On yet another Tokyo adventure, I stayed in the Wise Owl Hostels, featuring capsule beds! They are like your own little private room; I immediately fell in love. Probably it also helped that the mattress actually had some support to it and they provided a feather pillow, compared to my room in the dormitory featuring a pillow full of beans and a mattress so thin that you can feel the wooden flats of the bed frame underneath.
This time, I visited Asakusa district and the Tokyo Sky Tree. Asakusa district harbors two large temples painted in red. While they are very impressive, they pale in comparison to the abundance of temples in Kyoto or the historic temples of Nara. Yet, the area around the temple was so packed that you just end up being pushed along with the crowd. There are also so many streets around the temples selling your typical Japanese souvenirs and food.
After Asakusa, I ventured to the Tokyo Sky Tree, with little idea of what to expect. After a 45 minute wait in line, I was directed into an elevator that accelerated so quickly that my ears popped! At the top, we opened onto a viewing deck 350 meters above the ground. The view was breathtaking.
It will come as no surprise when I say it was also very crowded here with little opportunity to be next to the windows, so after a couple of laps around this level, I proceeded down the next two levels of restaurants and a gift shop to take the elevator back to the base. It was a beautiful sight, but I am not sure if it was worth the $20 and 45 minute wait in line. There was another option to pay $30 and go to the 450 meter observation deck, But I was already so far away from the buildings that I thought I could better spend my money at the gift shop. Both of these places were great to see since I had the time, but they would not be my go to list if anyone asked me what to see in Tokyo, especially if they plan on visiting Kyoto or Nara.
