Most viewed - JAPAN PHOTOS by Philbert Ono

Home > TOKYO 東京都

Most viewed - TOKYO 東京都

31 views

PR for the latest Godzilla movie. There were Godzilla movie posters and flyers all over the place. I had to ask why. Found out that in the first Godzilla movie in the 1950s, Shinagawa was where Godzilla first set foot on Japan (near Shinagawa Station).31 views

This clock tower is the park's focal point. Cherry blossoms are substantial and many people hold hanami flower-viewing picnics. But it's not as crowded as Ueno Park.31 views

Marching priests.31 views

31 views

Beatles entering Budokan.31 views

Gift shop with Beatles souvenirs for sale.31 views

Beatles T-shirt31 views

Autographed Beatles photo31 views

31 views

It had this cafe decorated by the famous Takashi Murakami. That's what I love about Japan, always something unexpected.31 views

31 views

Museum gift shop31 views

Tobu Museum is primarily a railway/train museum. Indoor and outdoor exhibits include a ED101 class electric locomotive, a beautifully restored Tobu bus from 1951, train simulators, and a German model train diorama.31 views

Inside Class DeHa1 electric railcar – No. DeHa5 (built in 1924).31 views

Inside Class DeHa1 electric railcar – No. DeHa5.31 views

31 views

ED101 class electric locomotive – No. 101.31 views

31 views

One unique thing about Tobu Museum is that there are basement windows where you can see the train wheels stop at Higashi Mukojima Station.31 views

Inside the Tobu bus.31 views

31 views

Museum's lower level.31 views

Train ticket booth31 views

Exhibition room31 views

Commemorative train tickets.31 views

Hikifune Station on the Tobu Line.31 views

Tobu Kameido Station.31 views

Very impressive.31 views

31 views

Smoke emitters inside the mouth.31 views

31 views

Street below as seen by Godzilla.31 views

31 views

Mile Marker Zero31 views

Sample track.31 views

Part of the station's original foundation.31 views

The C11 steam locomotive is a popular place to meetup in Shimbashi.31 views

Old building used to be the entrance to a small basement mall of three movie theaters and eateries.31 views

Mother's Day photo shoot event at Mitsukoshi Dept. Store.31 views

31 views

Site of the old Hankyu Dept. Store in Yurakucho.31 views

The tower is 333 meters high, with two observatories. The lower one, called the Main Deck, is 150 meters high. The higher one, the Top Deck, is 250 meters up.31 views

Near the elevators on the 1st floor is this exhibition space.31 views

Tuna display in the small exhibition room in Block 7.31 views

Toyosu Market's official mascot: Itchi-no.31 views

Block 6's restaurant section is the larger one at Toyosu Market. However, all the restaurants were totally crowded with people by 1:30 pm. 31 viewsMany restaurants that were at Tsukiji moved here or opened a branch here. Wanna wait 1 to 2 hours for sushi?? Nope, but these people don't seem to mind.

If you want sushi and don't want to wait in line, go to the Tsukiji Outer Market instead.

The stadium as seen from Gaien Gate. This area is where they had food stalls and corporate sponsor booths.31 views

Stairs to the 5th floor where there is an open-air concourse with potted plants (Sora no Mori). But it was closed.31 views

Semi-accessible toilet. (Too small for a wheelchair.) The wheelchair spaces had accessible toilets nearby.31 views

Layout of a block of seats. The block numbers indicate the tier. 100s for the 1st tier (expensive seats), 200s, for the 2nd tie, and 300s here for the 3rd tier (cheap seats, ¥5000 for this event). 31 viewsHere, you should check your seat No.
If your seat No. is 111 to 124, enter on the left side of the block. If it's 125 to 138, go to the other corridor entrance on the right side of the block. The field is toward the top of this diagram (Row 1).

Next was the Morioka Sansa Odori dance festival from Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. 31 viewsIt's a large-sacle evening street dance held near JR Morioka Station on Aug. 1 to 4. 盛岡さんさ踊り http://www.sansaodori.jp/foreign/english.php

2nd tier seats, less steep than the 3rd tier.31 views

When people are sitting, there's very little room to pass through a row of seats.31 views

Aoiyama 碧山31 views

30 views

Seibu Yagisawa Station30 views

30 views

Santa Fe camp on wood. 30 views

Tokyo Skytree30 views

30 views

Sarue Onshi Park is a spacious local park with sakura cherry blossoms, azalea, and autumn leaves. Near Sumiyoshi Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line subway and Kinshicho Station.30 views

30 views

To commemorate the anniversary, a photo exhibition of The Beatles in Japan taken by their official tour photographer Robert Whitaker (1939–2011) was held here in Nakano, Tokyo.30 views

30 views

Photo background with you can pretend you're crossing Abbey Road and take a picture.30 views

30 views

The happi coats are not sold by JAL. The maker licensed it from JAL.30 views

30 views

Door latch30 views

30 views

Chiyoda Line subway train simulator.30 views

30 views

The bus was salvaged in the mid-1960s and restored.30 views

Train simulators30 views

Tobu Kameido Station.30 views

Godzilla head is on the 8th floor.30 views

Godzilla's roaring schedule.30 views

30 views

Right side of building.30 views

Left side of platform.30 views

30 views

About the Mile Marker Zero.30 views

At Shimbashi Station's Hibiya Exit, there is the famous SL Square where a C11 steam locomotive is displayed.30 views

30 views

Block 7's tourist corridor with glass windows to see the tuna floor.30 views

The observation corridor for tourists inside the fruit and vegetable market. Lots of windows, but they don't show much.30 views

Better view of the fruit/vegetable market toward the end of the corridor.30 views

At the end of the corridor, there's this big observation deck where you can see the wholesale section of the fruit and vegetable market.30 views

A number of concession stands along the concourse, but long lines. 30 viewsI brought my own food and drinks, so I didn't bother to stand in line. No vending machines in the stadium. The cheapest drinks were ¥300.

Outside the concourse. 30 views

Layout of seating blocks on the Main Stand on the 4th floor (Tier 3). Notice the many concession stands and restrooms. 30 viewsIt may be confusing to see three seating tiers, but they are on different floors. The 1st tier is on the 1st floor, the 2nd tier is on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and the 3rd tier is on the 4th and 5th floors.

At the end of the corridor is steps going down and up. Cramped spot where people tend to stop and try to figure out which way to go. 30 viewsIf your seat is on the other side of the block, you should go back to the concourse and enter the corridor on the other side of the block.

30 views

Extra space on 2nd tier concourse (3rd floor).30 views

2nd tier concourse (3rd floor) does not have any crosswinds.30 views

Vissel Kobe fans on the North Stand. 30 views

Vissel Kobe fans on the North Stand. "Vissel" combines the words "victory" and "vessel." "Vessel" because Kobe is a port city.30 views

Vissel Kobe fans on the North Stand. 30 views

At the halfway line from the Back Stand's Tier 2 concourse with a long row of guys on the bottom edge.30 views

One thing they need to fix is trash collection. On the 2nd floor concourse.30 views

Cherry blossoms in Kinshi Park and Tokyo Skytree.30 views

Cherry blossoms along Kyu-Nakagawa River in Koto Ward.30 views

Many students pray here during January to February to pass school entrance exams or to do well in school. 30 views

My video of Maicho-ren at 2023 Koenji Awa Odori on Aug. 26, 2023.30 views

The festival's main event is an evening lantern parade (called Mando) of thousands of Nichiren believers from all over Japan. They come in groups according to their respective temple or district.29 views

Path to the temple.29 views

29 views

Late June 2016 was the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' historic concerts at the Budokan in Tokyo. They arrived Haneda Airport on June 29, 1966 and played five 30-min. concerts at the Budokan from June 30 to July 2, 1966.29 viewsA total of 50,000 out of 200,000 applicants got tickets. The Beatles were the first rock band to play at the Budokan, normally reserved for martial arts like judo. There was a big debate over allowing the Beatles to play at such a "sacred venue."

29 views

Marunouchi Line subway car29 views

Class DeHa1 electric railcar – No. DeHa5 (built in 1924)29 views

Cab-over bus has the driver's cab over the engine.29 views

29 views

Tobu train at Higashi Mukojima Station.29 views

Neon lights of Kabukicho.29 views

29 views

Pork restaurant.29 views

When it's showtime, the lights turn red.29 views

Godzilla's claw on the roof edge.29 views

Godzilla relief at the base, destroying the National Diet Building.29 views

The right side of the building.29 views

Window closeup.29 views

Tokyo Tower has a number of evening illumination themes. This is the "Diamond Veil" illumination.29 views

29 views

Information desk in Block 7's exhibition room. Lots of questions from foreigners to staff who couldn't really speak English.29 views

Block 6's upper floor has a section of shops called Uogashi Yokocho Market. (This section is not indicated on the official map.) 29 viewsThese are small shops catering mainly to market workers. They also sell to the public. However, by 2:00 pm most of the stores were closing.

Each observation window was color-coded and named after a fruit or vegetable. A nice touch.29 views

The vegetable market's biggest item is cabbage, then daikon.29 views

Across the water from Toyosu is the Tokyo Olympic Village under construction.29 views

Inside the Yurikamome Line train. Since we couldn't eat sushi at Toyosu Market, we took the train to Toyosu Station two stops away and had a late lunch there instead.29 views

The stadium grounds has four gates (Sendagaya Gate, Gaien Gate, etc.) from the direction of train/subway stations. This map shows how far each train/subway station is.29 viewsThe closest is JR Sendagaya Station (440 meters) and Kokuritsu Kyogijo subway station (130 meters).
The stadium itself has eight main entrances from A to H. These main entrances further branch off into smaller entrances such as A1, A2, etc., leading to different floors and seating blocks.
The stadium seating sections are labeled Main Stand, Back Stand, North Stand, and South Stand. Each stand comprise three inclined tiers of seating. The Main Stand is the prime section. Gate F is nearest to the Japan Olympic Museum where the Olympic rings are.

Gate A6 led to escalators going to the 4th floor. The admission ticket tells you which gate to go to.29 views

The turnstile used a QR code scanner. Show the QR code on your ticket and the turnstile unlocks for you to pass through.29 views

Wash basin.29 views

End of corridor to seats.29 views

It started with the Kanto Festival from Akita Prefecture (same place where the Akita dog comes from). 29 viewsOn both ends of the field, men in happi coats balanced tall paper lantern-bedecked bamboo poles, called kanto, on their shoulders, hand palms, or hips. These kanto symbolize rice plants. Akita Kanto Festival is held annually during Aug. 3 to 6 near JR Akita Station in Akita Prefecture. http://www.kantou.gr.jp/english/index.htm 竿灯まつり

Leaving the stadium. Glad it was over. It was cold.29 views

29 views

Wheelchair space on 2nd tier concourse (right below the "We came to win" banner).29 views

Vissel Kobe fans on the North Stand. Loud cheers. The roof overhead carried their cheers very well.29 views

Vissel Kobe fans. "1995 to 2020, Kobe"29 views

Watering the field (natural grass) during halftime.29 views

On Tier 2, view from the Back Stand, Block 241, nearer to the North Stand.29 views

Cherry blossoms in Kinshi Park and Tokyo Skytree.29 views

29 views

Cherry blossoms along Kyu-Nakagawa River in Koto Ward.29 views

28 views

Emergency light28 views

28 views

Train tickets on left, commuter passes on right.28 views

The original Shimbashi Station building was reconstructed here, near the current Shimbashi Station. This is the left side of the building.28 views

Behind the reconstructed Shimbashi Station, the train platform is partially reconstructed on the original location.28 views

Mile Marker Zero at the end of the track.28 views

Shimbashi Station's SL Square with a C11 steam locomotive displayed.28 views

28 views

Restaurant on the Main Deck.28 views

Directional signs for tourists are in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean.28 views

Another crowd-pleasing tuna display in Block 7. Life-size model of the biggest tuna ever sold at Tsukiji fish market in April 1986. 2.88 meters long, 496 kg. Didn't say how much it sold for.28 views

View of the tuna floor in Block 7. The floor was painted green for better contrast with the tuna's red flesh to assess the quality. We visited around 2 pm, so nobody was here. 28 viewsYou have to come here by 6 am or 7 am to see some action.

Cutlery shop in Uogashi Yokocho Market.28 views

Lastly, this is the fruit and vegetable market, Block 5.28 views

Entrance to the fruit and vegetable market.28 views

The new Olympic Stadium or "National Stadium" (Kokuritsu Kyogijo) was completed in Nov. 2019 and an opening event for the public called "Hello, Our Stadium" was held on Dec. 21, 2019.28 viewsFrom Sendagaya Station, we could take a short cut past this Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium to the stadium.

Looks like fire escape stairs, but they are normally used to exit the stadium. 28 viewsIt was closed while people were entering the stadium (using escalators). The stairs were opened after the event ended.

The stadium's design theme was "Forest Stadium." (杜のスタジアム). 28 viewsLots of cedar lumber on the exterior. The wood came from all 47 prefectures and they point toward the place where they came from.

Stairs and escalator to the stadium's 2nd tier seats.28 views

28 views

Stadium's ticket box office. It was closed since tickets to this event was sold in advance. 28 viewsFirst you had to apply for the ticket lottery online. If you won a ticket in the lottery (held at least 3 times), you could pay for it by credit card or at a convenience store. The ticket lottery and website were in Japanese only and geared for Japan residents with a cell phone. Very puzzling since it effectively shut out overseas visitors from buying a ticket. I didn't see any foreigners in the crowd. And yet, the event MC kept mentioning how it was for all nationalities, abled-bodied and disabled, all genders, all ages, etc., etc. No event info in English at all.

Popular photo spot with the "National Stadium" sign. Near Gaien Gate.28 views

Gate B2.28 views

We all had reserved seating so there was no rush to get to our seats. 28 viewsBut there was this long line for Gate A that led to seats on all three tiers (1st to 4th floors) in this section on the Main Stand. The line wound back and forth four times before we headed for Gate A.

Escalator to the upper floors.28 views

Narrow corridor to Blocks 307 and 308 on tier 3. No wheelchair seating here. 28 views

Extra space on 2nd tier concourse (3rd floor).28 views

Wheelchair space on 2nd tier concourse. Seats are for abled-bodied wheelchair companions. This space also has power outlets for recharging power/electric wheelchairs. Mounted on the ceiling is a cooling fan.28 views

The stadium was looking quite full. The stadium capacity is 60,000, but they announced that attendance for this event was 52,000.28 views

It's an oval-shaped stadium with a track and field and partial, fixed roof. The track and field had taiko drums and kanto paper lantern poles on both ends.28 viewsThe seats have a random mosaic design in shades of green,

From Fukushima Prefecture, the Waraji Matsuri.28 views

From Miyagi Prefecture, Sendai Suzume Odori dance which I saw earlier outside the stadium. 28 viewsNormally held in late July near Sendai Station. 仙台すずめ踊り http://www.suzume-odori.com/

They paraded completely around the track. 28 views

Stadium layout. Top part is the Back Stand, bottom part is the Main Stand. The Side Stands on both ends were the fan stands. The stadium has three seating tiers on five floors. Tier 3 is the cheapest seats.28 views

Layout of the North Stand which was the Vissel Kobe fan section.28 views

Vissel Kobe fans on the North Stand. 28 views

Kashima Antlers fans on the opposite end. Kashima, a city in Ibaraki Prefecture, literally means "deer island." That's where the "Antlers" come from.28 views