Temples, manga and ramen. Part IV

The last post about Japan is dedicated to Tokyo, Kamakura, Nikko and Takayama, the last places we've visited before to leave this lovely country. Tokyo is a very strange city: big, modern and chaotic, but, in the mean time, quiet, solemn and traditional. Behind a corner, in a main street full of cars, traffic lights and noise, you can find a little silent shrines with the prayers hanging on the branches of the trees, with one or two monks to take care of the place, to sell some amulet.

Our hotel was close to Ueno Park, so it was extremely easy to go around the city, taking the subway under the park. First of all, we walked in the streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya.

We were such lucky that we found a matsuri going on in one of the main temples of Tokyo. It was so unexpected and beautiful!

Kamakura is a little village, close to Tokyo, very traditional and warm.

The second village we visited around Tokyo was Nikko. Sincerely, I expected something more regarding the village. The temples and shrines were totally amazing, but the village is empty and desolated.

Takayama was a total surprise for me. I really didn't expect to find such a beauty in that village. Everything is tidy and warm, the lanterns, the locals, the streets. The matsuri is one of the oldest in Japan and a huge number of visitors (from eastern and western part of the world) come each year to see the spectacular festival.

We came back to Tokyo for our last day and we decided to try again with the fish market and the tuna auction, quite early in the morning. We slept from 7pm to midnight, took the last subway and staid in the queue for the market from 1am to 3am. We met an amazing japanese man who told us his very strange life and after that at 5am we could enter the market and join the tuna auction. What an experience!