It’s hard to arrive in Tokyo with a blank canvas. The world’s most populous city looms large in the global imagination, ascribed for decades by writers, filmmakers, and now the masses with smartphones. Even before we’ve landed, we’ve seen the city lights, the sushi in Bordain’s food tours, the crowds from every angle of Shibuya crossing, the “weird” and the “wonderful”, whatever those may be for each of us.⠀
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Virtually unheard of until the cafe boom at Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Koto Ward is one of those forgotten backwaters where many a Tokyoite will stumble locating in their mind, before struggling further to find anything to say about. ⠀
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The Shitamachi, the Low City, defined by its dark and crowded, fire-prone alleys that bordered on expansive wetlands criss-crossed by waterways are where the early peoples of Edo gathered to serve the Shogunate, and later Meiji, courts. In the corners of nondescript streets and the ubituitous, unassuming canals, a walker can retrace the the city of merchants that laid the foundation of modern-day Tokyo.⠀
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As part of the Historical Tokyo Walks that follow Edo Tokyo cultural sites, the Nihonbashi-Fukagawa route (日本橋本所深川コース) comes from the Japanese website guide Sanpo Reikibun. The city has 23 Historical Tokyo Walks, one for each ward. My map has the English translation for the Japanese route summary as well as added some additional historical context or information. Major sites covered along the route include: Nihonbashi, Mitsukoshi flagship store, Tokyo Stock Exchange, haiku poet Mastuo Basho’s neighbourhood, the Fukagawa Fudoson, Tomioka Hachimangu, Kiyosumi Garden, Ryugoku Gokugikan, Former Yasuda Garden, Edo Tokyo Museum, Karamae Bridge. For anime watchers, the 3-Gatsu no Lion, Tsukumogami Kashimasu, Onihei Hanakcho. ⠀
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To get the map & route to walk Tokyo at your next visit! Go to my blog in my profile and search the piece: "Historical Tokyo Walk: Nihonbashi – Fukagawa"⠀
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https://buff.ly/2WY1gX1⠀
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#tokyotravel #tokyolife #historicaltokyo #japan_vacations #visitjapan #discovertokyo #explorejapan #igersjp #icu_japan #japan_of_insta #japantrip #historylover #worldhistory #ilovehistory #edotokyo #fukagawa #東京 #江東区 #深川 #日本橋
If you’re a seasoned Japan visitor (or an adventurous first-timer), I would recommend trying a regional JR Pass. Of course, I used one to go around one of my favourite parts of Japan: Shikoku, home of the pilgrimage known as the Ohenro. ⠀
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From Buddhist temples, to an inspirational set for Spirited Away, to udon and the famous yuzu fruit, the fourth largest island of Japan has a wealth of treasure to offer any visitor who passes by. Take a train over the Seto Sea and dine for a day, or stay for a week and see all the sights. The choice is yours. ⠀
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Head over to my blog and look for the post: "All Shikoku Rail Pass Guide & Sample Itinerary"⠀
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https://buff.ly/2I680yW⠀
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#japanrail #jrpass #shikoku #japantravel #discoverjapan #tokushima #iyavinebridges #infographic #traintravel #ohenro
Within the first week of walking Shikoku, I sent my DSLR camera back to the farm I had volunteered at in Tokushima to keep for me. With a metal lense, that kit was the heaviest thing in my backpack. Thereafter, I relied on my smartphone, which I used sparingly because I had no WiFi or portable battery. I'd forgotten about the photos on the DSLR for four years. When I noticed a folder in my photo archives, exploring the shots I had left untouched after uploading brought me back to the first temples I saw in Tokushima. ⠀
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The mind as a blank slate is a precious thing. Looking back at the photos, I slipped back into the same pair of runners I was wearing, peering through a floating perspective that I have since lost. Back then, I had known little about the pilgrimage beyond the initial readings on Shingon Buddhism and some basic etiquette. It could be said I did not know what I was looking at. But it also meant I was free of the attachments that come with symbolism and meaning. My eye wandered, and my camera followed.⠀
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Mists and cloud, sunsets and their rises, ancient cedars and worn statues linger in my memory even when I have no photos. But this dragon I had forgotten until now. I can't even remember exactly where this hand washing fountain stood at what I know to be Temple 2 on the pilgrimage. But when I saw it, I remembered exactly why I had taken the photo. What I saw then, I still see now. What had made me stop and angle my camera, take a picture, I am bringing out now with the digital dark room. ⠀
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@foundinshikoku⠀
#japantravel #discoverjapan #visitjapan #explorejapan #japanesetemple #ig_japan #japan_of_insta #buddhism #shikokupilgrimage #四国遍路 #歩き遍路 #遍路の旅 #徳島県 #修行の地 #四国霊場
Loved Yan and Coco’s, which I visited often, during my 2015 month-long visit to Taipei. Yan has published a number of touristic and art books (that are on a shelf in the shop) and he and I bonded over one of them. I often went at night, just before closing, to pick up discounted baguettes which I had the next morning in my nearby hostel with Laughing Cow cheese. This couple lived for more than a decade, I believe, in Toronto. Never very crowded in my experience, and less distracting and crowded than some other nearby student restaurants, like the Picnic. Also loved all the other coffee shops in Taipei that you visited and wrote about. Well-worth visiting them next time (hopefully) I’m in Taipei.
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I’m glad you enjoyed your time in Taipei and like Yan and Coco’s! Yes, I agree it is not nearly as busy as many other popular places close by and is a refreshing place to work out of. As you’d mentioned, they both speak great English because they’d lived in Canada for some years.
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