Ghibli Museum
When you saw Spirited Away by Miyazaki
Hayao (or Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, My
Neighbour Totoro and so on) you probably fell in love with its
mythical themes, fanciful characters and outrageous landscapes. Needless to say, so
did every kid in Japan, which means you need to arrange tickets long before you
arrive at Ghibli Museum of the work of
Ghibli, Miyazaki’s animation studio.
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Love Hotel Hill
Anyone who thinks that Japan is all about raked pebble gardens, geisha in
kimono and Zen meditation hasn’t strolled through Love Hotel Hill. Just west of
central Shibuya, this neighbourhood offers one of the largest concentrations of love
hotels in Tokyo, where men and women out on the prowl hope the night will end.
Depending on your tastes, you can bed down in a variety of themed hotels ranging
from miniature Gothic castles and kitschy Arabian palaces to traditional
Japanese-themed inns and Balinese-inspired resorts. Although choosing where to go is
the best part of visiting a love hotel (well, aside from the actual act itself), our
personal favourite is a particular Caribbean-themed love hotel with fake palm trees
at the bedside – we’ll leave it to you to find it! To reach Love Hotel Hill, take
the road up Dōgenzaka to the left of the Shibuya 109 building. At the top of the
hill, on the side streets that run off the main road, is the main concentration of
love hotels. Of course, the best way to get around this area is to meet a nice
Japanese guy or girl to show you around!
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Meiji-Jingū (Meiji Shrine)
Tokyo’s grandest Shintō shrine, this 1920 edifice enshrines the Emperor Meiji
and Empress Shōken, under whose rule Japan ended its isolation from the outside
world. Destroyed in WWII bombings and reconstructed in 1958, the shrine buildings
occupy just a corner of the precinct’s 70 forested hectares. In fact, its 100,000
trees are said to have been donated by 100,000 visitors from all over Japan.
Meiji-jingū might be a reconstruction of the original, but unlike so many of Japan’s
postwar reconstructions, it is altogether authentic. The main structure was built
with hinoki cypress from the Kiso region of
Nagano prefecture, while the cypress for the huge
torii was imported from Alishan in Taiwan. If
you’re there when a wedding is on, the procession is photographic gold. The grounds
are also home to the Meiji-jingū Gyōen,
a lovely strolling garden. It was once the property of two
daimyō families, after it came under imperial
control, Meiji himself designed the garden as a gift to the Empress Shōken. There
are peaceful walks to the pond and teahouse and a good dose of privacy at weekdays,
and spectacular irises and satsuki azaleas in season.
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