Tokyold and new

Tokyo may be a sci-fi city set permanently in the future, but there's some nice old stuff here as well. Or at least, what remains of old stuff and reconstructions of old stuff destroyed in some obscure Asian conflict called 'World War II.'

Budgeting my days out is fun and a refreshing bit of strategic thriftiness after being able to travel ridiculous distances in Thailand, Malaysia and even Korea for practically nothing, so today I planned out a rapid tour of Tokyo's east side that took in the old, the faux-old and the brand spanking new. What you won't see is the tangled subway knots and train connections linking these places together, which was all part of the experience.

Kōkyo

(皇居)

The Imperial Residence of Emperor Akihito, who didn't greet me when I arrived.

I guess he was 'busy.' I'll let him off this one time

East guard tower and Kikyomon Gate

Nijubashi Bridge and Main Gate

Moat keeps out the scum. Wait... why am I on this side?

Can you believe this is Tokyo? And a major public park and tourist attraction? On a nice summer morning? Where's everyone at?

Either there was something fantastic on TV or there's something's going on that I should really know about

Sensō-ji

(浅草寺)

Nakamise-dōri wan't similarly barren, but it's nice to be back in a well mannered country where people know how to wait in line. Tokyo is a city renowned for its high stress levels, but for me this is therapy after the country that shall not be named (i.e. Sri Lanka)

Mighty Hozomon Gate, a little more impressive than the actual temple

Five-storey pagoda, which is crying out to get struck by lightning

Hondo

Breathe in those noxious fumes

Drink that unhygienic water

And fly away

By the way, who's Ken?

Sumida

(墨田)

Asahi Breweries Headquarters and Beer Hall, with what's supposed to be an Olympic flame but looks more like God took a golden dump

Top of Tokyo Sky Tree. Someone told me the architects were usurped by China's sneaky Canton Tower builders, who made that taller than originally planned while this was still under construction, so they had to stick an extra few metres on this to win.

Probably not true, but I like the story

Nice try kid, but you're never going to fit it in frame

Edo-Tokyo Museum, which tried a bit too hard to look futuristic in 1993

おやおや, I love this place!