Goodbye Tokyo..

We've now come to the end of our 2nd stop, Tokyo; and we will move on to Sydney Australia tomorrow. The remaining days here have been just as full and fun as the first. Along with more temples and exploring areas of the city we took a day trip to Nikko which is about 2 hours north by train; 1/2 of which is on the bullet train called the "Shinkansen".  Previously we explored more temples and markets near Asakusa, as well as the Electric City area of Akihabara. Asakusa is by the water and is a bit on the outskirts of the city. It has one of the most visited temples in the city as well as a giant market surrounding it. We briefly saw the temple as it is a tourist zoo, but did manage to get some good eats at the market. Akihabara is a craziness unto itself; a video game and gadget nerd's dream. There are massive arcades, pachinko gambling centers, electronic stores with everything, and video game stores with every game you know of all the way back to the NES, including system variants you've never seen. Nikko as a day trip from Tokyo is a must. Just riding on the super fast bullet train the "Shinkansen" is a treat. Nikko is in the mountains at 3000 ft elevation, and home to a national park and the "World Heritage Shrines and Temples of Nikko". We toured these and they are truly magnificent. The grand scale alone is unbelievable, and the workmanship and design detail are unachievable we think by today's standards. All of this in a setting of trees and mountains.

A tiny slice of a street in Akihabara

 

How about every GameBoy game you can think of...

 

 

A handheld Sega Genesis...

Nikko view of the mountains

 

Nikko's many gorgeous sites...

Magnificent lunch in Nikko after viewing the temples