“Six Trees” Kristy Chan
Being so famous for its tourism industry, Tokyo provides a large variety of
options to foreigners when it comes to tourist attractions. The variety of delicious
gourmet and places for shopping is needless to say, but even sightseeing in the modern
city of Tokyo can be of a lot of varieties. You don’t have to go all the way to Kyoto to visit
the traditional temples, because you can easily come across a shrine even in the most
urban area of Tokyo. And with the opening of the recently completed Tokyo Skytree,
Tokyo is expecting this new landmark to boost the tourism industry even further.
Replacing Tokyo Tower as the tallest structure in the whole of Japan, Tokyo Skytree has
almost double the height of Tokyo Tower. But despite the effort that has been put in to
promote Skytree, my favorite place to visit is still where the former landmark, Tokyo
Tower, is located – Roppongi.
My way of enjoying Roppongi is like this: I arrive at Roppongi Station around 3
in the afternoon, take some time window shopping in the infamous Roppongi Hills, and
visiting the headquarters of TV Asahi. And as I have mentioned earlier, within this whole
urban district of skyscrapers, you can always find traditional sightseeing spots as well.
The Yasukuni Shrine is the place I like to go to spend some quiet, quality time. There are,
of course, a lot of other shrines in the area, such as the Nogi Shrine, Shinto Shrine etc.
And when the sun starts to set, that is when
things get exciting. In daytime, Roppongi may be
the typical work-district, the home to
headquarters and Japanese offices to big
corporations like Google Japan, Goldman Sachs
etc. But at night, with the illuminations lighting
up, the district comes alive.
The view along Gaien Higashi Dori and
cross Roppongi intersection is incredible. The
neon sign boards hung up above restaurants will
make you even more eager to get in and try out
their delicious gourmet. But there is a place I
totally recommend you trying: located right
across the street to Hard Rock Café is one of my
favorite restaurants to dine in, Tsurutontan. They
are known for not only their large bowls that are
literally bigger than your head, but also the
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groundbreaking styles ofudon, like udon with creamy sauce, carbonara udon etc. I
personally believe they serve the best udon in the area.
After enjoying the meal, I would take a walk to head towards Tokyo Tower. The
Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice structure appears orange and white in daytime, and at night,
it lights up to shine a fierce red. One interesting fact: when you visit Tokyo Tower at night,
and by visit I actually mean going up to the observatory, you can see another Tokyo
Tower! (See image)
It is although a total cliché to say that Tokyo Tower is my favorite sightseeing
spot, it is something that I don’t get bored seeing, it is something more than just a tall
structure in the middle of the city. It represents the country.
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