan is said to be a country booming with highly advanced technologies and therefore, has somewhat received a boost to the future with all their hi-tech gadgets and facilities. That is really awe-inspiring especially when Japan has such a rich history, culture and tradition. It is even more interesting when you get to merge the two together – the past and the future. Tokyo Robot Evening Cabaret Show When in Tokyo, you will get to see a lot more of the futuristic stuff. In this post, I will introduce you to one of the most eye-popping entertainment in Tokyo, called the Robot Restaurant. Tokyo hasn’t seen anything like this since … 続きを読む