/tags/minato/ Recent content in minato on Tokyo, endless city Hugo -- gohugo.io en Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/rooftop_cafe/ Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/rooftop_cafe/ There are many places you can get great views over Tokyo. A view from Tokyo Tower revealed this scene over a rooftop cafe. It’s design and structure just cannot be seen from the ground, and even when sitting there as a patron you prabaly don’t get a good feel for the whole. /posts/tower-to-tower/ Wed, 05 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tower-to-tower/ Two of the most iconic sites in modern Tokyo linked by this line of sight. In normal times countless eyes on the viewing platforms of both towers cast gazes that cross over the buildings below as they wonder who is looking their way from the other Tower. This is a tiny area of the whole panorama visible from Tokyo Tower, and yet see what a variety of style and scale compete for ground. /posts/sunny_minato/ Sun, 14 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/sunny_minato/ It is interesting to see how many of the buildings around Tokyo Tower are not as tall as you might expect. Here, looking closer along Sakurada-dori south through Minato City towards Takanawa, the apartment and business buildings seem to rise as they get further away. It may not be deliberate, but it does have the happy consequence of making for many wonderful views from the Tower. It was a lovely sunny day when I took this, making me want to join the pedestrians down on the sunlit pavement. /posts/zojojitemple/ Wed, 20 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/zojojitemple/ The viewing platform at Tokyo Tower provides an excellent opportunity to look down on the magnificent Zojoji Temple complex. Taken at the end of 2020, and a few days before I was standing in the Temple on a subzero New Years Eve, this is a view from just before the world changed and the travel options we so much took for granted were taken away. The narrow road on the left is a familiar route for me, being my approach of choice to the iconic Tokyo Tower. /posts/hato-bus/ Mon, 09 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/hato-bus/ There is something special about a Japanese tour bus, and these from the 70 year old Hato Bus company, at the foot of Tokyo Tower, are a fine example. They carry you in comfort along the paths and between the districts of the city and beyond. The smartly uniformed staff keep you informed and entertained, and the views and sights are an endless source of opportunities to note for future exploration on foot. /posts/tokyo-tower-trees/ Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tokyo-tower-trees/ Last Christmas Eve I approached Tokyo Tower from a new angle for me and saw it rising as if from a forest. The Tower really is the centre about which Tokyo spins. So long a symbol of the city and still, even with the modern prevalence of high-rise buildings, visible all over the city. /posts/mori-from-tokyo/ Sun, 04 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/mori-from-tokyo/ The Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is an amazing complex with one of the best observation decks in Tokyo. This photograph of the top dozen floors or so was taken from Tokyo Tower, and if you look at the full size image you can see people behind the windows of the 52nd floor looking back at you. /posts/tokyo-prince-hotel/ Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/tokyo-prince-hotel/ This hotel, seen here from Tokyo Tower, has the feel of another era that appeals to me. Built in time for the olympics way back in 1964, it still exudes a restrained elegance echoed by what I have seen second hand of its interior. Whenever I have walked past it or looked down on it as here, I think to myself, “One day we will stay there”. Sadly too many such buildings are being razed and rebuilt, or renovated beyond recall. /posts/sports-park/ Fri, 13 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/sports-park/ The Shiba water Stations Park is a public park where kids can play football in the heart of urban Tokyo. What it must be to be able to play in the shadow of the iconic Tokyo Tower, from where this photograph was taken. One of the things I like about Tokyo are the many small oases of green scattered between the apartment blocks and business high-rises. /posts/living-city/ Sun, 11 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/living-city/ This photograph, looking over Minato city, shows in microcosm, the complexity of Tokyo. It does not take long, witnessing scenes like this, to feel that the city is a living entity. Remember you can right click on the image to access it full size - something I especially recommend for photographs like this one. /posts/wall-tiles/ Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/wall-tiles/ One of the more fascinating details of traditional Japanese buildings are their roof tiles. Often they are too high to get up close and really see the detail, but here, topping a section of wide wall around the Zojoji temple grounds near the Tokyo Tower, they are low enough to touch.