Japan 2025

This is unrelated to TVN as a stock, in so far as it will eventually lead to visiting the Sumitomo paviliion at the Osaka World Expo, but it will help me cement/commit to memory my Japanese itinerary by sharing where I plan to visit & what there is to see there.
So far Chat GPT, Youtube, Tiktok have helped me build an itinerary of 420 ;in items & I have not yet worked out what I'm going to do in Tokyo where I've 4 days free nor Osaka where I've 3 days to fill. So unconventional, but that would pretty much sum me up..
https://www.gotokyo.org/en/destinations/waterfront/sumida-river-stroll.html

Arrive in Tokyo - this is my first day -
Sumida River Walk before B-Fast - this location intrigues me as it reminds me of Southbank in Melbourne, perhaps down along the river near North Terrace in Adelaide, Brisbane, perhaps Along the river near Queen Street, not as hectic, but Perh along Mounts Bay drive, Darwin perhaps waterfront area, I'd even go so far as to say walking around the waterfront area in Wellington, NZ there were places that remind me of this.


Senso-ji Temple & Kaminarimon Gate
https://www.gotokyo.org/en/spot/14/index.html

I'm sure 30 year ago when I visited Tokyo last we visited this temple.
Now with a lifetime of projects behind me, the factoid that has stuck in my head about this lantern is that it weighs 700 kilograms. I mean what did the lifting plan look like to put that thing up there?


Tokyo Skytree Observation Deck
Do like a good observation deck - be it Melbourne Skydeck in Eureka Tower or something as obscure as the Grand Canyon Skywalk (still can't believe how instinct kicks in when you walk off the edge of a cliff).

Konica Minolta Planetarium
Probably a bit old school visiting this one as it's been around a long, long time, however I can remember visiting Orlando, Florida about 20 years ago & my favourite (well the places I remember because I've forgotten the theme parks) were the Kennedy Space Centre which had the history of rockets in a museum, including full scale rockets, along with the history & then not far up the road was the museum which celebrated all the astronauts who had flown on the missions. I timed my visit to co-incide with a space station module launch (SPS something or other) & left a couple of days just in case I missed it, well damned if they had a tech problem followed by two days of bad weather launch conditions so I missed the launch, still this place, the Konica Minolta Planetarium is right up my alley for old school tourist attractions where I'm sure I'll get more out of it than your typical tourist.


Asahi Beer Hall (Golden Flame)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Beer_Hall
Not sure I need to explain this one.



Lunch at Hoppy Street
https://www.asakusastation.com/hoppy-street-hoppy-dori/
A good place to stroll down for lunch & not far from Asakusa station which so far I've not ventured too far from.


Walk to Asakusa Pier
Ok so if I skip lunch at Hoppy Street, settling instead for a liquid lunch at Asahi Beer hall, it's really not too far to get to Asakusa Pier..


Sumida River Cruise (Tokyo Water Bus) to Hinode Pier
Next up is a trip along the river in a fully enclosed boat, by all accounts Air Conditioned, my sort of boat trip considering August is pretty damn hot in Tokyo,
https://www.suijobus.co.jp/en/


Kannon at Twilight
From everything I've read, it's worth a re-visit to Sensoji-Ki temple at twilight.


Asakusa Engei Hall
https://www.asakusastation.com/asakusa-engei-hall/
Probably one of the better things I've taken advantage of living back in Melbourne the past couple of years is the diversity of concerts, theatre shows along with the sport in this wonderful city. From Barnesy at the Palais to Keith Urban a couple of years ago, A Christmas Carol with older family members, treating my neices to Beauty & the Beast whilst my Nephew fell asleep (or pretended to) I figure even if I don't fully understand the language, this is worth the time.


Izakaya-style Bars + Karaoke Kan
Not much to say here except I've discovered just this weekend, that there is a market segment catering for those who would like to visit places like this & I'm sure that at least once I think this could be a good way to immerse yoursefl in the local culture,