July 19th // Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, Senso-ji (Culture), Tokyo Skytree (Technology)

Today was my birthday!! We were going to have lots of fun today, celebrating my birthday in the heart of Japan. I couldn't wait; I woke up half an hour early. Nolan actually forgot it was my birthday, he felt a bit sheepish after that incident. We got up and raced out to our first place to visit: Disneyland!

Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea

Once the cab we took dropped us of at the Disney Resort Line, we immediately started to head inside. We got on the next train, which rocketed us inside Disneyland. We got of at the Tokyo Disneyland Station, which was built on an arched bridge. When we walked outside, we had to pass through the main gate, which we walked through. The park was extremely crowded, and I felt like I was 10 again. The big attractions we visited were:

• The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents "Aloha E Komo Mai!"
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Westernland Shootin' Gallery
• Haunted Mansion

We also visited the giant Disney castle there. It looked almost exactly like the one we have in the Disneyland at Florida. It was very large, and almost looked like something out of a movie. Our favorite ride, however, was the roller coaster Space Mountain. It had a lot of drops and turns, but not so much that it wasn't enjoyable. There was a huge line though, so we had to wait a while before going on.

Space Mountain Interior

Tokyo Disneyland Castle

We also went to the second part of the Tokyo Disney Resort, DisneySea. We had no clue what DisneySea was, but it was really fun as well. It was like a second Disneyland. Some of the attractions we went on were:

• Fortress Explorations
• Tower Of Terror
• Raging Spirits
• 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Our favorite place for DisneySea was probably Journey To The Center Of The Earth. It takes you on a roller coaster to a subterranean world and around a volcano. During the ride, the volcano erupts, and you get taken to a whole new world. I really liked DisneySea, a bit more than Disneyland, but the whole Disney Resort was a really fun way to kick off the day. We exited the same way we came to the Disney Resort via railroad.

Senso-ji / Culture

After visiting the fast-paced Disney Resort, we decided to calm down a bit, while also experiencing some more Japanese culture, so we traveled to Senso-ji. Senso-ji is a Buddhist temple, and the oldest one in Japan, being built in 645 AD. It, just like the Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, is dedicated to the goddess of mercy Kannon. We entered through the Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate. By this point, we had seen many nice looking temple gates, but this was on a completely different level. It was enormous, much bigger than any of the other gates we had seen thus far. It also had a large red lantern hanging from the gate. You pass under the lantern to continue to the temple. There are also four statues on the Kaminarimon, two on either side.mjklo

Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate)

The Kaminarimon led to a long street called Nakamise, which is a shopping street that leads to the temple. They sell many things there, from typical Japanese souvenirs like yukata to food like rice balls. Malachi, Sirvaad and I actually tried some; they were not half bad. At the end of Nakamise was another gate, the Hozomon. This gate is almost exactly like the Kaminarimon, with the difference of having two extra gate sections with hanging bells. After passing through the Hozomon, we were able to enter the temple's main hall. The main hall housed a image of the goddess Kannon.

Hozomon

The statue had supposedly been fished out of the Sumida River by two brothers. The Asakusa Shrine was also a shrine we visited. This honors the three men who built Senso-ji, including the two brothers. We spent some time in the surrounding areas before leaving the temple.

Tokyo Skytree / Technology

After a quick lunch, we visited the Tokyo Skytree. It is a television broadcast tower 634 meters (~2080 feet) tall. It is the tallest structure in Japan and the second tallest in the world. A large shopping complex and aquarium are located at its base. We got to the shopping complex by cab. We immediately headed for the Skytree. We got on an elevator and started to head up. We could see ourselves moving up and everything else getting smaller. The first observation deck is called the Tembo Deck. It is 350 meters (~1150) in the air and consists of three floors. The top floor had large windows with 360 degree views. The middle floor had a souvenir shop and a restaurant, the Musashi Sky Restaurant, which serves French-Japanese cuisine. We had a bite to eat there; it was very nice.  The lowest floor had a cafe and some glass panels on the ground that you could use to see all the way to the bottom of the tower. All three floors were amazing. We could see so much of the city from the observation deck. Everyone on the streets looked like ants. It was awesome to look the glass floor panels.

Tembo Deck Observation Floor

More elevators connected us to the top deck, the Tembo Gallery. It was 450 meters (~1500 feet) in the air. It has a spiraling ramp that gains height as it circles the tower. At the top of the spiral ramp is an observation deck floor with lounging areas and tall windows from which to look out over Tokyo. This floor is the highest point of the observation decks. After staring at Tokyo, we finally got of the tower. By this time, Tokyo was in full night mode, and the lights we saw were capable of making anyone's birthday one of their best.

Tembo Gallery

Tokyo Skytree At Night

This was probably one of my best birthdays. I got to see and experience so much, and I had an amazing time. When we got to our hotel room, I got my birthday present: my own box of Japanese candy! Now I only have to wait until next year!

Written By Rohan