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| Many people enjoy their lunch in the quiet of Hibiya Park. |
Let us begin our trip at Hibiya Park (location 1 on the map), which was opened in 1903 as the first Western-style park in Japan. The area was once home to powerful families like the Matsudaira (an offshoot of the Tokugawa clan) during the Edo period (1603-1868), and it served as a training ground for the army during the Meiji era (1868-1912). The park, which covers more than 160,000 square meters and is replete with trees and other plants, is a wonderful place to spend a few quiet minutes in the morning. In addition, the park is nearby the Imperial Hotel (location 2), which contains a world-renowned, award-winning bakery. Quite a few people can be seen in Hibiya Park enjoying baked goods that they purchased at the hotel. |
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| The sight of grown-ups absorbed in the latest video games is curious and amusing. |
Next, we will walk along Miyuki-dori while taking in the view of the elegant Taimei Elementary School (location 3), which was founded in 1878. An imperial visit is called miyuki in Japanese, and this road is said to take its name from the fact that Emperor Meiji used it to travel from the Imperial Palace to the Imperial Naval Academy. Continuing along in this direction, we will come to the Sony Building (location 4) on Sotobori-dori. At the Sony Building, one of Ginza's most famous landmarks, visitors can see and try out Sony's latest cutting-edge products, and the staff members there are happy to answer questions and give demonstrations. One of the most popular attractions here is on the sixth floor, where visitors can play their choice of the latest game software on a large-screen monitor for free. In the area around the Sony Building there are a number of long-established art galleries (location 5,6,7), as well as galleries that exhibit the works of up-and-coming artists from Japan and other countries. It is said that this tradition goes back to the Edo period, when the Kyobashi district next to Ginza was home to mansions belonging to artists of the Kano school, an influential school of traditional Japanese art patronized by the Tokugawa shogunate. |
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| Many shops sell traditional, handmade post cards and letter boxes. |
Chuo-dori (commonly known as Ginza-dori) is the main street in the Ginza district, and when the weekend rolls around, this road is closed to automobile traffic and turned into a pedestrian haven. Tables with parasols are placed along the road so that people can stop and have coffee or tea or just enjoy the view. At the west end of Chuo-dori is a famous toy store (location 8) that is popular with both children and adults. Unique and interesting toys can be found throughout the large shop, but one of the most notable attractions is the collection of vending machines located outside the back door. Stuffed animals and other toys ranging in price from ¥3,000 to ¥10,000 can be purchased 24 hours a day from cases that resemble coin lockers. Facing the back entrance to this toy store is Konparu-dori, a narrow street that is lined with many old shops that have been around since before World War II. This street takes its name from the fact that the Konparu school, the oldest in the Noh theater, was headquartered here in the Edo period. Now as you may be getting hungry for lunch, we come to the perfect place - the Rice Gallery (location 9). Information celebrating rice can be enjoyed by visitors, who can also eat the delicious rice of the day in the cafeteria. Lunch can be had for a very reasonable price. |
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| The Wako Building is what first comes to mind for most people when they think of Ginza. |
Built in 1932, the most famous landmark in Ginza is the clock tower of the Wako Building (location 10), and the nearby area is home to famous department stores like Mitsukoshi, Matsuya, and Matsuzakaya. The basement levels of all the department stores are filled with shops offering delicacies, and many shoppers find it an enjoyable experience to taste the various samples as they go around purchasing food. Underground corridors run beneath many of the major streets in Ginza, and it is possible to get very close to anywhere you may want to go without having to come up to the surface -something that is convenient on a rainy day. Also, the koban (police box) at the Ginza 4-chome (location 11) intersection has an English-speaking volunteer guide present from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Tuesdays through Sundays to give directions. Next to the Wako Building is a renowned bakery (location 12) that even provided baked goods to Emperor Meiji himself. Here you can find bread with the anko (bean jam) filling that is loved by so many Japanese. This bakery does not use artificial yeast but instead makes bread with the natural yeast used in the production of sake, which results in a unique taste enjoyed by many. There are also shops that carry incense and Japanese-style stationery (location 13). These nice-smelling stores are great places to purchase souvenirs, as they have everything from high-end calligraphy goods to assorted knickknacks like scent bags. |
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| There are also tea shops that serve matcha with a Japanese sweet, such as monaka, and garnished with a seasonal flower. |
A five-minute walk from the Ginza 4-chome crossing along Harumi-dori will bring us to the magnificent Japanese-style building called Kabukiza (location 14), Japan's most famous kabuki theater. It takes a whole day to watch an entire kabuki performance, but there are special tickets available for people who would just like to take in the atmosphere of a performance. These tickets, called hitomaku mi (meaning "viewing one scene"), allow a patron to watch for about an hour for approximately ¥1,000. One point to note, though, is that the English commentary that is provided via rental earphone is not available in these seats. It is also fun to purchase a beautiful bento (box lunch) either within the Kabukiza or at a shop in the neighborhood and eat inside the theater. In the area around Kabukiza, there are shops (location 15) that for more than 130 years have carried tabi (traditional Japanese socks with a split toe) and tenugui (rectangular cotton gauze cloth used as a towel or head covering). Tenugui featuring the likenesses of kabuki actors are especially popular. There are also towels with traditional patterns and some that illustrate sumo techniques. |
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| After a day in the Ginza area, you will surely have found some nice souvenirs. |
Turning left onto Yanagi-dori from Chuo-dori and going straight on and under an expressway overpass, you will see a building with a large, tilted pink roof (location 16). Inside this building, which has the appearance of a warehouse, there are stores that have clothes extremely popular the world over, as well as electronics shops and a cafeteria that serves up healthy deli food using organically grown vegetables. The cafeteria is all the rage among young women. Across the railroad tracks is a building that looks somewhat like a giant glass whale: Tokyo International Forum (location 17). The building houses several large halls where concerts and other events are held, an art shop, a bookstore, and cafes and restaurants, among other facilities. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government was based in this location before it moved to Shinjuku, and this building was created as a place where exchanges of culture and information can be conducted on an international scale in the center of the nation's capital. |
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| The sight of Tokyo Station lit up at night is spectacular. |
Continue north alongside the train tracks for about two or three minutes and you will see the magnificent brick building that is Tokyo Station (location 18). This red brick edifice was built in 1914 and was modeled after Amsterdam Station in the Netherlands. While Tokyo Station serves as the gateway to Japan's capital, former offices and napping rooms there have been converted into galleries and other facilities, and the concourse on the first floor is host to concerts during the spring and fall. In addition, the hotel located inside the station is always popular. Right in front of Tokyo Station is the high-rise Marunouchi Building (location 19), which was just completed in September 2002. It has more than 140 fashionable shops and gourmet restaurants. By now you may be exhausted from walking around and hungry as well, so stopping for dinner at a hot new restaurant may be a good idea. Visitors can choose from among traditional Japanese food, such as tofu, sushi, and tempura, or they can opt for top-quality foreign cuisine, such as Chinese or Italian. While having dinner, you can also enjoy the spectacular view from the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth floors, where the restaurants are located. These floors offer choice restaurants and a marvelous view. And even if you do not eat at one of the restaurants, there is an enormous, two-story observation window on the thirty-fifth floor. Visitors have the low-priced option of enjoying the view and eating within the hotel after purchasing food from the deli in the basement. We have now come to the end of our day trip around Ginza. The Imperial Palace (location 20) is nearby, so a walk along the moat in the night breeze on your way back to your hotel may be a pleasant way to end the day. |