tokyo: ikebukuro & ryogoku sumo town

[mrnyc]

tokyo: ikebukuro and ryogoku -- w/ bonus akihabara station

ikebukuro is in nw tokyo

All about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebukuro

i had to go to ikebukuro to go to the mighty bic camera to get a new memory card - ha no doubt most of you could relate!
http://www.biccamera.co.jp/shoplist/honten_english.html

afterward, i really liked the neighborhood so i decided to stick around and hang out…

ikebukuro station - 2.71M riders per day!!! that’s 2nd busiest in japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebukuro_Station


inside the station




seibu department store
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seibu_Department_Stores








this place was packed with locals and i just couldn’t resist so i had to go in…but why u ask?


…conveyor belt sushi that’s why!




after that it was time for some pachinko, why not?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachinko




the game is idiotically mind-numbing and the pachinko joints are hellishly loud.
i can see the attraction, but…


you can turn these in for prizes -- it’s hardly vegas, more like at your local catholic church festival level


bigger than big burgers and a ramen ticket machine






some berzerker hotel, howja like that in your downtown?! and aww look neko wants to come in


so this is it from ikebukuro - kind of a quieter version of shinjuku or shibuya
glad I stuck around to check it out!


***

ryogoku is just se of asakusa -- this is the neighborhood the sumo wrestlers live in
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3022.html
sumo basho (tournament) info:
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/


edo-tokyo museum
http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english/




pretty good looking tower






ekoin temple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ek%C5%8D-in

An ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Hiroshige, showing the Ekōin's tower for the drum roll signifying the start of a sumo tournament, from 100 Famous Views of Edo.



sumo kokugikan arena (1985) is the 4th major tokyo sumo arena - the 1st was built in 1909
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/ticket/hon...oho/tokyo.html



inside the kokugikan







this is an olde sumo match scene from inside the sumo museum -
i don’t think you were really supposed to take pics in there so that’s all you get, but very worthwhile -
there was a lot of very cool historic stuff inside


spotted at last -- a sumo guy going in !!!




sumo guy on a bike!


statues of champion sumo guys along the street


a sea captain and his…motorcycle?


an old mural along the tracks of rogokyu train station


a sumo guy walkin down the block!


now that’s a LOT of bike commuter parking!!!




sumo guy taking a cab!


the 100 yen shop is tokyo’s version of our 99 cent store
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2077.html


a sumo guy takes the subway!


edo-tokyo museum from the ryogoku station (1904)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dgoku_Station


***

finally, we’re heading back over the sumida river to akihabara


akihabara station (1890)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_Station


i could not help but be charmed to see astroboy (tetsuwan atomu), the original anime hero
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_Boy




some views from akiba eki !!!




neat bullet train (shinkansen) ad there


howz that for a freakin metro map???
-- eat yr heart out rest of the world!!!


last is just outside akiharaba station



*** i hope you enjoyed touring ikebukuro, ryogoku sumotown and a little bonus of akihabara station ***

[pip]

I have got to get there and check it out. Great photos

[highriser1]

I enjoy these pics of Tokyo.

[Zorak]

The Sea captain next to his motorcycle looks like Captain Okita from Space Battleship Yamato. It's hard to tell but that could be the Yamato on the left side of the sign above the door. In the US we knew it as the Argo and the show was called Star Blazers.

[photoLith]

Tokyo may be ridiculously dense but it leaves something to be desired architecturally.

[blade_bltz]

Originally Posted by photolitherland

Tokyo may be ridiculously dense but it leaves something to be desired architecturally.

But Tokyo isn't ridiculously dense compared with its high-rising Asian peers. The charm is its walkability and livability, combined with the insane vibrancy from having such a huge population. And it all works out thanks to the greatest transit system in the world!

[ChiTownCity]

I love that building in the 2nd to last pic... Tokyo is my dream city...

[northbay]

Originally Posted by blade_bltz

But Tokyo isn't ridiculously dense compared with its high-rising Asian peers. The charm is its walkability and livability, combined with the insane vibrancy from having such a huge population. And it all works out thanks to the greatest transit system in the world!

well said. sums it up.

great photos, thanks for sharing!!

[nito]

Originally Posted by blade_bltz

But Tokyo isn't ridiculously dense compared with its high-rising Asian peers. The charm is its walkability and livability, combined with the insane vibrancy from having such a huge population. And it all works out thanks to the greatest transit system in the world!

Have to agree with this.

In some ways Tokyo reminds me of London - you get the big brash buildings and thoroughfares, but go behind there and you've got hundreds of windy lanes which while composed of detached homes retains density and a human-scale.


When I was Ikebukuro just over a year ago, I ended up going to the top of one of the department stores for some pretty crazy views.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Zorak

The Sea captain next to his motorcycle looks like Captain Okita from Space Battleship Yamato. It's hard to tell but that could be the Yamato on the left side of the sign above the door. In the US we knew it as the Argo and the show was called Star Blazers.

aah good eye! indeed inbetween the captain and the motorcycle it says 'yamato' (and then a little kanji i dont recognize right off). i thought he looked familiar. here he seems to be pimping a konbini (convenience store). dont ya love japan?