The Owl Cafe

Tokyo is pretty famous for its cafe culture in a WIDE array of niches from maids to robots to anime to a wide range of animals. Being pretty nerdy and about to embark on a long bird watching tour at the time, our natural fit was an owl cafe in the heart of Akihabara.

We booked months in advance as spaces fill up quickly (even months in advance there were hardly any spots left) and were very pleased with our experience. The place was run by a married couple that clearly loved their 40+ birds. Entries were timed, everyone was quiet and respectful, and they had a system for rotating through the various owls to stop them from getting overstimulated.

 

From the owl "menu" I couldn't pass on "Mr President" the Malay Eagle Owl and his magnificent eyebrows. For the larger birds the owners not only provide a glove to keep the talons out of your hand, but a nice rest to lean on so you can admire the bird without worrying about spooking it. The two of us hung out agreeably for most of our visit but I was still somewhat startled when our time was up and he flapped back to his perch in the corner.

 

Kathryn was more interested in mixing things up, so after a bit of time with Gorilla, a spectacled owl (we have an affinity for these birds, having seen them in both Costa Rica and Belize) she swapped out for Potsticker, a tropical screech owl, who was undoubtedly a lighter bird to carry.

 

Senso-ji

Dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest established Buddist temple in Tokyo and the most widely visited religious site in the world. According to legend, two fishermen found a golden statue of Kannon in the Sumida River in 628 with the first temple being established under to Tokugawa shogunate in 645. 

Several sets of gates, surrounding market stalls, gardens, and the pagoda have been added over time, each being repeatedly rebuilt after destruction by fire and earthquakes. Most recently devastated in 1945 by Allied firebombing, reconstruction of the main hall began in 1951 and became a symbol of post-war rebirth and peace to the Japanese.

 

In the current configuration, visitors enter through the Kaminari-mon (thunder gate), proceed some 200m along the Nakamise-Dori shopping area, and through the Hozomon (treasure house) gate to the main hall. O-mikuji stalls are common where, for a small donation, visitors consult the oracle by shaking labelled sticks from metal containers and reading the corresponding printed fortune.

The grandeur, vivid use of colour, powerful statues, and ornate detailing make Senso-Ji an awe-inspiring place to visit. There are numerous smaller shrines, statues and memorials to various historic figures, songs, animals, and religions dotting the area. We visited both first thing in the morning and before close at night and at any time the site is bustling and captivating.

Tokyo Tower

Completed in 1958, Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower. Reaching 330m in height, it was the largest structure in the city until the completion of the 634m Skytree in 2012. Inspired by the Eiffel tower, it has a similar lattice design and its bright white/orange paint scheme keeps it in compliance with air safety regulations.

The look-out decks at 150m and 250m both offer impressive views of the city, but the extra few yen for the ticket to the higher point is absolutely worth it. From here, the view is completely unobstructed while the space is also small enough that you can walk around it quickly and really get a feel for every direction.

We were incredibly fortunate with both the weather and air quality at the time of our visit and could see all the way to the snowy peak of Mount Fuji. The audio guides provided give insightful facts about the city in every direction, but are cheeky enough to mention how many times parts of the city have been destroyed by giant monsters.

Maritime Oddies of Chuo City

Chuo is one of the five special wards of Tokyo, with a resident population of 170,000 that swells to 650,000 due to the influx of daytime workers. With its proximity to the ocean and canals in use since the 1650s, Chuo has a rich maritime history, which helps contextualize our handful of unusual discoveries along the Takeshiba pier.

 The Passenger Ship Terminal is a departure point for Izu and Ogasaware islands, with an overarching nautical theme, including this mast and rigging surrounded by walkways and elevated trains. A variety of sparrows and crows made for good nature sightings in the area as we warmed up for our day's walk.

 

Maintaining tidal and rainfall water levels steady since 1970, the Hama-rikyu drainage pump station is one of 4 key water management facilities and also totally looks like something out of Dune.

For those of you wondering what a Japanese nightclub owned by Jules Verne would have looked like (you know who you are) we have great news! The 'Hotaluna' is the second of three vessels designed by anime creator Leiji Matsumoto (note to my mum - he ALSO created "Albator" which I used to watch on the French channel in the 1980s - small world) which can carry up to 120 passengers for cruises around Tokyo harbour.

Hol Chan

 Hol Chan, Mayan for “little channel,” covers 19km2 of coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forest near San Pedro. Established during the 1990s during a time of increasing tourism and declining fishing industry, the area covers 4 zones which have differing biomes and permitted activities.

Generations of fisherman cleaning their gear while returning to port has created an unexpected gathering place of sharks and stingrays, known locally as Shark Ray Alley, where local tour guides feed the animals as tourists watch from nearby.

Hol Chan Cut is open to the sea beyond the reef, enabling marine creatures to travel between the interior and exterior of the reef. This concentrates wildlife with 160 species of fish, 40 types of coral, and 3 species of sea turtle in addition to numerous rays, lobsters, eels, and anenomes.

San Pedro

Ambergris Caye is the largest island in Belize, running 40m long but only 1.6km wide. Inhabited by the Maya in pre-Columbian times, the island was also popular with 17th century whalers, gradually turning to tourism in the early 1970s. Modern ‘San Pedranos’ are of Mexican descent with some Creole influences and it is said that you are not a true San Pedrano if you don’t know how to fish.

There are a number of settlements and resorts scattered around, but San Pedro Town is the only sizable town with an estimated population of 20,000. The majority of the island is set aside for national parks, further limiting the availability of real estate. The restricted space make car culture non-feasible, with that void being filled by golf carts. Access to the island is easily achieved either by domestic flights or a ferry service from Belize City.

Many of the roads are gravel and in perpetual need of re-grading, so a conventional golf cart won’t do the trick, these are some serious vehicles for a wide-range of conditions.

Steven arranged to borrow a golf cart from a friend in his condo complex and showed us a great time by shuttling us throughout San Pedro. As a trio we fit quickly and easily into our borrowed vehicle to zip from attraction to attraction.

 

 Between the Iguana Sanctuary, feeding tarpon in the marina, Garifuna culture, animal shelter, and the myriad number of restaurants, bars, distilleries, and shops in town we always had somewhere to be going and something different to enjoy.

Mexico Rock

The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300km section of the 900km long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest coral reef system in the world, which Charles Darwin described as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies” in 1842. With only 10% of the reef properly researched, it is already a recorded home to 100 species of coral and 500 species of fish and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Mexico Rocks is a shallow complex of some 100 clustered patch reefs along a limestone ridge. Popular with both snorkelers and SCUBA divers it was recommended for preservation in 1978 and officially recognized in 2015.

Belize was the first country in the world to completely ban bottom trawling in 2010 and in 2015 banned offshore drilling within 1k of the reef. Despite these measures it suffers the same risks as all reefs and an estimated 40% has already been damaged by human impact.

In addition to environmental damage, much of the reef is also suffering from invasive Lionfish. With a voracious appetite, venomous spines, and no natural predators, these fish are taking a significant toll on local species. Fortunately the people of Belize are actively taking steps to curtail their numbers with bounties for local fisherman and eager offers to take tourists spear fishing with civeche for dinner.