Now that the lodgings for competitors and delegation members have been confirmed, I'd like to introduce some top attractions near by.
This is a list of my personal must sees that are within walking distance or a short train journey away from the Olympic centre.
#1 Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Stunning city views (FREE)
Tourists both local and from abroad come to this building for the free 360 degree view of the city. The Tocho building has two towers, each one with a free 45th floor observatory. From here you can see most of the city and even Mount Fuji on a good day.
The best time to visit is around sunset, watch as the sun drops behind Fuji San and as the neon lights of Tokyo spark into life.
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| Image - http://media.afar.com/ |
This building is in the Shinjuku Skyscraper district, there are lots of other buildings to check out and some good places to grab a bite to eat with the salary men.
This time I'll be taking a look at how to get to and from Haneda Airport. Haneda is located within Tokyo itself and is a much more convenient option (if available when booking) for arriving in Tokyo.
Note, Haneda was meant as a domestic terminal initially. International flights do land here, but most of them, especially the cheaper ones, come in at inconvenient times, early morning or very late at night. Flights landing after 11:30pm in Tokyo will see passengers with limited options for transport to the city.
Getting to Tokyo from Haneda will take you less than 30 minutes. It's a short trip to Shinagawa or Hamamatsucho station from where you can get onto the Yamanote Line (Tokyo's circle line) for quick access to every other major station in the city.
Option 1: Monorail
Running every 3 - 5 minutes and costing just 490 yen, this trip can take between 15 - 20 minutes. Stopping at JR Hamamatsucho Station where you can hop on the Yamanote Line and zip off to any of the other big stations.
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Hi there, you may have noticed I have done some redecorating of the blog recently. That's all thanks to my wonderful creative director Ms. Nori Kato.
What you might not know is that I run this blog almost entirely off of my smartphone. My laptop broke over two years ago and I didn't see the need to replace it!
Affiliate Sponsorship
Anyway, you can see another recent addition to the blog on the right hand side of the posts. I'm very happy to announce that Zen Sankei International is now an official affiliate sponsorship partner for Doryoku.
You can check out their full line up at the online store (
www.zen-sankei.com/onlineshop).
Sankei who might not be so well known internationally are in fact one of the biggest suppliers here in Japan. They have a ton of local distributors here and a lot of my favorite stores carry their shinai. I have used a couple of their mid priced models (Sae, Ryu, Ryu-Oh and Zen) which have all been fantastic and durable. Though I think the Sae is a bit fragile and should be used with a lighter touch!
I'm very excited about the partnership, and I hope to be able to bring you some more reviews of their equipment as Sankei continue to grow their brand internationally.
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