Category Archives: Travel

Growing In Tokyo – Day Three

Vitality Stories

Growing In Tokyo Day Three

Growing In Tokyo – Day Three

All aboard

Steps Taken: 10,834
Day Three (Day OneDay Two)

Today was the day. The day to brave the Tokyo Metro, or subway, comprised of 9 lines, 184 stops, and with an annual ridership of ~3.217 billion in 2014.

3.217 billion! For the sake of comparison, New York City’s subway had a ridership of 1.751 billion in 2014. ~GULP~

Yet, after two full days of walking, our back and feet weren’t up to taking 20k steps on Day 3, so we found the nearest entrance to the Ginza Line which has been running beneath the streets of Tokyo since 1927. Our destination was the Senso-Ji Temple and Nakamise-dori shopping street in Asakusa, northeast Tokyo. Continue reading

Growing in Tokyo – Day Two

Vitality Stories

Growing in Tokyo Day Two Teri Case

Growing in Tokyo – Day Two

Wake and walk

Steps taken: 20,865

The time difference between Seattle, Washington, and Tokyo, Japan, is 16 to 17 hours depending on daylight savings. Exercise seems to help us with jet lag, so after a good night’s rest, Ted and I strolled westward. Our destination was the world famous and busiest intersection in Tokyo—Shibuya Crossing.

Multiple subway lines and trains intersect underground and there is an endless flow of people onto the streets. Shibuya Crossing is also known as Shibuya Scramble. When the pedestrian light turns green, an average of 1,000 people swarm the intersection, scrambling and weaving towards one of the four corners. After forty-six seconds, most everyone has cooperated and reached their destination. And just like that, the traffic zooms by once more and by the time the walk sign flashes green again, there is another 1,000 people waiting to cross.

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