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India 7 – Taj Majal & Agra

When you think of India, the image of the Taj Mahal emerges near the top. A UNESCO World Heritage Center and one of the new seven wonders of the world, the tourists line up starting around 5 AM. It’s considered the greatest love monument ever constructed. Taj Mahal, Crown of the Palace, is an ivory white marble mausoleum built in 1643 for the wife of a maharaja, then a tomb for himself. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 for being the jewel of islamic art in India and considered regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture. More than 8 million people visit the Taj each year, and the Taj is in the most recent new Wonders of the World. It has been photographed so often that our challenge was to add something unique and distinctive.

The top image is what most tourists see at sunrise, the beautiful dome with crowds of people. When entering, there’s a security line, and men and women are in separate lines, getting patted down. The alternate image (lower-left) is right across the river, unknown to most except the locals. Farmers, motorbikes, and locals walking home were all using the road for every day, living with the monument in the background. On the lower-right is a shot with the Indian flag.

Here are some more interesting images of the Taj that we captured this time. When you want reflections, you can bring your own bottle of water and create your own tiny pool (Top Left). Then there’s framing the building with other architectural features across a courtyard (top right), using leading lines toward sunset (bottom left), and the straight shot from across the river. Of interest, the four minarets were designed to tilt away from the dome in case of a disaster, and not fall into the dome. By getting in line well before dawn and beating the crowd, we were able to capture a number of images without tourists.

Unfortunately, the river in front of the Taj is full of garbage, which is a major eye sore throughout India. With so many people needing work, it seems like setting a goal of clean and green could be a tremendous boost for tourism and help create jobs in India, which has become the most populous country. Unfortunately, 83 of the cities in India have been designated the most polluted in the top 100 list in the world. It took China a decade to clean up their air quality, and get off the list.

In the past, you could hire a boatmen to take you on a sunset ride in front of the Taj. Now, there are boundaries controlled by the coast guard where no boats can enter in front of the Taj for security reasons. Mehmet managed to hire one old boat captain with a rickety wooden boat, where he was baling excess water from the bottom of the boat before we arrived. There were no seats except literally sitting on the top deck of the boat(with no benches nor seats), and the balance was sensitive. To capture the reflections, only one person was allowed to stand at a time, and the boat would rock, and we worried whether we would fall off into the current. There was a strong current, so it was not an easy task for the boat captain to get back to the other side of the river. Apparently, he has no mobile phone, nor any easy way to contact him, and he does not legally have a permit. He is unofficially “grandfathered” in, and guards turn a blind eye to his small daily trips out to the river. The location with the Taj in the background was great for instagrammers and wedding shoots. The TV show the Amazing Race Film Crew was there, setting up to film their next segment.

Nearby was a marble shop demonstrating how precious stones are inserted into the marble. This shop follows the traditions originally used by the Taj Mahal creators. Each stone is finely ground (top-middle). When the artist showed us the gem (upper-right), I was amazed at tiny the piece was. It is then precisely placed onto the piece being created (upper-left), to result in a finished product, such as seen lower-left.

Of course, we had to have our own memories of the Taj Mahal, so we bought this cutting board (lower-right).

Chand Baori step well is one of the largest and deepest step wells in India. There are 3500 steps leading down this 13-story well, with a palace on the back side.l As mentioned before, we had never heard of step wells until this trip, and they turn out to be architectural masterpieces. Mehmet was always searching for models to walk up and down the stairs to show the scale, though many of the wells had barriers and guards to prevent anyone from entering the steps.

These people were hanging out next to the Stepwell. The boys were in a contest wanting us to take their photos (lower-left).

Agra was once the capital city of India, so you will enjoy seeing forts, mausoleums, and other monuments. In Agra is the Agra Fort, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638.

We last visited the Taj Mahal in 1995, before we got serious about photography. This time we were able to see this monument from many more viewpoints, including one where we walked across nylon fighting kite strings across the field to see reflections of the Taj on a river filled with garbage (the string and garbage was carefully edited out of the photos we shared).

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India 6 – Ranthambore Bengal Tiger

Seeing a Royal Bengal Tiger in the wild, a fantasy or reality? At the Ranthambore National Park Tiger Reserve near Jaipur, we spotted our first wild tiger by sheer luck and Mehmet’s lucky bangles. After three 3-hour game drives, we had all given up since the park closed in 30 minutes. Our guide got a phone call, which is not allowed, and asked us to hang onto our seat belts. After bouncing over the long dirt road, we spotted four jeeps all lined up on the bridge, which meant there was no place for another jeep. One by one, the jeeps started to leave, which meant the tiger was leaving. From our obscured position, all we could see was brush moving and heard roaring sounds. We were deflated. The driver took us to paths they anticipated the tiger might travel, but no luck.

Finally, driving back toward the bridge, the driver saw tiger tracks and yells out that he thinks the tiger moved across the road. We flipped a U-turn and turned down a side road, and there was our tiger standing on the road, marking its territory, then finally walking away! It was an incredible shock to see a tiger totally unobstructed. We felt so very lucky, after almost giving up hope of ever seeing one at the end of the third game drive.

Being able to see a Bengal Tiger in the wild is like winning the Lottery. Ranthanbore National Park has one of the more complex game drive system we’ve encountered. We were told this was the same system for all Indian Tiger Reserves. Apparently, the ticket counter opens at 9:00 am for the morning drive, and ticket holders get in iine to get their assigned guide and jeep (+driver), which may take another 30 minutes. You cannot make a request for a specific driver nor guide nor route. Then you get assigned one of 20+ trails by a random generator, and cannot deviate. It is rumored that it is more likely you will see a tiger in zones 1-6, so we were deflated to get assigned zone 11. A couple of times, we were within 200 meters of a spotted tiger in the adjacent zone, yet chains and cameras prevented the drivers from crossing their assigned zone without substantial penalties. There are also rules where you cannot do a u-turn to return to a site, so we saw several jeeps driving backwards. You also need to check out on time, even if the ticket office delayed your start time.

There are fewer than 75 Royal Bengal Tigers , the largest and most majestic species, in existence in the wild in the world. They are scattered in this 515-acre park, of which only 20% of the park is accessible to the public. Note that each tiger is territorial, so there has been a naming system developed. Our tigress above was named Aishwarya, and is recognizable by her different shaped eye. When we finally caught up with our other jeep, they found the tigress perched on a hill (center bottom), watching some deer below, who were unaware of the tigress’s presence.

There are many types of animals you can see along the way. For the most part, we had tiger on our minds and determined to spend most of our time searching for the elusive tiger. Every drive started with seeing the cute tree owls (top row). There were hundreds of little birds everywhere we turned. Ranhambore is one of the largest national parks in Northern India, and was once considered as one of the major hunting grounds of the maharajas.

Other animals along the way included monkeys, crocodiles, spotted deer, sloth bears, sambar deer (the favorite meat of the tigers), wild boars, squirrels, mongooses, and other mammals. Going on a game drive is not as romantic as it sounds. It involves miles of boring driving around on a dusty bumpy road seeing nothing but whichever animal randomly crosses the road, because the jeeps cannot go off road. Occasionally, you spot an animal or bird that is close to the road and unobstructed by tree branches and brush. Being in the wild, the animals have no set times when they cross the roads, and you can easily miss seeing an animal within minutes, since there’s no communication for the drivers to contact other drivers to locate the animals. Then, you’re not allowed to deviate from your assigned route, even to an adjacent zone. This is SO different than our experience in Africa.

Our group had two jeeps with two rows of seats, plus the driver and guide in front. This image shows Tim with his large lens, while Alene looks on.

When doing the game drives, this is the type of environment we found. Mostly barren, which allows the best unobstructed animal viewing. There are few places for the animals to hide.

Interesting items we found in some of the shops in Pushkar.

Enroute to the National Park, we stopped at Pushkar. It has changed a lot since our last visit. When we attended the Pushkar Camel Festival in 1995, the streets were not yet paved and the vendors were not as well organized.

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India 5 – Jaipur, The Pink City

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and holds the distinction of being the first planned city in India. It is also called the “Pink City” and is a destination for romance. This metropolis combines the advantages of a new city with the charm of an ancient heritage city. It has magnificent palaces, forts, temples, parks, and step wells. In addition to the heritage and rich history, Jaipur is also known for their textiles and colored gems. As mentioned before, we visited Jaipur in 1995 enroute to see the Pushkar camel fair and only remember seeing Hawa Mahal and the silly tourist elephants riding up to the fort. It’s funny how you can return to the same place and not recognize it.

Above are images of the Amber Fort. Perched high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amber Palace and Amber Fort are considered as one destination. Both structures are connected by an underground path which was built as an escape for the Royal Family.

We just got introduced to our first stepwell in Rajasthan. We had no clue these architectural gems existed. It turns out that Stepwells are wells, cisterns or ponds with a long corridor of steps that go down to the water level. These structures are quite ingenious in a desert environment or under drought conditions, and provided year-round access to ground water in ancient times. They were often quite decorated with ornate designs, and became monuments. We saw our first stepwell in Jaipur, Panna Meena Ka Kund, which was built in the 16th Century to store water. Located near the Amber Fort, it is an 8-story gem. It’s quite an engineering feat as it appears endless and is quite mesmerizing. It is now closed for people to walk down due to a tragic fall by a visitor.

Here are some views from Jal Mahal, a stunning palace known for its unique architectural beauty and picturesque setting on a lake with strong reflections, as well as images from the interiors of the Amber Palace.

You can walk up to the Amber Fort or ride an elephant up on baskets. There are also wonderful musicians with their hat out to collect donations.

Jaipir is known for their textiles, so we saw several demos by craftsmen. This is one form. The cloth material is embedded with crystals that change color with time. In normal production, the stamped cloth is placed in the sun for up to two weeks to reveal the final pattern. This demonstration used special solutions to speed up the process.

The artist first uses a single color dye on a stamp (upper left), and shows us the red elephant scene (second row-left). After rinsing the cloth to accelerate the normal sunshine treatment (third row-left), he cleans it with water (bottom-left), then holds up the image in its final multi-color form (right).

Local Markets have a lot of crafts and textiles for sale.

Hawa Mahal is a 5-story palace adjacent to the royal ladies quarters. Built out of red and pink sandstone, there are 953 windows, where the royal ladies could peek at life outside the palace, including seeing parades and local people without themselves being seen.

In 1995, we only saw the facade in a mid-afternoon harsh light. This time, we had a chance to climb up to a restaurant across the street as well as steps inside, to see the palace from different perspectives. It looks somewhat like a honeycomb and considered a must-see when you visit Jaipur.

Indian women dress well, even when they’re out in the field. These were women that we stopped to photograph enroute to Jaipur (bottom). It’s always startling and jaw-dropping seeing how bulk items are transported along the roads in India (top).

In a city known for their textiles, Evelyn decided to see the different ways to wear scarves.

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India 4 – Jodhpur, The Blue City

Jodhpur is the second largest city in Rajasthan and popularly known as the Blue City of India, for its blue painted buildings in the old districts. Jodhpur is also filled with forts, temples, palaces, murals, friendly people, havelis(mansions with historic and architectural significance), and located in the arid Thar Desert. It is a strategic military site for the Indian Air Force, as it is only 250 km from the Pakistan border. Jodhpur has a population of more than a million and now declared as a metropolitan city.

We last visited Jodhpur in 1995, but didn’t see the same places. It is amazing how having a different focus gets you to see more. Back in 1995, wee were on a trekking tour to see the Pushkar Camel Fair, and on this tour, we were on a photographic mission to discover many of the hidden visual gems from a totally different perspective and under great light conditions. We frequently skip regular meals times on this type of trip, to capture the best light.

Above is an image of our photo group shooting from the hill facing towards Jaswant Thada, an architectural marvel made out of intricately carved white marble and known as the Taj Mahal of Marwar. It was built as a memorial to the Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, and a graveyard site for the subsequent Marwar rulers.

At sunrise, you can see the white marble masterpiece in the foreground with the Mehrangarh Fort located above at the highest point overlooking the city. In the late afternoon, we again photographed the view over the Blue City with the Mehrangarh Fort in the background.

We then went to the neighborhood located at the very end of the Blue City. There is a helmet law for people on motorbikes, but it is ignored by about half the riders. In particular, it is common to see a single motorcycle with entire families including as many as 3 children plus 2 adults… and no helmet in sight. We did see two collisions between cars and motorcycles, but they were always low speed accidents where the there was never more than a bruise or two resulting. After some harsh words between the drivers, both always went on their way.

Continuous horns can be heard. We have heard many explanations for the constant honking. First we were told there is a law that if a car hits a pedestrian but honks first, the car is not at fault, since the pedestrian was warned. However, I can find no verification of such a law, and one driver told me that the driver is automatically at fault in any such collision, regardless of circumstances. Others have said (and personal experience supports) that it is a way to notify others nearby that you are there. Given the chaotic driving, where lanes are totally ignored as vehicles go in every possible direction, there is some logic to that. And there, there is the simple frustration fact. Traffic in India is almost always at a logjam and standstill, and people honk when they are angry at the delay — just as they do in New York or any other city in the world.

In short, India is a very noisy place. Do not expect to find much quiet anywhere in the cities here…!

Carrying large loads is often a balancing act. You will sometimes see a large flatbed cart filled with bags and wonder how any person can push it. More often though, the streets are so crowded that the people just carry their large loads on their heads, as they weave through the heavy street traffic. Though large loads are usually balanced with at least one hand (top row and lower-left), we also often saw people (usually women) walking with perfect poise and balancing their load on the head with no support from any hands.

We toured the neighborhood that is popularly known as the Blue City. The neighborhood was once painted exclusively blue as a visible symbol of the caste of those living there. The rule requiring such obvious display of caste has been abolished though, and many people chose to change the color of their buildings. As such, blue buildings are now only found in small clusters. It is another chaotic part of the city, filled with people, motorbikes, tuk tuks and cars. Pedestrians beware.

in Jodhpur, we photographed the vibrant market known as Sardar Market. This is also the neighborhood located in the very beginning of the Blue City. You see lots of fresh produce and large vats of street food being prepared at the market.

Everything is for sale, from fresh fruits and vegetable to dry goods. We have seen open markets like this worldwide.

Many handicrafts were being made in small stalls along the way, with the artisans happy to demonstrate their techniques, hoping you will then buy some of their wares. Above are a few artisans weaving baskets or decorating clay pots.

Universally, you can see the loving parent and child bond. In India, we noticed a lot of children and very young people. Nearly half of the country’s population is below the age of 25. Also, 25% of the population are in the 0-14 year old category. This year, India surpassed China as the #1 most populous country. India’s GDP is growing around 7% a year, yet you wonder where so many young people will find jobs in the future.

The women in India always dress quite well. They dress up to go to the market, getting water from the well, and even when they’re working in the agricultural fields. You continually see a display of bright colors and beautiful embroidery in traditional clothing whenever you visit the local markets. The men, on the other hand, are generally dressed in drab, western pants and shirts.

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India 3 – Amritsar – Golden Temple and Border Ceremony

One of the highlights of our trip to India was seeing The Golden Temple in Amritsar. Amritsar is the center of Sikhism, and the Harmabdir Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) is the holiest shrine in Sikhism. It is the chief pilgrimage destination of the Sikhs living abroad and outside the city. Amritsar is the heart of the state of Punjab and the second largest city in Punjab housing 1.4 million people located in Northern India. There are more than 150,000 visitors who come to worship daily.

We visited both at sunset and again the following sunrise, hoping to capture some quieter moments. We often target our destination visits during the golden hour and the Blue Hour, to capture the best light. The Golden Hour is the hour after sunrise and before sundown, while the Blue Hour is a bit before sunrise and after sunset (so called caused because the sky turns into a deep blue to the camera).

It is a long way to walk before reaching the Sikh complex. We had to take a tuk tuk from our bus to the boundary of the town, then walk through the town. It is quite crowded on the streets, before you reach the entrance of the Golden Tempe. Once you reach the Temple, neither socks nor shoes are allowed due to the religion’s requirement of purification and sanitation. The water through which you must walk bare-foot is cold and slimy, and the marble slippery. As such, westerners like us pause before stepping across the threshold. After passing through the purification pool, you must walk barefoot directly on the cold marble or the walking mats for the remainder to your time in the temple. If you are not accustomed to walking on hard, cold marble, your feet will tell you the next day

Once inside the temple grounds, we walked the circumference of the pool to get our bearings and decide which would provide the best night-time angles. The complex is quite large, and the block of images above are only a portion of the images we captured after the sun went down and the lights went on.

Right around 6:30 pm, the building lights are slowly turned on, and the complex slowly lights up, until you see mesmerizing building reflections on the pond. It seems surreal, especially against a dark, blue sky. The pond in front of the Golden Temple is called Amrit Samovar, or the Pool of Nectar Immortality.

There are security guards all dressed in blue with their javelins (top-left) who appreciated posing for the tourists around the temple.

We returned the following morning to capture images without as many people in the scene. The Sikh religion prides itself on community service, and one of its most visible works is feeding the poor every day. Anyone can walk in and ask for a free meal, regardless of your origin or religious beliefs. We first stopped in their community kitchen to watch them cook these meals and hand them out to anyone who asked. It was raining when we left the community kitchen to watch the cleansing ritual, and the tile was extremely slippery, especially around the bathing area.

Devotees dip into the holy manmade pool known as Amrit Sarovar, and the water is believed to have healing powers. Women come in fully clothed, whereas men don bathing shorts and robes. Many also hold a heavy chain to lower themselves into the water. The turbans above are decked out with a small machete on top. This Sikhs welcome women as well as outsiders to bathe in the pool.

Anyone can take a dip in Samovar (pool of nectar), but the use of soap and shampoo is prohibited as is swimming. Before entering the Temple, an important step is washing your feet to keep the floors clean.

Pilgrams come to pray at the holy shrine 24/7, and many sit along the edge of the pond to pray and meditate. After 3:00 AM, the crowds have dissipated. This is a spiritual pilgrimage site, holy and pure, and in the early morning hours, the reflections of the buildings and energy are incredible. A note that the Temple is built with marble but plated with real gold.

Every day is a colorful, boisterous ceremony of the changing of the guards at the border crossing between India and Pakistan, called Atari-Wagah Border Ceremony. Just before sunset there is a blustery parade by Border Security Forces from both countries, which ends with the lowering of the flags for both sides. It feels like watching a finale at a high school football game, with both sides cheering. Even the cheer-leading patrol soldiers get into it by high stepping then leading the crowds to chants.

The Indian crowds can be seen in the left column, while the right column includes a few images of the military that was keeping order in our part of the stands (where the foreigners received premium seating).

The Changing of the Guard is a highly choreographed event held daily by both the Indian and Pakistani armies on their sides of the border gate. Though our seats were considered premium, it was actually hard to see much of what was going on, due to the copious security fences places around the parade grounds.

Both sides emphasized much high-stepping marching, with the solder’s foot reaching all the way to his nose. We could barely see through the Pakistani side, though a small gap in the security gate allowed the image of their building (top-middle), The Pakistani also had a one-legged person doing some whirling dervish dancing, though we were barely able to see it from our side (top-left).

In essence, there were no photo taking opportunity like the event documentation we saw on YouTube, which was clearly shot from the stands above. That excellent view of the events was blocked off and only only available to military VIPs.

The audience was boisterous through the entire event. Many of them showed their patriotism by painting Indian flags on their faces.

Attari-Wagah Border Ceremony at the India/Pakistan border , also called Beating Retreat border ceremony. Because of crowd control, we were not able to move away from our assigned seats, but this video hopefully can show the atmosphere of the ceremony.

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India 2 – Old Dehli

The sounds of honking motorbikes, tuk tuks (auto rickshaws), and cars were incessant in Old Dehli. We were told that if a vehicle honks its horn and there’s an accident, then the driver is not at fault, since he warned the other person. People say to the other party that they’re sorry and move on or simply hit and run. The traffic was chaotic, and it’s a wonder why there are not more collisions and incidences with serious injuries. Many times, we were gently pushed aside while walking down the alleys as two tuks tuks were trying to get by from opposite directions down alleys meant for only one vehicle. Of course, the motorbikes simply went in-between both. See video clip below for a sense of the traffic.

Old Dehli is the most historic part of Dehli, while New Dehli was designed by the British during colonial times. Old Dehli officially became New Dehli on 13 February 1931. The British destroyed membrances of the old moghal past by destroying mosques, gardens and other historic features during its rule.

Dehli was destroyed 7 times through its history. However you can still see parts of the walled city and the fort. The older part of Dehli is quite colorful and photogenic. Just don’t get caught in the line of rickshaws carrying 72 tourists from Trump supporters coming the opposite direction! (yes, they came through as a caravan of 36 tuk-tuks, totally bringing all traffic in the narrow alleys to a standstill)

There are many street food eateries to try out — if you have the nerve to do so. We took a street food tour on an earlier visit to India in 2019 and were assured at the time that each eatery had been vetted, and sanitized, and did not get sick.

Some of the alleys had so many electric lines running above ground, that it was a photographic moment (upper-left). You can still see people getting their ears cleaned (center) and haircuts in public view.

A note– India has just surpassed China as the most populous country, now exceeding 1.4 billion people. Though India is 3 times smaller than the US, it has more than 4 times the number of people (1.4 billion vs 337 million). It is difficult to create enough jobs for all the young people entering the work force. India has done an amazing job of economic growth in the past couple decades, but if jobs cannot be created fast enough for this new generation, trouble is likely on the horizon.

There are signs everywhere stating no videos or photography is allowed at the Sikh temple. Apparently, instagramers have been posting videos with the reliqious buildings in the backgrounds and there has been a backlash against disrespecting of the religious site. After listening to a brief lecture on the Sikh religion, the Sikh leader told us that it was acceptable for us to photograph if we were praying, which explains the poses above. We were required to cover our hair and to wear neither socks nor shoes. Others in our group included Mehmet (upper-right), and Pansi with Tim (middle-right).

View a quick 60 second segment showing the traffic chaos along the streets of New Delhi. Believe it or not, actually being there feels far more chaotic than the video can communicate! (This video looks better if you click the “watch on YouTube” link in lower-left)

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India 1 – New Dehli

In 2019, we passed through Dehli, enroute to the Holi Festival. At that time, we stayed in the Old City and took a culinary tour tasting the Indian Street foods at hole in the wall eateries where much of the food was deep fried. On this current photographic scouting tour with Mehmet and his Fantastic Photo Tours, we had a chance to explore a number of other landmarks in Dehli. Humayum’s Tomb, a mausaleum belonging to Isa Khan, and a mosque with an ancient minaret where the women in pink was gracious to pose walking between the columns.

We had a chance to explore the Jama Mosque, seen above. It was fun photographing the Indian people as they welcomed us taking their photos. The family brought bird seeds to feed the pigeons, and the mom asked if we could photograph her and her 3 kids (upper right). At the mosque, we were required to take off both shoes and socks, so walking on the pebbly hard kernels of corn and bird seed ached. Capturing shadows across archways (upper left) and capturing reflections (top-middle) enhanced the experience.

Before sunset, we photographed the Sikh temple known as Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. Sikhism, which has influences from Hinduism, became a separate religion 500 years ago. Only a small portion of the Sikh live in Dehli with the majority living in Punjab. What is special about the Sikh is their generosity and universal acceptance of all humanity, regardless of religion or lack of religious belief.

At the Blue Hour (an hour after sunset), we had a chance to photograph the India Gate (to commemorate fallen British soldiers from 1914-1919). There is also a canopy where the statue of King George V, a deceased Emperor of India, is on display. As with many national monuments, there are rules about not allowing photographers to use their tripods. Part of being on scouting tours is that the rules aren’t known until a government official chews you out. On this long day, we ended with more than 25,000 steps and we were sore the following day.

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Tokyo 3 – Jellyfish, Buddhist Temple, Vending Machines

After watching the sumo wrestler’s training session, we visited the Sumida Aquarium in Oshiage, located on the 5th and 6th floor of the Tokyo Skytree. We almost skipped this aquarium as we couldn’t find the entry from inside the Skytree building. It turns out you can only enter from an outside courtyard, but there were no directional signs we could understand. We’re glad we made the extra effort, as it is a beautiful medium-size aquarium with a wonderful display of jellyfish. What is unique is the use of artificial sea water (instead of transporting ocean salt water) making it easier to maintain the aquarium.

The aquarium also has a surface pool with jellyfish. Burt is having fun photographing the pool (top middle).

We also enjoyed seeing the 50+ Magellanic penguins, turtles and other amphibians. At feeding time, the penguins line up for their meals.

We watched tourists riding the old fashion rickshaws touring the Asakusa district and posing for their shots in front of the Tokyo Skytower. We also went bar hopping in Shinjuku, and Burt even sang an Earth, Wind and Fire song at a Karaoke bar, all part of celebrating his birthday (and trust me… you do NOT want to hear a recording of it !). All it takes are glasses of Sake to get into the mood to celebrate.

The Asakusa Sensoji Temple is one of the most visited sites in Tokyo. This is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple. Although touristy, the architecture is quite intricate and you get a chance to meander through the shopping street filled with eateries, crafts, shops. There are various rituals required before entering the temple, including getting a fortune(op left), and cleansing routines, such as spreading smoke from burning incense(top right) or water.

We toured various Buddhist temples in the Yanaka Ginza neighborhoods. It was raining the entire period we were in Tokyo, sprinkled with a few hours of sunshine. The air always felt clean, but we were wearing our thermal underwear in this unseasonably cold stretch. In Japan, we always felt safe and there was the sense of politeness, calm, elegance and friendliness we love about Japan. There was no trash, no graffiti, no homeless. We plan to return and explore other parts of Japan.

In Tokyo vending machines are everywhere, including at bus and metro stops, in apartment buildings, in the middle of parking lots, in public parks, office buildings. They are prolific. You can find vending machines for snacks, soft drinks, coffee, water, tea, beer. You can use your credit card everywhere. Even at the airports, the scan machines are efficient, with face recognition.

The jellyfish display at the Skytower Aquarium was a delight.

Before entering a temple, one is required to cleanse themselves. One option is to use smoke from the burning incense to clean; another option is to use water.
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Tokyo 2 – Tuna Auction and Fish Market

A fun part of traveling is finding great places to eat. We really enjoyed our meals in Tokyo, not only for its freshness in ingredients, but also for the unique types of food. For one birthday meal, Burt selected eel for lunch. Then for another meal, we were shown some of the best sushi restaurants right at the Toyusa Fish Market Auction area. We experienced the best grilled octopus ever, that practically melted in our mouths instead of being chewie. The best surprise was tasting the wagyu beef, which is considered Japan’s national living treasure. The genetics of the Wagyu cow yielded one of the best beefs in the world, and comes in multiple grades, including the chautebriand level we tasted, which is one level below the Kobe beef. It has the right fat marbling content, which simply melted in our mouths. We understand that even Hawaii sends its cattle to Japan to process.

One interesting cultural bit is that almost all restaurants have plastic replicas of their meals displayed in the window. The images above are of a few of these plastic meals. They allow the customer to see how the food will be served before they even enter the restaurant. For non-Japanese speakers, it allows people like us to just point to the meal we want to order.

The Tsukiji Fish Market was a delight to explore though it was totally packed with both tourists and locals. There were lots of small eateries that served everything from fresh oyster chucking, fresh shell fish, fried scallops. You could snack your way across the market (as we did), or take home fresh ingredients.

Every day, the Toyosu Market tuna auction is conducted between 5:00-6:30 AM for wholesalers, and within an hour, all the fresh and frozen tuna are sold out. Each tuna is sold within 90 seconds at auction, and all bids are conducted with hand signals. The largest consumers of tuna are in the US and Japan.

Toward the end of the auction, the higher valued Bluefin tuna are bid, and on Jan 5, 2024, the bid went up to 114 million yen ($775,000), which was three times higher than any previous sale. It is common for sales to reach 3 Million yen ($20,000) for a single bluefin tuna fish. Toward the end of the auction, local restaurants can come in to bid the runts for less money. Visitors are only allowed to view through glass from the second floor (which is where these photos were taken).

There are many other wholesale food sold at the same market, including fresh fruits and vegetables. The entire warehouse is massive, and it is hard to imagine how much food is stored there, but it is all sold each morning, leaving nothing but empty boxes by noon.

There are knife sharpening specialists where all the top chefs in major Japanese restaurants bring their knives to sharpen (top-right and lower-right). Evelyn and Burt are poised in front of the restaurant whose owner sold a Bluefin Tuna for 3 Million yen, or $20,000 (center).

Some species of the adult Bluefin tuna is becoming critically endangered. About 80% of the caught bluefin tuna are consumed in Japan. The bluefin tuna is known for its rich buttery texture and succulent flavor and sought after in high end restaurants worldwide. Bluefin tuna can live up to 40 years and migrate across all oceans.

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Tokyo 1 – Sumo, Old Town, Skyline

Enroute to India, there was a one stop with an 18-hour layover in Tokyo going across the Pacific Ocean, or a multi-stop route from HNL-LAX-JFK-DEL across the Atlantic Ocean. Each route took more than 30 hours. Since it was Burt’s birthday, we decided to celebrate by laying over and exploring Tokyo. We’ve fallen in love with Japan after spending only 4 days in Tokyo.

The first stop on Burt’s birthday was to watch a sumo wrestling training session in an authentic Sumo Stable in Oshiage. Sumo is Japan’s national sport and a form of martial arts. The training is quite rigorous. It starts early in the morning, follows a set of rituals, a complex set of behavior, and intense exercise routines. There are also matches, which are fought within a 15′ circle. The winner either pushes his opponent out of the ring, or forces an opponent to have any part of his body other than his feet touch the ground.

We had envisioned all sumo wrestlers weighing more than 300 pounds and being quite obese. Though sumo wrestlers eat more than 7000 calories a day, they have low cholesterol levels, don’t suffer from heart attacks, strokes or other typical signs of obesity. The owner of this stable (bottom right), was ranked no. 2 in the top division, yet he is quite slender. The man who won many of the practice sessions we watched was also quite muscular and thin (upper-right and middle). There are no weight classes in sumo, unlike boxing. The strongest wins, no matter what his weight, and can easily be paired off against someone many times his size.

There are 6 divisions in sumo, with ranking determined solely by their win-loss record. Sumo wrestlers start training at age of 15 and retire by the age of 30. There are 6 tournaments a year, on every odd month, and the number of wins in these matches determine the ranking. There are 44 sumo stables in Tokyo, and 800 professional sumo wrestlers worldwide.

For Burt’s birthday week, we also explored the historic side of Tokyo in the charming neighborhood Yanaka Ginza. It is filled with many tiny shops and eateries, shrines, and alleys, and has much character. This area is also known for their cats, and a great place to shop for souvenirs and great place for a coffee or tea stop.

We were impressed how clean the city was. We did not see trash on the ground, nor any graffiti, There are no public trash cans, and it is expected that “if you can carry it full, then you can carry it back home empty.” Everything was well maintained.

Whenever we travel to a major city, we enjoy going on walking tours. To explore Tokyo, we found a group of locals who created some unique itineraries, including this tour of Yanaka.

It was surprising to us how little English was written or spoken around Tokyo. Even the names of bus stops, metro lines are all written in Japanese Kanji characters. We were able to get around with Google Translate though, even giving directions from Google Map to the taxi drivers.

On our walking tour of the older part of Tokyo, we stopped at this shrine and cemetery (right column).

This is a view of the Tokyo Skytree from our hotel bathroom (yes, the hotel boasts of its view of the tower from the bathroom!). The lighting of the radio tower changes color during the night.

We were shocked to find how cold it was in Tokyo at this time of year. It rained every day and the forecast was for snow one day when we visited, which is why the left image above is shrouded in mist from the rain of the first night. Fortunately there was one clear night, which allowed us to capture the other two images of the tower.

The main bedroom of our hotel provided a view of the city skyline and the main elevated road below. Downtown is filled with high rise buildings and traffic can get quite congested.

The 96 second video shows some of the routines from the intense 2-1/2 hour practice session at an authentic sumo wrestling stable.

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