Hello! As you may have read last week, I had a great time at the Star Wars exhibition at the top of Tokyo Skytree. You can read more about that on last week’s post, but today I must tell you about Skytree itself because there is plenty more to say! I would thoroughly recommend it as a day out or place to meet friends because there is plenty to see and do. The complex is huge – it has a large food court, hundreds of food stalls (like in department stores such as Matsuzakaya), an ice-skating rink, many yummy restaurants, aaaaand shops after shops after shops. I was with lots of family members of three generations and there is certainly something for everyone.
On New Year’s Day the crowds were ridiculous! I felt swept along by a tide of bargain-hunters (January sales are the biggest in the year in Japan and you can get some seriously good deals)! On normal days I can assure you that it’s very calm and pleasant.
My family and I stopped for a snack in the afternoon in the food court. Most of my cousins and I opted for ice-cream… but one of my cousins went for a sweet potato. These are really yummy in Japan, with lots of melted butter. On my way home from school I always used to walk past an old couple who ran a vegetable shop. In the summer they would be sitting at the back of their store fanning themselves in the sticky humidity, and in the winter they would be huddled over a black covered stove. The shopkeepers would always offer me a sweet potato on my way home from school in the frosty winter air, so this feels very nostalgic for me.
The winter lights lit up the space outside which makes it all feel rather dreamy. And of course, there’s Skytree Tower itself! If you fancy a visit, it features an incredible view.
The views from Skytree are beautiful – it makes me really appreciate how humongous Tokyo is and how many people are sharing this fantastic city together.
Skytree is well worth a visit – I hope that you go!
またね、
Naomi
Thinking Japlish 
Oh those winter lights look so similar to the ones I saw in Kyoto (forgot the station name) do you know if they mean anything? They are beautiful!
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Do you mean the ones I photographed outside? Japan is really into its winter lights (イルメネション), so they are for Christmas (really seen more as a romantic holiday because its Christian context isn’t generally understood) and the winter. They make everything look very pretty! In Tokyo they are everywhere. The photo above captioned “cute illuminations” is of a penguin!
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Yeah the outside ones that look like lampposts :D I would totally buy some and use it in my house, gorgeously decorated! Aww penguins, I want that one too! Haha
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Totally inspired Naomi, love Bella xxxx
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Thank you Bella! You’re too kind <3
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