A nice thing to do after visiting Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree is to walk south along the Sumida River. It is possible to go all the way to Tokyo Bay on foot (for example, ending at Harumi Passenger Ship Terminal). In this post, I stopped at Tsukiji, after making a detour by Tsukishima Island, where the Sumida River forks into 2 channels before reaching Tokyo Bay.
The Sumida River (隅田川; Sumida-gawa) is a river in eastern Tokyo that starts at the Iwabuchi Sluice Gate in Kita and flows into Tokyo Bay. There is a walkway along its bank almost everywhere along the way. Here are photos of the walk starting from Asakusa and going north to Minami-Senju, in Arakawa City.
Above, Sumida River from the Tokyo Skytree observatory.
The Otama Walking Trail is a nice and easy 8km trail in Okutama, in western Tokyo. It follows the valley formed by the Tama River from Kori station to Okutama station. I had already followed the section of the trail in Hatonosu Valley last autumn but I came back for the whole trail in spring. It took me about 3.5 hours to reach Okutama.
In May, starting at Kameido station, I walked east towards Edogawa City, until I reached the Arakawa River. I then crossed it in order to visit Funabori Tower Hall and its observatory. I went back to the other side of the Arakawa and walked along the Kyu-Nakagawa River (旧中川) then turned west at the Kitajukken River (北十間川), which goes all the way to the Sumida River, passing in front of the Tokyo Skytree. I ended the day with the Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa.
Minato City is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo. In April, I walked from Shinbashi to Roppongi, visiting some of the many shrines and temples of the area along the way.
Continuing the visit to the temples and shrines of Asakusa. First, Imado Shrine, which claims to be the birthplace of the maneki neko (beckoning cat).
Asakusa has a large number of shrines and temples in easy walking distance from each other. There is even a pilgrimage of the 7 Lucky Gods, where you can go through a few of those shrines and collect stamps along the way. For myself, I did my own pilgrimage last April. Starting in Uguisudani, the least used station of the JR Yamanote line and finishing at Senso-ji, I visited:
After the boat ride, I walked on the north bank of Lake Kawaguchi until I reached the Fuji Omuro Sengen Shrine, Mount Fuji’s oldest shrine. I then took a bus to the train station.
After Mount Toyama, I headed towards Kanmangafuchi Abyss (憾満ヶ淵), a short riverside trail in a gorge not far from the World Heritage sites. It is also known for its 70 Jizo stone statues.
