1st Day Exploring Tokyo (Friday, 4 April 2025)

Alex connected with Oruto-san through the Tokyo Brompton Club's Facebook page. He is the author of several books, and I believe he is involved in architecture. He plans to guide us through Tokyo sights associated with famous woodcuts created by Japanese artists with a mid-day stop for lunch. 

Rain has stopped for 2 days with temperatures ranging from 46F to 60F. My last ride and exercise was Sunday, so good to get back on the bike. Less than 20 miles of flat riding in this busy city. Fortunately, Oruto-san and Alex expertly guided us through traffic and busy intersections. Road surfaces were excellent, far superior to any city I have cycled in the US and most of Europe. 

I'll leave today's story in the captions.

Traditional Japanese breakfast at our hotel

After breakfast, several of us rode the short distance to the Imperial Palace main gate and grounds.

Nina racing on her red Brompton.

Imperial Palace grounds and moat

Note to Melissa: Apa, your Golden Retriever, appears to own a hotel chain in Japan. They might have modified the spelling.

 

Gathering for our first ride.

School children crossing the street. The older children in orange hats hold the hands of the younger children in blue hats.

Oruto-san explains the reproduction of the first woodcut. 

Dog of the Day

Cherry blossoms along the river.

Folding Bike Klatch

Although signed as a river, this canal is lower than the nearby river. Locks control the water level at each end. While the canal is straight, the artist depicted this canal as curved to be more pleasing to the eye.

Aides transporting pre-school age children.

Shinto Temple

Alex explaining how contributors to Temple maintenance can post plaques listing their requests.

Believers use the ladle to pour water over their hands as a purification rite.

Temple Garden. Wisteria will bloom in another month and cover the temple grounds. It symbolizes youth, love, and perseverance, and represents the transience of life as its flowers bloom for a short time each year.

The mascot for the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) athletic teams is the banana slug, specifically known as "Sammy the Slug". 

Alex assured us that 90% of the women dressing in kimonos are tourists and not Japanese.

Red Temple Entrance. A major tourist attraction, the entire area is a maze of shops. We split up for lunch. Duane and I found a small, ramen shop.

Tasty and efficient. We were seated. A placard on the table instructed us to scan a bar code to access their WIFI, then scan another bar code for the menu. We checked desired item(s), inserted our credit card, competed the order, and our order appeared in minutes. Tasty and efficient.

Served like an ice cream cone. Will need to ask Alex what it is but very popular.

Mobbed and not that enjoyable. Glad we found the ramen restaurant on a side lane.

Bike Parking Garage.

Parkers roll their bikes down the right side ramp to enter. When departing, place the bike tires on the moving belt and hold the brake while climbing the steps. I've seen step-rails like this on European stairs but never an escalator.

Dinner tonight was at a traditional yakitori restaurant in the Ginza District, about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. The menu lists 13 courses, but there might have been 1 or 2 more. The rare chicken liver tartare was substituted for another chicken item but the last course was grilled chicken livers. 

Tofu with sakura sauce

Grilled chicken breast

Grated radish over ? Too many courses to remember.

Japanese pickles, chawanmushi, grilled chicken meatballs