chris.bracken.jp

Statically generated site for chris.bracken.jp
git clone https://git.bracken.jp/chris.bracken.jp.git
Log | Files | Refs
commit 315f5a95428fd0f723298119045839a07299d3de
parent d04366c88b9329cf99b101cfe08f535b040fe2e3
Author: Chris Bracken <chris@bracken.jp>
Date:   Thu, 28 Mar 2024 01:14:48 -0700

Publish site

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     <item>
+      <title>Kyoto・京都</title>
+      <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/japan/kyoto/</link>
+      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
+      
+      <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/japan/kyoto/</guid>
+      <description>&lt;h2 id=&#34;general-wandering-around-town&#34;&gt;General wandering around town&lt;/h2&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;nishiki-market錦市場&#34;&gt;Nishiki market・錦市場&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Kawaramachi Station (Karasuma subway line). You should totally do this. It&amp;rsquo;s an
+awesome walk through a working market selling everything from miso to spices to
+bowls and teacups to fish. There are a bunch of restaurants around here too.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;pontocho先斗町&#34;&gt;Pontocho・先斗町&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Pontocho is a narrow street that runs north-south on the west side of the Kamo
+river. Lined with restaurants and typical Kyoto style &lt;a href=&#34;https://www.japan-architecture.org/inuyarai/&#34;&gt;inuyarai&lt;/a&gt;. Definitely
+worth a visit at night. In the summer, many of the restaurants along the river
+attach large decks for outdoor dining in the evening. (&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponto-ch%C5%8D&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;ne-ne-no-michiねねの道&#34;&gt;Ne-ne no michi・ねねの道&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Kawaramachi station (Tozai subway line)・河原町駅（地下鉄東西線）&lt;br&gt;
+Gion-shijo station (Keihan line)・祇園四条駅（京阪線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;If you do the walk through Yasaka shrine to Kiyomizu temple, wander through here
+on the way. It&amp;rsquo;s a touristy but fun old-school area of Kyoto. You&amp;rsquo;ll probably
+see a bunch of fake maiko (geisha apprentices) wandering around, but sometimes
+real ones too. (&lt;a href=&#34;https://www.japan-experience.com/all-about-japan/kyoto/attractions-excursions/nene-no-michi&#34;&gt;More info&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h2 id=&#34;shrines-and-temples&#34;&gt;Shrines and temples&lt;/h2&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;fushimi-inari-shrine伏見稲荷大社&#34;&gt;Fushimi-Inari shrine・伏見稲荷大社&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Fushimi Inari Station (Keihan line)・伏見稲荷駅（京阪線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;This is the well-known shrine with the thousands of red &amp;rsquo;torii&amp;rsquo; gates.
+Definitely worth a visit. It gets crowded during the day but if you go early in
+the morning (6:30 or even 7am), you&amp;rsquo;ll practically have the place to yourself.
+After the first set of gates you end up at a sort of second area with a couple
+little shops etc, but keep following the narrow steps up and there&amp;rsquo;s some nice
+hiking up higher (and it&amp;rsquo;s less crowded). (&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fushimi_Inari-taisha&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;shimogamo-shrine下鴨神社&#34;&gt;Shimogamo shrine・下鴨神社&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Demachiyanagi Station (Karasuma subway line)・出町柳駅（地下鉄烏丸線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Built in the 5th century, but there&amp;rsquo;s been stuff there since the 8th century BC.
+One of 17 Unesco world heritage sites in Japan. There are sometimes festivals,
+events, marriages, here. Fall colours should be nice too in the short walk
+through the forest to get there. (&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimogamo_Shrine&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;kiyomizu-temple清水寺&#34;&gt;Kiyomizu temple・清水寺&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Gojo Station (Karasuma subway line)・五条駅（地下鉄烏丸線）&lt;br&gt;
+Kiyomizu-gojo Station (Keihan line)・清水五条駅（京阪線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Worth a visit even though it’ll be busy with tourists. The area around is fun
+too. Another Unesco world heritage site, autumn leaves are great and there’s a
+good view of Kyoto. Built ~1400 years ago. A couple options to get there:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;ol&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Start at Yasaka shrine (Tozai subway line: Sanjo station or Higashiyama
+station, or Keihan line: Sanjo station) wander through it, till you end up in
+Maruyama park. There’ll be some small ponds and a cafe or two, turn right
+(south) and find Ne-ne-no-michi (a kind of narrow street) and wander through
+the winding streets from there, and up the hill. Before you head up though
+consider turning north and making a quick visit to Chion-in (see below) since
+it’s about a 2 min walk from there.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Start at Gojo-Zaka and head up this narrowish path called &amp;lsquo;Toribeno Sando&amp;rsquo;
+through that goes past Toribeyamataishakutenotsumyo Temple and through the
+big spooky graveyard. Or do both &amp;ndash; up Matsubara-dōri and down the hill.
+Japanese cemeteries can be pretty photogenic.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ol&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;(&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyomizu-dera&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;chion-in知恩院&#34;&gt;Chion-in・知恩院&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Shijo Karasuma Station (Karasuma subway line)・四条烏丸駅（地下鉄烏丸線）&lt;br&gt;
+Shijo Station (Keihan line)・四条駅（京阪線）&lt;br&gt;
+Higashiyama Station (Tozai subway line)・東山駅（地下鉄東西線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;I’m kind of embarrassed to say that it took me 33 years of visiting and living
+in Kyoto to actually go inside, but definitely worth a visit. Go through Yasaka
+Shrine to the east and when you get to Maruyama park, there’ll be a couple ponds
+and some shops. Turn north here and walk up the road a couple minutes till get
+you to a massive gate called San-mon (三問), head up the stairs and go inside.
+(&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chion-in&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;nanzenji南禅寺&#34;&gt;Nanzenji・南禅寺&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Keage Station (Tozai subway line)・蹴上駅（地下鉄東西線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;This is one of my personal favourite temples. There are usually not too many
+tourists, but if you want to check out a &amp;lsquo;real&amp;rsquo; temple, it&amp;rsquo;s definitely worth a
+check out on a day you feel like a quiet laid back walk. Also good for fall
+colours, and it&amp;rsquo;s got a some neat nooks and crannies and smaller areas to
+explore right next door. Even though they charge ~300 yen to go up to the top of
+the big gate, the view is good and you can just sit down on the balcony up there
+and check out the view/read a book, etc. (&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanzen-ji&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;daitoku-ji大徳寺&#34;&gt;Daitoku-ji・大徳寺&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Kitaoji (Karasuma subway line) + 15 min walk・北大路駅（地下鉄烏丸線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Probably the highest temple + garden density in Kyoto.
+(&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daitoku-ji&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;nijo-castle-tozai-subway-line-nijojo-mae-station&#34;&gt;Nijo Castle (Tozai subway line: Nijojo-mae station).&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Technically not a shrine or a temple, and not a big huge badass castle like
+Himeji or Matsumoto, but lots of artwork on &amp;lsquo;fusuma&amp;rsquo; sliding screens and history
+stuff if you&amp;rsquo;re into that. If you&amp;rsquo;re not, then probably underwhelming.
+(&lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nij%C5%8D_Castle&#34;&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h2 id=&#34;stores-and-shops&#34;&gt;Stores and shops&lt;/h2&gt;
+&lt;ul&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Isetan department store in Kyoto station (or really any Japanese department
+store). There&amp;rsquo;s usually a section of Japanese tableware (chopsticks, bowls,
+teapots, etc.) in the top few floors of most Japanese department stores. 9F
+has kimonos/yukatas. 10F has stationery and tableware. As noted on the main
+Japan page, the top floor has restaurants and the B1 floor is absolute madness
+filled with delicious take-out food. Other alternatives are Takashimaya or
+Daimaru in the Shijo area.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ul&gt;
+&lt;h2 id=&#34;anti-recommendations&#34;&gt;Anti-recommendations&lt;/h2&gt;
+&lt;ul&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Heian Shrine. Just a big massive gate, lots of gravel, and few trees.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Kyoto tower. Built pretty much when everyone needed some crappy tower&amp;hellip; this
+is the Calgary Tower of Japan.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Osaka Castle. I realise it&amp;rsquo;s not Kyoto, but if you want a castle whose outside
+fools you into thinking you&amp;rsquo;re about to check out a historic castle, but
+that&amp;rsquo;s actually been renovated into a kind of crappy museum with an elevator
+to the top, this is the place.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;I&amp;rsquo;m not a huge fan of the Imperial Palace, not that it&amp;rsquo;s crap, it&amp;rsquo;s just big
+and quite empty-ish. That said, I think you can get into a bunch of places now
+that no-one ever used to be allowed in to. It&amp;rsquo;s actually quite nice on rainy
+days, but can be scorching in the summer.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ul&gt;
+</description>
+    </item>
+    
+    <item>
+      <title>Tokyo・東京</title>
+      <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/japan/tokyo/</link>
+      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
+      
+      <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/japan/tokyo/</guid>
+      <description>&lt;h2 id=&#34;general-wandering-around-town&#34;&gt;General wandering around town&lt;/h2&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;shibuya渋谷&#34;&gt;Shibuya・渋谷&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Shibuya station (JR Yamanote line)・渋谷駅（山手線）and many other lines.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Hachiko exit:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;ul&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Shibuya scramble crosswalk&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;Dogenzaka/Love Hotel Hill&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ul&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;harajuku原宿&#34;&gt;Harajuku・原宿&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Harajuku station (JR Yamanote line)・原宿駅（山手線）&lt;br&gt;
+Jingu-mae station (Chiyoda line)・神宮前駅（千代田線）&lt;br&gt;
+Meiji Jingu Mae station (Fukutoshin line)・明治神宮前駅（副都心線）&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Directions below are given relative to JR Harajuku Station on the Yamanote line
+since it&amp;rsquo;s the easiest option.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Main exit:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;ul&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;On the bridge just to the right as you exit the station, you&amp;rsquo;ll find tons of
+people dressed up on get-togethers each Sunday.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;The entrance to Meiji shrine is also right there.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;A bit to the left of the entrance to the shrine is Yoyogi park, where lots of
+locals go to relax on weekends.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;As you exit the station, cross the street to the left, and walk down
+Omote-sando to see a bunch of trendy shops. The trees are lit up at night. At
+the next big intersection, you can enter Omotesando station（表参道駅）and
+take the Hanzomon line（半蔵門線）back to Shibuya station（渋谷駅）.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ul&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Takenoshita exit:&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;ul&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;The really well-known Takenoshita Street and all its fashion shops are to the
+east of the station. It&amp;rsquo;s easier to exit through the Takenoshita exit, but you
+can go out the main exit and do a U-turn to the left, and follow the station
+along till you get to the Takenoshita exit.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ul&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;shinjuku新宿&#34;&gt;Shinjuku・新宿&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Tokyo&amp;rsquo;s most famous business district, packed with skyscrapers and neon. Lots of
+dining with good night views over the city on the upper floors of skyscrapers.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;North of the station&amp;rsquo;s East Exit（新宿駅東口）there&amp;rsquo;s Kabuki-cho（歌舞伎町）,
+Tokyo&amp;rsquo;s most famous red-light district and sort of a tourist attraction in its
+own right, just don&amp;rsquo;t agree to let touts on the street take you anywhere.
+There&amp;rsquo;s a fairly well-known scam in which foreigners are enticed with promises
+of all sorts of things, only to find they&amp;rsquo;ve been served a spiked drink and had
+their wallet emptied out. Wandering around can be quite entertaining.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;On the eastern edge of Kabuki-cho is Golden-gai（ゴルデン街）, a small series of
+alleyways full of tiny bars that fit 4-8 people, each of which specialises in
+some very specific drink.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;ginza銀座&#34;&gt;Ginza・銀座&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Ginza is Tokyo&amp;rsquo;s luxury shopping district, in particular along
+Chuo-dori（中央通り）. Also home to the Kabukiza theatre where you can check out
+a Kabuki show. If you like stationery shops, Itoya is 12 floors high and
+probably one of the biggest in Japan.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;On the water, there&amp;rsquo;s Hama-rikyu Gardens (浜離宮）which is a nice Japanese style
+garden surrounded by skyscrapers.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;naka-meguro中目黒&#34;&gt;Naka-meguro・中目黒&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Naka-meguro is a laid-back sort of hipster neighbourhood with lots of small
+cafés and restaurants, as well as the well-known Meguro canal, lined with
+cherry-blossom trees in springtime.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h3 id=&#34;azabu-juban麻布十番&#34;&gt;Azabu-juban・麻布十番&lt;/h3&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;Another laid-back neighbourhood which is a mix of cobblestone streets,
+traditional shops and trendy restaurants and cafés. It&amp;rsquo;s also where a ton of
+foreign embassies are and is a relatively popular neighbourhood to live for
+European and North American locals.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h2 id=&#34;sports&#34;&gt;Sports&lt;/h2&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;re into baseball, consider booking tickets to a
+&lt;a href=&#34;https://www.giants.jp/en/schedule/&#34;&gt;Yomiuri Giants&lt;/a&gt; game.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;re into football/soccer, consider booking tickets to a
+&lt;a href=&#34;https://www.jleague.co&#34;&gt;J-league&lt;/a&gt; game.&lt;/p&gt;
+&lt;h2 id=&#34;anti-recommendations&#34;&gt;Anti-recommendations&lt;/h2&gt;
+&lt;ul&gt;
+&lt;li&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;re planning to visit Kyoto, get your temple/shrine fix there, and skip
+Sensoji/Kaminari-mon in Asakusa.&lt;/li&gt;
+&lt;/ul&gt;
+</description>
+    </item>
+    
+    <item>
       <title>Visiting Japan</title>
       <link>https://chris.bracken.jp/japan/</link>
       <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
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+<h2 class="post-title"><a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/japan/kyoto/">Kyoto・京都</a></h2>
+<h2 id="general-wandering-around-town">General wandering around town</h2>
+<h3 id="nishiki-market錦市場">Nishiki market・錦市場</h3>
+<p>Kawaramachi Station (Karasuma subway line). You should totally do this. It&rsquo;s an
+awesome walk through a working market selling everything from miso to spices to
+bowls and teacups to fish. There are a bunch of restaurants around here too.</p>
+<h3 id="pontocho先斗町">Pontocho・先斗町</h3>
+<p>Pontocho is a narrow street that runs north-south on the west side of the Kamo
+river. Lined with restaurants and typical Kyoto style <a href="https://www.japan-architecture.org/inuyarai/">inuyarai</a>. Definitely
+worth a visit at night. In the summer, many of the restaurants along the river
+attach large decks for outdoor dining in the evening. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponto-ch%C5%8D">Wikipedia</a>)</p>
+<h3 id="ne-ne-no-michiねねの道">Ne-ne no michi・ねねの道</h3>
+<p>Kawaramachi station (Tozai subway line)・河原町駅（地下鉄東西線）<br>
+Gion-shijo station (Keihan line)・祇園四条駅（京阪線）</p>
+<p>If you do the walk through Yasaka shrine to Kiyomizu temple, wander through here
+on the way. It&rsquo;s a touristy but fun old-school area of Kyoto. You&rsquo;ll probably
+see a bunch of fake maiko (geisha apprentices) wandering around, but sometimes
+real ones too. (<a href="https://www.japan-experience.com/all-about-japan/kyoto/attractions-excursions/nene-no-michi">More info</a>)</p>
+<h2 id="shrines-and-temples">Shrines and temples</h2>
+<h3 id="fushimi-inari-shrine伏見稲荷大社">Fushimi-Inari shrine・伏見稲荷大社</h3>
+<p>Fushimi Inari Station (Keihan line)・伏見稲荷駅（京阪線）</p>
+<p>This is the well-known shrine with the thousands of red &rsquo;torii&rsquo; gates.
+Definitely worth a visit. It gets crowded during the day but if you go early in
+the morning (6:30 or even 7am), you&rsquo;ll practically have the place to yourself.
+After the first set of gates you end up at a sort of second area with a couple
+little shops etc, but keep following the narrow steps up and there&rsquo;s some nice
+hiking up higher (and it&rsquo;s less crowded). (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fushimi_Inari-taisha">Wikipedia</a>).</p>
+<h3 id="shimogamo-shrine下鴨神社">Shimogamo shrine・下鴨神社</h3>
+<p>Demachiyanagi Station (Karasuma subway line)・出町柳駅（地下鉄烏丸線）</p>
+<p>Built in the 5th century, but there&rsquo;s been stuff there since the 8th century BC.
+One of 17 Unesco world heritage sites in Japan. There are sometimes festivals,
+events, marriages, here. Fall colours should be nice too in the short walk
+through the forest to get there. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimogamo_Shrine">Wikipedia</a>)</p>
+<h3 id="kiyomizu-temple清水寺">Kiyomizu temple・清水寺</h3>
+<p>Gojo Station (Karasuma subway line)・五条駅（地下鉄烏丸線）<br>
+Kiyomizu-gojo Station (Keihan line)・清水五条駅（京阪線）</p>
+<p>Worth a visit even though it’ll be busy with tourists. The area around is fun
+too. Another Unesco world heritage site, autumn leaves are great and there’s a
+good view of Kyoto. Built ~1400 years ago. A couple options to get there:</p>
+<ol>
+<li>Start at Yasaka shrine (Tozai subway line: Sanjo station or Higashiyama
+station, or Keihan line: Sanjo station) wander through it, till you end up in
+Maruyama park. There’ll be some small ponds and a cafe or two, turn right
+(south) and find Ne-ne-no-michi (a kind of narrow street) and wander through
+the winding streets from there, and up the hill. Before you head up though
+consider turning north and making a quick visit to Chion-in (see below) since
+it’s about a 2 min walk from there.</li>
+<li>Start at Gojo-Zaka and head up this narrowish path called &lsquo;Toribeno Sando&rsquo;
+through that goes past Toribeyamataishakutenotsumyo Temple and through the
+big spooky graveyard. Or do both &ndash; up Matsubara-dōri and down the hill.
+Japanese cemeteries can be pretty photogenic.</li>
+</ol>
+<p>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyomizu-dera">Wikipedia</a>)</p>
+<h3 id="chion-in知恩院">Chion-in・知恩院</h3>
+<p>Shijo Karasuma Station (Karasuma subway line)・四条烏丸駅（地下鉄烏丸線）<br>
+Shijo Station (Keihan line)・四条駅（京阪線）<br>
+Higashiyama Station (Tozai subway line)・東山駅（地下鉄東西線）</p>
+<p>I’m kind of embarrassed to say that it took me 33 years of visiting and living
+in Kyoto to actually go inside, but definitely worth a visit. Go through Yasaka
+Shrine to the east and when you get to Maruyama park, there’ll be a couple ponds
+and some shops. Turn north here and walk up the road a couple minutes till get
+you to a massive gate called San-mon (三問), head up the stairs and go inside.
+(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chion-in">Wikipedia</a>)</p>
+<h3 id="nanzenji南禅寺">Nanzenji・南禅寺</h3>
+<p>Keage Station (Tozai subway line)・蹴上駅（地下鉄東西線）</p>
+<p>This is one of my personal favourite temples. There are usually not too many
+tourists, but if you want to check out a &lsquo;real&rsquo; temple, it&rsquo;s definitely worth a
+check out on a day you feel like a quiet laid back walk. Also good for fall
+colours, and it&rsquo;s got a some neat nooks and crannies and smaller areas to
+explore right next door. Even though they charge ~300 yen to go up to the top of
+the big gate, the view is good and you can just sit down on the balcony up there
+and check out the view/read a book, etc. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanzen-ji">Wikipedia</a>)</p>
+<h3 id="daitoku-ji大徳寺">Daitoku-ji・大徳寺</h3>
+<p>Kitaoji (Karasuma subway line) + 15 min walk・北大路駅（地下鉄烏丸線）</p>
+<p>Probably the highest temple + garden density in Kyoto.
+(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daitoku-ji">Wikipedia</a>)</p>
+<h3 id="nijo-castle-tozai-subway-line-nijojo-mae-station">Nijo Castle (Tozai subway line: Nijojo-mae station).</h3>
+<p>Technically not a shrine or a temple, and not a big huge badass castle like
+Himeji or Matsumoto, but lots of artwork on &lsquo;fusuma&rsquo; sliding screens and history
+stuff if you&rsquo;re into that. If you&rsquo;re not, then probably underwhelming.
+(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nij%C5%8D_Castle">Wikipedia</a>)</p>
+<h2 id="stores-and-shops">Stores and shops</h2>
+<ul>
+<li>Isetan department store in Kyoto station (or really any Japanese department
+store). There&rsquo;s usually a section of Japanese tableware (chopsticks, bowls,
+teapots, etc.) in the top few floors of most Japanese department stores. 9F
+has kimonos/yukatas. 10F has stationery and tableware. As noted on the main
+Japan page, the top floor has restaurants and the B1 floor is absolute madness
+filled with delicious take-out food. Other alternatives are Takashimaya or
+Daimaru in the Shijo area.</li>
+</ul>
+<h2 id="anti-recommendations">Anti-recommendations</h2>
+<ul>
+<li>Heian Shrine. Just a big massive gate, lots of gravel, and few trees.</li>
+<li>Kyoto tower. Built pretty much when everyone needed some crappy tower&hellip; this
+is the Calgary Tower of Japan.</li>
+<li>Osaka Castle. I realise it&rsquo;s not Kyoto, but if you want a castle whose outside
+fools you into thinking you&rsquo;re about to check out a historic castle, but
+that&rsquo;s actually been renovated into a kind of crappy museum with an elevator
+to the top, this is the place.</li>
+<li>I&rsquo;m not a huge fan of the Imperial Palace, not that it&rsquo;s crap, it&rsquo;s just big
+and quite empty-ish. That said, I think you can get into a bunch of places now
+that no-one ever used to be allowed in to. It&rsquo;s actually quite nice on rainy
+days, but can be scorching in the summer.</li>
+</ul>
+</article>
+</main>
+
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+<h2 class="post-title"><a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/japan/tokyo/">Tokyo・東京</a></h2>
+<h2 id="general-wandering-around-town">General wandering around town</h2>
+<h3 id="shibuya渋谷">Shibuya・渋谷</h3>
+<p>Shibuya station (JR Yamanote line)・渋谷駅（山手線）and many other lines.</p>
+<p>Hachiko exit:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Shibuya scramble crosswalk</li>
+<li>Dogenzaka/Love Hotel Hill</li>
+</ul>
+<h3 id="harajuku原宿">Harajuku・原宿</h3>
+<p>Harajuku station (JR Yamanote line)・原宿駅（山手線）<br>
+Jingu-mae station (Chiyoda line)・神宮前駅（千代田線）<br>
+Meiji Jingu Mae station (Fukutoshin line)・明治神宮前駅（副都心線）</p>
+<p>Directions below are given relative to JR Harajuku Station on the Yamanote line
+since it&rsquo;s the easiest option.</p>
+<p>Main exit:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>On the bridge just to the right as you exit the station, you&rsquo;ll find tons of
+people dressed up on get-togethers each Sunday.</li>
+<li>The entrance to Meiji shrine is also right there.</li>
+<li>A bit to the left of the entrance to the shrine is Yoyogi park, where lots of
+locals go to relax on weekends.</li>
+<li>As you exit the station, cross the street to the left, and walk down
+Omote-sando to see a bunch of trendy shops. The trees are lit up at night. At
+the next big intersection, you can enter Omotesando station（表参道駅）and
+take the Hanzomon line（半蔵門線）back to Shibuya station（渋谷駅）.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>Takenoshita exit:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>The really well-known Takenoshita Street and all its fashion shops are to the
+east of the station. It&rsquo;s easier to exit through the Takenoshita exit, but you
+can go out the main exit and do a U-turn to the left, and follow the station
+along till you get to the Takenoshita exit.</li>
+</ul>
+<h3 id="shinjuku新宿">Shinjuku・新宿</h3>
+<p>Tokyo&rsquo;s most famous business district, packed with skyscrapers and neon. Lots of
+dining with good night views over the city on the upper floors of skyscrapers.</p>
+<p>North of the station&rsquo;s East Exit（新宿駅東口）there&rsquo;s Kabuki-cho（歌舞伎町）,
+Tokyo&rsquo;s most famous red-light district and sort of a tourist attraction in its
+own right, just don&rsquo;t agree to let touts on the street take you anywhere.
+There&rsquo;s a fairly well-known scam in which foreigners are enticed with promises
+of all sorts of things, only to find they&rsquo;ve been served a spiked drink and had
+their wallet emptied out. Wandering around can be quite entertaining.</p>
+<p>On the eastern edge of Kabuki-cho is Golden-gai（ゴルデン街）, a small series of
+alleyways full of tiny bars that fit 4-8 people, each of which specialises in
+some very specific drink.</p>
+<h3 id="ginza銀座">Ginza・銀座</h3>
+<p>Ginza is Tokyo&rsquo;s luxury shopping district, in particular along
+Chuo-dori（中央通り）. Also home to the Kabukiza theatre where you can check out
+a Kabuki show. If you like stationery shops, Itoya is 12 floors high and
+probably one of the biggest in Japan.</p>
+<p>On the water, there&rsquo;s Hama-rikyu Gardens (浜離宮）which is a nice Japanese style
+garden surrounded by skyscrapers.</p>
+<h3 id="naka-meguro中目黒">Naka-meguro・中目黒</h3>
+<p>Naka-meguro is a laid-back sort of hipster neighbourhood with lots of small
+cafés and restaurants, as well as the well-known Meguro canal, lined with
+cherry-blossom trees in springtime.</p>
+<h3 id="azabu-juban麻布十番">Azabu-juban・麻布十番</h3>
+<p>Another laid-back neighbourhood which is a mix of cobblestone streets,
+traditional shops and trendy restaurants and cafés. It&rsquo;s also where a ton of
+foreign embassies are and is a relatively popular neighbourhood to live for
+European and North American locals.</p>
+<h2 id="sports">Sports</h2>
+<p>If you&rsquo;re into baseball, consider booking tickets to a
+<a href="https://www.giants.jp/en/schedule/">Yomiuri Giants</a> game.</p>
+<p>If you&rsquo;re into football/soccer, consider booking tickets to a
+<a href="https://www.jleague.co">J-league</a> game.</p>
+<h2 id="anti-recommendations">Anti-recommendations</h2>
+<ul>
+<li>If you&rsquo;re planning to visit Kyoto, get your temple/shrine fix there, and skip
+Sensoji/Kaminari-mon in Asakusa.</li>
+</ul>
+</article>
+</main>
+
+<footer id="footer">
+<div class="copyright">
+<span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#">
+The content of this site by
+<a rel="cc:attributionURL" href="https://chris.bracken.jp/about"><span rel="cc:attributionName">Chris Bracken</span></a>
+is
+<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0">CC BY 4.0</a>.
+</span>
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+</body>
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