During my trips to Tokyo I discovered several different sides of the Japanese capital, which I then tried to understand and to get to know. And most of the time I was extremely fascinated by everything what I was able to see there. Whether in the city center or in the suburbs, whether modern or rather old-fashioned, Tokyo manages to surprise and inspire me everywhere. Even after a few years, the metropolis in the Far East has not lost a bit of its charm and appeal to me.
And that's how I felt during a recent visit to Tokyo, where we were able to discover a completely different side of the city. We had treated ourselves to a boat trip that took us from Asakusa down to Odaiba, always along the Sumida River into Tokyo Bay. And while crusing along the river, we had the opportunity to sit down and to study the waterfront. On boat trips in European cities you can often experience the old and historical side of those places, whereas in Tokyo the modernity clearly prevailed in front of our eyes. Even if this modernity sometimes didn't look as new as it actually wanted to appear.
Of all the modern cities in Asia, Tokyo is probably one of the older ones, since large parts of the Japanese capital were built several decades ago, in the second half of the last century. In contrast, China's modern metropolises, which were completed only recently, are still brand new and appear as if they had just popped up.
But it is probably this mixture of past and old and new modernity that makes Tokyo so attractive to me and makes me come here again and again. And exactly this attractive atmosphere we could observe here from the water, where I would like to take you now. So please follow me on a little boat ride...
Going down the Sumida River coming from Asakusa, the first thing you notice are the many bridges that cross the river. Each one looks different and provides different impressions, and I often found myself looking behind them for quite some time.
Just like this railroad overpass, on which trains were continuously rumbling along, which had additionally built up an interesting soundscape.
But since the train took its time crossing the river, we were already at one of the next bridges, which initially passed over us almost every minute.
And then we were joined by an old acquaintance. Tokyo's newest landmark, the Sky Tree, had become a faithful companion, showing up at many places and in the most diverse perspectives.
And also here on the water he did not want to let us go at all, but posed repeatedly in our view. I think this was his way to tell us to stay a little longer.
And we promised him to come back very soon, because our quarters were actually not so far away his place. Just across the river on the other side, so we would definitely see each other again soon.
Here at this point we are joined by the Kanda River, and in the mouth of the river you can see some pleasure boats waiting for the evening business. A very cozy scene and I would have loved to turn into that waterway as well and take a little tour up towards downtown.
In some places, the riverbank also flashed a bit of the fleeting beauty that had filled the Japanese capital this spring as well. Here Queen Sakura made another great appearance, and as always, she did it convincingly and successfully.
Here you can see one of the flood gates, which can be closed during high tide. We must not forget that larger parts of Tokyo were still coastline a few centuries ago and were claimed from the sea. And with Tokyo Bay and the open sea in the immediate vicinity, the Japanese capital must be extremely careful not to be reclaimed by that very sea one day itself.
The river became now somewhat broader and we could let our view wander around. On the right bank of the river you can now see some parts of the urban highway, which in Tokyo in many places characterizes the cityscape.
And of course this highway has its own bridges crossing the river. And even if that urban highway isn't always a real city planning success, it's also a reference to the last century, when roads in major Japanese cities were often moved up.
And now we were joined by another familiar sight, Tokyo Tower, which is peeking out from behind one of the many bridges. And I have to confess to I am always delighted if I come across this tower too.
Since we had also planned to visit Tokyo Tower itself, we were now feeling a bit of anticipation. As with the Sky Tree, we have not yet been up the tower, but have always limited ourselves to a visit to its base. But actually strolling around there has its own special charm for us.
And suddenly there it was. The water in front of us became wider and wider, and in the distance we could now see the last bridge we were going to cross. The Rainbow Bridge, which leads to the new district of Odaiba, was the dignified end of our little boat trip.
But I turned around first and looked back. From there we had come and now almost the whole city was lying behind us. Of course, we would return there later, but nevertheless there was already some kind of longing which started to arise in me when looking at this sight. It has been a wonderful ride!
But we still have a few minutes, and of course we will use them properly. My view and also my camera was now resting on the Rainbow Bridge, which was building up bigger and bigger in front of us. We had a really interesting tour along the Sumida River to Tokyo Bay behind us, and we still had a whole afternoon in Odaiba ahead of us, which we were really looking forward to.
I was very glad that we followed our spontaneous idea and went out on the water. This way we could discover a different side of the Japanese capital again while enjoying it comfortably and without any rush.
This boat trip had proved that there is still a whole lot that I too still have to explore in Tokyo. I honestly can't wait until the next time when I will have the opportunity to visit my absolute favorite city again. And you bet, that I would love to leave as early as tomorrow....
[//]:# (!pinmapple 35.67381 lat 139.78695 long Cruising Sumida River in Tokyo 👹🍣🎎 Wonderful Japan d3scr)
