Tokyo 東京都 - The Eastern Capital

Returning to Tokyo late in the evening, we checked into Ana Intercontinental at Minato-Ku. After a quick nap, social updates, and dinner we set out to watch the acclaimed Robot Show having read all about it on Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor and other blogs on the net.

Deciding to take the metro line which was close to our hotel, we were awestruck by the network of underground metro in the city. Each of the metros were interlinked by the passage. The passages had many shops to browse and for food also. It was a city underground throbbing with life.

We boarded the Red line and alighted at the Shinjuku stop. There seemed to be millions of people on the road. Finding our way took up almost 15 minutes asking our way around, just out of an interest to talk to people, we reached the  the Robot Restaurant .

We descended the bright and outrageous technicolor stairways to a hall with plain cemented floor and a ceiling of tacky pulleys, chains and hoists resembling an IKEA showroom ceiling. We were escorted to our seats while youngsters while trying to sell beer and other alcoholic drinks with popcorn. One end of the hall was covered by a plain gray curtain. As soon as the seats filled up with a crowd that looked like an already appreciative audience mesmerized by hugely positive write up on the net and the wholesome enthusiasm of the performers, the curtain opened and we witnessed a high voltage and loud performance of a loosely strung futuristic story between human and robots. It seemed like a school performance witnessed by mostly friends, relatives and parents cheering every contraption and device that appeared on stage, pulled by remote, designed for experimentation. The story seemed chaotic initially but as one got into the mood, we enjoyed the show. It featured an assortment of dancers, tribal drums, laser strobes, psychedelic lights, pop music and robots. It was quite a surprise to see huge giant robots and dancers entertaining in the constrained space, almost taking up space on our seats and within whispering distance.

Our tour started the next day from Hamamatsucho bus station. After poring over google maps and deciding the best metro to take or a brisk walk of 20 minutes, we had a superb breakfast. Lingering over breakfast for longer than necessary and reading that the Japanese way is to depart on time, we finally decided to take a cab. It was all clearly laid out and we departed on time in a comfortable bus with WiFi access for the hidden Kamakura and Enoshima Bay tour.

We left Tokyo and passed the Tokyo bay area. Kamakura is to the South of Tokyo and took us about an hour to reach.

We reached the quaint city of Kamakura passing through many quaint streets and avenues. Our first stop was the famous Hokokuji (報国寺)Temple - a temple of Zen origins. This temple, we learnt is often referred to as Takuma-Dera after the artist of a statue of Kashyap, unfortunately destroyed by a fire in 1891. The principal image in this temple is that of Gautama Buddha, established in 1334. Another great earthquake in 1923 destroyed most of this temple but it has been carefully reconstructed to restore to original creativity.

Once you entered through a small modest gate, one encountered compact steps neatly laid out with typical peaceful Zen gardens into a bamboo grove with around 2000+ trees. While it is a far smaller scale than Arashiyama, the entire area induces a deep sense of contentment and peace as the bamboo seems to stretch to the sky and the sun rays descend through the filtered shade, tiptoeing noiselessly almost hesitating to break your inner journey!

Zen Elements around the garden

It is needless to say that one wanted to sit and meditate for some time within the premises and contemplate drawing energy from the surroundings and also imparting some good vibrations in a beautiful exchange. If architecture could affect emotions and moods, this was quite a good example.

Straw roofed annex which housed the bell

Blooms and Colors

Behind the bamboo grove was a tea house where we had an authentic tea tasting experience after an elaborate ceremony. One had to leave footwear outside the teahouse - once the slippers came off, one had to place the foot on the wooden platform rather than the floor as wood conveys purity and cleanliness. We were given the pride of place at the tea ceremony that was laced with gravity and solemnness and sat on the patio outside overlooking a dry garden where one end had a cleansing area fitted with water pipes and ladles made of bamboo. The other end had a long, narrow, hollow bamboo pole through which one could hear the sound of dripping water creating ripples of delightful music.

We drove from here via shops selling Samurai swords to the Daibatsu - the Great Buddha. The entrance to the temple was guarded by the statues of mouthing OM and HUM to signify the beginning and end symbolically.








The 13m tall bronze statue cast in 1252 was initially housed in an enclosed area all of which was engulfed by natural disasters but left the statue unscathed. The statue is in the open for over 500 years at the Kotokuin temple and is the second tallest Buddha in Japan. There was an magnetic attraction towards him. Buddha was in meditation with his eyes closed oblivious to the crowd around him.  We walked around him and spent a few quiet moments sitting under his steady presence.

From the Kotokuin temple we decided to go to a restaurant to experience an authentic Buddhist meal, while our guide profusely apologized for the 15 minute delay due to traffic conditions! The meal was vegetarian. The plate had an assortment of small bowls with the local delicacies. . It was an unique experience for us to try eating with the chop sticks. Holding the chop sticks with two fingers was an art and we ate our first buddhist meal with relish.

Finishing our lunch we spent some time at the small garden attached to the restaurant. At that instance we felt we needed a zen garden for our house. The zen garden combined the elements of nature to blend into harmony.

Boarding our bus we crossed the road to Enoshima bay. The Pacific ocean was on both sides of the walkaway. Deciding not to walk to the island we enjoyed the ocean view and spent quiet moments with the ocean pondering, reflecting and enjoying the salt in the air and the stiff breeze.