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March 03, 2006
Ochanomizu, Yushima and Ueno
The weather in Tokyo has been truly miserable this week. It was not what I was hoping for after spending a week in cold, wet England.
I did manage to get out a bit yesterday, however, and the rain held off long enough for me to wander from Ochanomizu to Sendagi, pick up some senbei and get back home.
This is a picture from Ochanomizu looking east along the train tracks to Akihabara. The water on the bottom left is Kandagawa, although it looks more like a canal. It is a small example of how crowded Tokyo seems sometimes.
From there, I walked north towards the old part of town (shitamachi)...I really have been spending too much time exploring this part of town, but it was very close and I had nothing better to do. Just across the river from Ochanomizu is Yushima and I walked by this temple. Not being someone who can resist a picture of yet another temple, I had to stop and get this shot. It was very colorful and well maintained...I imagine it would look fantastic if it was sunny!
I also walked a bit through Ueno Park, but what really caught my eye was this building, the Hotel Sofitel, which I assume is not related in any way to the European chain. It struck me as being the one sure place I would NOT want to be when the big earthquake finally comes. I got vertigo just imagining what it would be like up there. Scary.
I took a bunch of other pictures, but they did not seem blog-worthy. I may put them in the photo album later. Maybe.
Comments
Indeed, the hotel you mentioned is part of European Sofitel group. It was originally built for Hotel Kojima which went bankruptcy and then acquired by Sofitel group.
Posted by: ryo at March 6, 2006 01:21 PM