Finally, it was the 3rd of January and as people slowly returned to the city from the countryside to fill Tokyo again, it was also time for us to go back to Sendai. But before we packed, we still had time to drop mom at the airport and to visit Sugamo.
Leaving Shinagawa
We took the Narita Express (one of the coolest trains in Japan) and after all the sad goodbyes, I met back with Nevena. Together, we then took the Yamanote line and went to visit Sugamo district, another stop along the JR Yamanote line.
Jizo Dori
Sugamo is visited for its famous Jizo Dori shopping street. Filled with countless small sweets shops selling daifuku and other traditional sweets, this is also the place to look for Obaasan and Ojiisan clothes ( meaning granmas and grandpas).
Shops along Jizo Dori
On our short time left we were still able to peek inside the Koganji temple. Inside you can find a statue which people pour water over to pray for good health.
Koganji
Being short on time, we returned to Shinagawa to pack everything and leave back to Sendai. On the next day, it was business as usual for the new year of 2014.
Tourism
Sugamo is definitely different from Shibuya or Shinjuku and not everyone will be able to appreciate its simplicity. But that’s exactly what it is and probably what gives it a more traditional and homely feeling than the other places in Tokyo.
Somewhere between Sugamo and Komegome station, to the South, you can find a landscape garden, the Rikugien Garden, which opened around 1700 for the Shogun Tokugawa. It is said to be one of the most beautiful gardens from the Edo period in Japan.
What would I do differently
Well, had I known about the garden before, I would definitely have visited. I feel that this would have been a great escape from the busy city.
Next Stop…
Well, after this long trip to Tokyo, a colleague at work was having a conference in Hiroshima and Nevena and I decided to join her. Together the 3 of us went to explore a little further south and so there will be some really cool posts about Hiroshima and Miyajima coming up.
Also, I decided to be a modern girl and as many others I’ve finally joined Instagram. So because I’m still posting here about 2014, if you wanna see more about my current travels I’ll be posting some pictures there ; )
Thank you for reading, hope everyone is doing well and safe travels,じゃねー
Memories of a Wanderer 