Tokyo Day Two: Peonies, Otaku, and Godzilla

After enjoying Ueno Park on our first day in Tokyo, we knew we had to go back and explore it more fully. There’s so much packed into the area.

One of the first things we saw was a metallic sculpture called “Sky Hole”, gleaming outside one of the art museums. A short walk away, we found the five-story pagoda, originally built in 1631 then rebuilt in 1639. It’s dedicated to the nearby Ueno Toshogu Shrine, a colorful structure decked out in vibrant yellow, green, and red. Scattered around the grounds were stone and metal lanterns, which we discovered are traditional outdoor lanterns used in shrine and temple grounds. Nearby, there was also a mounted statue of Prince Komatsunomiya Akihito.

There was also a beautiful peony garden tucked beside the Toshogu Shrine. Peonies only bloom for one month out of the year, so we felt lucky to catch them in season.

Next we headed to the neighborhood called Akihabara. This area is famous for its Otaku culture, which refers to individuals who love anime, manga, and games.

Before we got out out of the subway station, we had already made a couple small purchases, because the station itself is connected to a shopping complex. Below, Kelly has bought a capsule toy from a Gashapon machine. We also noticed a bunch of merchandise for an anime Kelly and I have been enjoying called Frieren and picked up a new, needed luggage tag. Kelly’s original luggage tag was ripped off somehow after she checked it.

The first store we stepped into had over ten floors of Otaku content, each level stacked with anime figures, collectibles, manga, playing cards, and memorabilia. Next we headed to “Super Potato”, a retro game store that included games for systems never released in the USA. Finally, we popped into GiGO, an eight-story arcade. The first three floors were dedicated entirely to claw machines, and the rest had a mix of rhythm games, photo booths, and classic arcade games.

We even played a few games ourselves!

Since we’ve finally gotten over our jet lag, we headed out for some Tokyo night life. The neighborhood pictured below is Shinjuku, famous for it’s neon lights. And yep, that’s Godzilla on top of that hotel!