Days out in another country can be a real trip. You make a plan, sometimes you stick to that plan, and sometimes you end up with cool surprises. My friend had planned out the day trip in broad strokes – we’d walk through Tokyo down to the beloved (and shockingly old) Senso-ji Buddhist Temple in Asakusa, then follow that up by making our way across the Sumida River to the Tokyo Skytree (seen above), a massively tall tower well known for its gorgeous views of the immense city. And while we did do all that, there was at least one unexpected detour right off the bat. We were walking down the street and came across… Goku?
An Especially Nerdy Detour
Don’t talk to me or my Son ever again.
Okay, so seeing Goku in Japan is not actually that big of a surprise. Hell, seeing Goku on Earth is not that big of a surprise, he’s one of those characters that’s only a tier or two down from someone like Mario in terms of global fame. A life-size statue, though, that’s a little rarer, so we decided to check it out and take photos. Once we looked up the building, we realised that we had just randomly stumbled upon Bandai Namco’s Tokyo headquarters on our way to the temple. Stunned, we decided we had to check it out. While this place is apparently a corporate office, the ground floor is open to the public, letting people see a wide variety of Bandai and Bandai Namco’s characters and history. Given the kinds of people we are, we weren’t about to pass that up.
Bandai Namco HQ
Several Bandai products of the past.
“Bandai HQ” as it’s often known for short is a very fun little showing of both the company’s history and its present. There’s plenty of modern merchandise plastered around the place – currently available toys and figurines of various Bandai and Bandai-related characters, for example – but there’s also a significant amount of relatively ancient products that make this little exhibit pretty eye-opening for anyone interested in ancient (well, mid-to-late ‘90s) tech products, especially the more niche ones. The above photos show a mix of famous and less-famous, but arguably more intriguing for that. Virtual pets are a legendary part of growing up in the ‘90s, and here we have probably the most famous of the bunch – Tamagotchis! Here, though, they’re referred to as “Tamagotch” – this actually being the proper name (a mix of “tamago” and watch, tamago meaning “egg”) before the altered American spelling with an ‘i’ at the end became standardised. Along with it we have the very first Digital Monster or Digimon virtual pet, which has since spawned a massive multimedia franchise despite likely not being quite as popular as Tamagotchi initially. And then there’s the niche Bandai hardware I’ve never seen – The Super NoteClub (a sort of kids’ laptop with cartridge games), the PiPP!N, a CD-ROM console resulting from a collaboration with Apple, and a pair of the old WonderSwan handhelds, a failed line that is nonetheless respected for its attempt to challenge Nintendo. Bandai hasn’t made video game hardware since 2003, and I’m not sure if any of it even made it to Australian shores, so this was a nice chance to look back at what I’d never known.
The Walk Up To Senso-Ji, Ancient Temple of Buddha
A little tourist map of the whole Senso-Ji area.
Tokyo Senso Ji Buddhist Temple Crowd On Buddha’s Birthday
Tokyo Senso-ji Buddhist Temple Walkway on Buddha’s Birthday
The crowds were pretty significant.
Once the impromptu Bandai HQ visit was finished, we continued on to our original destination – Senso-ji, a Buddhist temple which dates back to the year 645 AD, though like many buildings in Tokyo it needed to be rebuilt following the firebombings of the Second World War. It’s also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple (named for the district of Tokyo in which it stands and the bodhisattva it is dedicated to, respectively), and I only learned in the course of reading this article that it’s apparently the most-visited religious site in the world. I’m not sure I appreciated it sufficiently while I was there, if I’m being honest. The lead up was, I believe, Nakamise-dōri street, filled with plenty of shops. I tried to be good, but it was a holiday, so I went for one of these local ice cream sandwiches:
Arriving At The Temple
Outside the Senso-ji Buddhist Temple on Buddha’s Birthday
Inside The Senso-ji Buddhist Temple on Buddha’s Birthday
So many tourists, but plenty of time.
Once we got to the temple proper, the crowds had not abated by any stretch, as you can see from the above videos. The open area was packed with visitors and tourists, both attending the surrounding food stalls and entering the Senso-ji temple itself. My friend and I thought it seemed really rather busy for a Monday, but initially blew it off as “eh, it’s a tourist-y time of year, cherry blossoms are blooming”… but then he decided to do a bit of research. Dear reader, he’d accidentally taken us to the most popular Buddhist temple in the world on the Buddha’s birthday (to be specific, the Buddha’s birthday as it’s celebrated in Japan, April 8th). What are the chances? Well, 1 in 364, obviously. Except not so obviously, as 2024 was a leap year, so it was actually 1 in 365, making it every so slightly less likely. Unbelievable. The temple itself was beautiful, with its classic design and impressive statues – thankfully the crowds still weren’t quite the most dense I’ve ever experienced, so it was enjoyable to walk through even on such a busy day.
Crossing the Sumida River
Tokyo Skytree From Sumida River
Cherry Blossom Trees Near Sumida River
Beautiful views on the way to the Skytree.
A war memorial, standing proudly in Sumida Park.
The walk to the Skytree itself wasn’t amazingly eventful, so this will be a rather short paragraph. It was a good time to take a breather, chat and look out at the city. The Sumida River flows close to Senso-ji and stands between it with both Azuma Bridge and the Sumida River Walk as options for getting across. However, we made our way further down to Kototoi Bridge and Sumida Park, where we came across sights like a war memorial and more cherry blossom trees. Hope you like what I was able to capture on the way.
At The Foot Of The Skytree
The dragon latches onto the Skytree!
Once we arrived at the Tokyo Skytree we had some time before the main event of travelling up to the higher levels, so we looked around the outside and bottom floor. Another friend from back home had asked me to get her something Kirby-related – I had already found a nice Kirby and the Forgotton Land plush earlier in the trip, but when I saw a full-on Kirby Cafe near the Skytree entrance, I knew I at least needed to take some photos. Thankfully, they now have a second use for this article. The Skytree also had various merch like the dragon I’ve shown above, and we even ended up with the most fitting Coke cans possible:
If you were just going to the Skytree to see the city views, then I promise you’ll get that, but remember than there’s a little more to enjoy before you start your way up.
The Higher Levels
The trip up the Tokyo Skytree consisted of an elevator – a fast one, with somewhat more panache and fellow passengers than the average – but still an elevator. It was only once we got to floor 350 (and later, floor 450) that we got the real magic – stunning views of Tokyo, reaching far into the distance. A lot of people don’t quite realise just how massive a place Tokyo is, having undergone continuous expansion and growth over decades, so hopefully the photos I’ve included above give you a real idea. There’s more than just the general views to show, though. Firstly, what do you spot in this photo?
Hey, wait, that looks familiar! ENHANCE!
Yep, there it is! I wanted to make sure that, after walking through Senso-ji temple on the ground, I had the chance to capture it from much much higher up. Here you can see the whole pathway leading up from the left. You can also see the back of some of the food stalls that were stationed there – the tarps covering them from the elements can be seen as a yellow rectangle near the large gate before the temple. We also got to stand on the glass floor of the Skytree – and by “we”, I mean me, because some will just look at it and say “Nope”. Not me, though, and I hope you can brave it once you get there.
Papercraft and Fake Food
@Tokyo Skytree Fake Food Souvenirs
Tokyo Skytree Completed Papercrafts
All real works of art in my opinion, but quite different ones.
Following the higher levels, we went back down for a low-key end to our Skytree experience, looking around a collection of additional souvenir shops and finding some interesting stuff. I bought a shirt that’s only just now fitting me, along with a papercraft set that I may one day be brave enough to actually put together – for now, I have this photo of its completed state:
I know, right? It’s not an easy task ahead of me. Along with items like shirts and papercraft, I was surprised to find that the fake food you can find outside the majority of Japanese restaurants – acting as a beautiful and very useful visual menu – is also available in souvenir shops for those willing to keep a taste of Japan (not really though, they’re resin and plastics, don’t taste them). They even had fake pancakes!
They were quite expensive, though, and the nightmarish idea of actually transporting them home stopped my from actually buying any of this gorgeous fake food. Would’ve made for a hell of a conversation piece, though, which is why I hope some of you reading this consider them.
Conclusions
Bandai HQ merch, figurines and plushes, protected from grabby nerds.
While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend copying my exact path through Tokyo – that would be rather odd – this was a fantastic day with plenty of surprises to spice it up. Like I said up top, you can plan on just seeing a temple and some nice views, but Tokyo will absolutely throw more at you along the way, which I hugely appreciate. Please visit the city, and check out Senso-ji, and the Skytree, and even Bandai HQ if that’s your bag. It’ll be a great experience for your trip to Japan, you won’t regret it.
