Trip 50

April 20, 2025

We took the train for a few stops before switching to the subway to reach our destination for some shopping.

The train has conductors that wear white gloves

Though it’s Sunday and many of the smaller shops are closed, it’s not because of the observation of anything to do with religion, as only a tiny piece of Japan’s population is Christian and Shinto and Buddhism (around two thirds of the Japanese population identifies as Buddhist) are the dominant religions, with many individuals practicing elements of both. The larger stores are open, and generally until 8 pm.

We spent some time shopping at the Traveler’s Factory store, one among a number of stores, restaurants and a hotel at the site of the former telephone exchange.

From here, it’s about a 10 minute walk to the Nishiki market. The market is 390 meters in length (about 1/4 mile, but seems to go on forever) and has been around for 400 years.

We spent a couple of hours here, including eating a tempura lunch

Walking thru the market, there an incredible array of foods, including an enormous amount of seafood

And fresh, handmade Mochi

Want Kit Kats you cannot find at home? They have’em

Walking through a food market like this is overload, there’s so much of everything.

From here, it was a few bus stops back to the area where the Takashimaya department store is located, a busy shopping street, to catch the bus back near our hotel.